Corrosion Resistance Against Hydrogen

Understanding how to protect materials against hydrogen attack is paramount to extending component lifetimes and reducing plant downtime. The materials selection process can sometimes become complex; usually involving multiple factors such as high strength requirements, operating temperature, high corrosion resistance, availability and cost. Hydrogen is used for numerous chemical processes, for example for the synthesis of ammonia and methanol as well as in hydrogenation processes such as for the production of gasoline or for fat hardening. In various metal extraction processes hydrogen is used as a reducing agent and is also used as a shielding gas for welding and metallurgical processes.

The present handbook compiles new and updated information on the corrosion behavior of materials that are in contact with hydrogen or environments containing this gas. This compilation is an indispensable tool for all engineers and scientists dealing with corrosion problems in hydrogen containing environments of any industrial use.

Michael Schutze, born in 1952, studied materials sciences at the University of Erlangen-Nurnberg from 1972 to 1978, then joined the Karl Winnacker Institute of the DECHEMA as a research associate. He received his doctorate in engineering sciences from the RWTH (Technical University) in Aachen in 1983, completed his habilitation in 1991, becoming a member of the external teaching staff of the RWTH. Since 1998, he holds a professorship there. He was appointed director of the Karl Winnacker Institute in 1996 and Chairman of the executive board of DECHEMA Forschungsinstitut in 2012. He is recipient of the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Prize, the Rahmel-Schwenk medal, the Otto-von-Guericke Prize, the Cavallaro medal, and the U.R. Evans Award, past Chairman of the Gordon Conference on Corrosion, editor of the journal Materials and Corrosion, Past-President of the European Federation of Corrosion, Past-President of the World Corrosion Organization and Chairman of the Working Party Corrosion by Hot Gases and Combustion Products of the European Federation of Corrosion.

Gunter Schmitt, born in 1942, studied chemistry at the Universities of Cologne and Aachen from 1962 to 1967 and received his doctorate in chemistry in 1971 and his habilitation in Technical Chemistry in 1978 at the Aachen University of Technology (RWTH). In 1983 he was appointed Professor for Chemical Engineering at the University of Bochum. In 1986 he was appointed Professor for Corrosion Protection Engineering at the Iserlohn University of Applied Sciences and became a member of the external teaching staff at the Institute of Technical Chemistry, RWTH. Since 2005 he is one of two CEOs of the Institute for Maintenance and Corrosion Protection Technology in Iserlohn. He is recipient of the Rahmel-Schwenk-Medal and the European Corrosion Medal, Past-President of the German Society for Corrosion Protection (GfKORR), Chairman of the Working Party Corrosion and Scale Inhibition of the European Federation of Corrosio