Duplex stainless steels (DSS) may experience environmental assisted cracking (EAC) under
certain conditions in the kraft white liquor solutions used by the pulp and paper industry.
Previous work showed that hydrogen absorption is possible in these solutions under applied
cathodic potentials (CP) at room temperature, which is a concern because DSSs may become
susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement (HE) under certain conditions; however, the effect of a
CP on the EAC behavior of DSS in kraft white liquor solutions is currently unknown.
Microhardness was used to evaluate the change in hardness upon exposure to white liquor
(WL) composed of 150 g/L NaOH and 50 g/L Na2S at room temperature under CP. The
hydrogen microprint technique (HMT) was used to observe the hydrogen distribution on the
sample surface. Slow strain rate testing (SSRT) was conducted on grade 2205 DSS at a
strain rate of 2 X 106 s-1 in the range of -1500 mV vs. SCE to the corrosion potential (Ecorr) at
room temperature. The affect of CP on the EAC susceptibility was evaluated as a function of
the reduction in area and the time to failure. The fracture morphology was examined with
scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results indicate that an increase in the CP will
enhance the severity of EAC below a threshold potential, which was found to be ~-1100
mVSCE. These findings suggest that care must be taken when DSS are used in pulping
applications where there is a risk for galvanic coupling with a more active material, such as
carbon or low alloy steel, or in plant equipment where cathodic protection is used.
Keywords: 2205, duplex stainless steel, hydrogen embrittlement, white liquor, cathodic protection