INVESTIGATION OF BEE POLLEN AS AN ECO-FRIENDLYCORROSION INHIBITOR FOR BRONZE IN ASIMULATED ACIDIC RAIN SOLUTION

Abstract

Bee pollen was tested as potential green corrosion inhibitor of bronze in simulated acid rain in a weakly acidic solution containing Na2SO4 and NaHCO3 (pH 5), simulating an acid rain in the urban environment. Potentiodynamic polarization, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDX) techniques were used to evaluate the inhibitive performance of bee pollen against bronze corrosion. Potentiodynamic polarization revealed that the bee pollen acts as a mixed-type corrosion inhibitor; its inhibiting efficiency increases with increasing the pollen concentration attaining the maximum value of 74.7% in the presence of 100 ppm pollen. SEM-EDX analysis confirmed that bee pollen is able to retard the bronze corrosion in a simulated acidic rain solution.