Fish processing discards extract as an eco-friendly corrosion inhibitor for carbon steel in hydrochloric acid

The objective of this study is to extract amino acids from fish processing discards for the preparation of highly effective and degradable corrosion inhibitors. The composition of fish processing discards extract (FPDE) was characterized by HPLC and FTIR. The results showed that the main components of FPDE are amino acids and contain a large number of unsaturated functional groups. Electrochemical techniques (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Tafel), surface analysis (XPS and AFM), and molecular dynamics simulations (MDS) were conducted to investigate the corrosion inhibition mechanism of FPDE for carbon steel in 1 mol/L HCl. As shown by electrochemical tests, FPDE exhibits mixed-type corrosion inhibition with a maximum inhibition efficiency of 93.3%. FPDE exhibits excellent corrosion inhibition properties on carbon steel surfaces by forming a high coverage film through chemisorption and physisorption. Indeed, the advantages of remarkable inhibition efficiency and facile extraction methods allow FPDE to become a promising corrosion inhibitor for practical applications.