Development of Corrosion-Resistant Equipment for Tomato Paste Production using Nanoparticle Coating

Abstract

Tomato paste is processed in industrial factories by means of systems and equipment that are mostly made of metal (mainly steel AISI 304). A lifelong problem in producing tomato paste is the entering of heavy metals into the tomato paste due to the reaction between the tomato juice and the metal surface. Heavy metals, even in small quantities in tomato paste, endanger human health. Nano coating is widely considered among the best methods of control and prevention of corrosion. The aim of this research is to study the effect of Titanium Oxide (TiO2) nanoparticle coating in constructing corrosion-resistant equipment in tomato paste production. The steel samples AISI304 were covered with a thin layer of Titanium Oxide nanoparticle using electrophoretic. A corrosion simulator system was developed to measure the rate corrosion. The tests were conducted in a completely randomized factorial design with two factors and three replications. Tomato juice solution was tested in three temperature levels of 60, 70 and 80 °C and four coating voltages of 0, 10, 15 and 20 Volt. Results showed that Titanium Oxide nanoparticle coating significantly increased the corrosion resistance of AISI 304 steel in reacting with tomato juice. Increasing in temperature from 60 to 80 °C enhanced the rate of corrosion in all samples to 46.2%. Samples with coating voltages of 10, 15 and 20 Volt decreased the corrosion speed to 85.2%, 79% and 67.6%, respectively.