One method of corrosion prevention by water treatment involves the use of chemicals, which in relatively small amounts greatly reduce or inhibit attack. There is little information concerning the exact mechanism by which such materials or inhibitors function; consequently, there is often no sound basis on which to select the most effective inhibitor or the concentration of inhibitor for a particular set of conditions. For the same reason, the possibility is open that materials other than the known inhibitors may have corrosion preventive properties or may enhance the effectiveness of proved inhibitors when used in conjunction with them.
In developing inhibitor treatments which may be generally applied the situation is further complicated by the wide variety of waters which may be encountered in practice. The net result of these factors is that a relatively large number of tests must be carried out in order to obtain the information desired. Hence,...
