Thanks to their good corrosion resistance and ease to shape and weld, austenitic stainless steel grades (e.g. UNS S31603) are used as standard materials for the construction of municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). The main factors influencing the corrosiveness of the fluids in WWTP are halides concentration (more specifically chlorides), H2S content, low pH, temperature and their combined effects.
In municipal wastewater streams, chloride content, known to be one of the critical agents affecting the stability of protective passive layers for stainless steels2, is usually around 50-200 mg/L and in this content range does not present major issues for the austenitic grade.