Stainless Steels in Process Industry Applications

Process industries are associated with handling, storing and processing of various types of chemicals ranging from acid, alkali, hydrocarbons, inorganic chemicals and water with divergent qualities. In some of the process industries such as refinery and petrochemicals, both extremes in terms of temperature and pressure are likely to coexist, for example cryogenic and fired heaters, and vacuum to high pressure as high as 200 Kg/cm². As a result, the equipment handling these process chemicals demand materials of construction with good corrosion resistance and appropriate mechanical properties. Stain less steels as a class of materials, with wide ranging corrosion resistance characteristics and mechanical properties, fit in these prerequisites very well.