What Does
Elution Mean?
Elution refers to the chemical process of altering a material by stripping its ions via an ion exchange with another material. It is a vital process to prevent corrosion by facilitating augmentation and inhibition of corrosion by exchanging corrosion prone ions with more resistant ones on a substrate metal.
Corrosionpedia Explains Elution
Elution occurs by the interaction of a metal with greater ionic affinity with another metal of lesser affinity. This is most clearly demonstrated in the process of column chromatography, which is performed by washing the metal with a solvent. A significant concentration of ion-exchange resins are used to remove unwanted ions from a substrate metal to be protected against corrosion.
However, the specific electrochemical and environmental conditions in which elution is to be used must be carefully evaluated. In some cases, elution may actually be the root cause of corrosion in certain metals. This is the case with stainless steel, where localized corrosion is known to occur on stainless steel after elution. This is often due to stainless steel being used in high temperature environments.