Temperature Paradox of Corrosion

Definition

The counterintuitive behavior in which rising temperature does not monotonically increase corrosion because it also drives off dissolved oxygen.

Higher temperature speeds reaction kinetics but reduces oxygen solubility, so the corrosion rate can peak and then fall in open versus closed systems. It is named as the paradox of temperature in the corrosion discussion. It illustrates that corrosion rate depends on competing thermodynamic and solubility effects. It matters when reasoning about hot versus cold zones of a system.

Related concepts

Heat Transfer · Dissolved Oxygen · Corrosion

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Part of The Blueprint of Water · ⚡ electrochemistry