Synthesis of polyaspartic acid-glycidyl adduct and evaluation of its scale inhibition performance and corrosion inhibition capacity for Q235 steel applications

In this work, the development of the eco-friendly comprehensive scale and corrosion inhibitor based on green polyaspartic acid (PASP) was presented. In this view, PASPG was prepared by a ring-opening graft modification reaction of polysuccinimide (PSI) with glycidyl. In addition, the molecular structure and the thermal stability of PASPG were characterized by using three different methods (FTIR, ¹H NMR, and TGA). PASPG’s scale inhibition efficiency and corrosion inhibition efficiency were also evaluated, respectively. More concretely, the scale inhibition efficiency of PASPG achieved 94.6 % and 95.1 % for CaCO₃ and CaSO₄, respectively. With the aid of the FTIR and SEM measurement techniques, it was found that PASPG could induce the irregular growth of the CaCO₃ and CaSO₄ morphology and destroy the formation of crystals. On the other hand, the higher corrosion efficiency of 85.17 % was achieved by PASPG in comparison with PASP (72.53 %). PASPG is a mixed inhibitor and the adsorption of PASPG on the Q235 steel surface followed the Langmuir mono-layer adsorption isotherm. The formation of a protective film on the surface of carbon steel was proved by PASPG’s adsorption, which increased the resistance to be eroded. Thus, the surface of carbon steel can be effectively protected. The present work provides a simple and effective pathway for the synthesis of high-efficiency green scale and corrosion inhibitor, by introducing a functional group into the PASP chains. The implementation of such type of chemical modification method may also be an effective strategy for improving the efficiency of other polymers green scale and corrosion inhibitors.