Electrochemical corrosion study via linear polarization in peas can

The aim of this work is to study the corrosion of tinplate can for peas. Firstly, the characterization of canning solution was made. The values of pH, conductivity, Brix, viscosity, density and content of Fe were, respectively, 5.88; 32.6 mS/cm; 6.6%; 3,42cP; 1.026 g/ml; 12.05 mg/kg. The corrosion rate in the cans was determined by linear polarization technique. The electrodes with and without varnish were analyzed in the first and fifth day of the experiment for the 3 parts of the can. The corrosion rate increased significantly when the coating was removed and the body showed a higher corrosion rate, reaching 1.7 mm/year in the absence of varnish. The microstructure of the samples was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The increase of iron on the surface, evidenced by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) may have contributed to the corrosion in the samples without varnish.