Anti-coking and anti-carburizing behavior of amorphous AlPO4 coating

The aim of the present study was to examine the anti-coking and anti-carburizing behavior of amorphous AlPO4 coating. So, aluminum phosphate composition was synthesized by sol-gel process and applied on the AISI 304 stainless steel by dip coating technique. Anti-coking performance was examined in a tube furnace at 1000 °C for 30 min under Ethane (C2H6) atmosphere. Carburizing test was performed in a sealed charcoal medium at 1100 °C for a total of 30 h exposure time. Phase composition of the samples was analyzed by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) after coking and carburizing tests. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) were employed to study the morphology and elemental analysis of the samples after coke and carbon formation experiments. Microhardness indenter was applied on the cross section of the carbon-exposed specimens to plot the hardness profile through the carburizing zone. The results of the coking experiment revealed catalytic coke formed on the uncoated surface, while irregular spherical coke with no trace of catalytic coke was formed on the coated surface, indicating the great anti-coking performance of the amorphous AlPO4 coating. The results of pack-carburizing test demonstrated that the thickness of the carbide layer formed on the bare surface was ∼10 times greater than that of the coated sample. Hardness measurement for the amorphous AlPO4 coated sample detected lower values compared to those for the uncoated one at all distances from the surface, indicating less carbon diffusion occurred beneath the coated surface. In overall, the results declared that the amorphous AlPO4 coating could be a good candidate for surface protection of stainless steel against catalytic coke formation and carbon diffusion.