Analysis of the corrosion failure of a semiconductor polycrystalline distillation column

Abstract Distillation column is a fundamental device for the production of the semiconductor polysilicon. Therefore, investigating corrosion leakage protection of the distillation column is of great significance because of the undetectable yet very significant consequences of corrosion leakage to the column. In this work, corrosion investigation of a polycrystalline silicon rectification tower is presented. The composition and crack morphology of the distillation column (316 L austenitic stainless steel) were detected and analysed using component and hardness analysers. The effects of pH and temperature on the corrosion rate were studied by conducting electrochemical experiments. According to the macroscopic test results, the surface of the tower was covered with a large number of pits and cracks of different depths. Furthermore, based on the metallographic analysis, SEM analysis, and energy spectrum analysis results, it was determined that the crack morphology was mostly intergranular and transgranular. Combined with the test data and process environment, it has been determined that the main forms of corrosion for rectification towers are pitting corrosion and stress corrosion caused by chloride ions. According to the results of electrochemical experiments, the corrosion rate of 316 L stainless steel is negatively correlated with pH value for a pH range of 4–6 at constant temperatures. However, the corrosion rate is positively correlated with temperature for the range of 60 °C–90 °C at constant pH values. From the analysis of the corrosion morphology, the corrosion failure mode of 316 L stainless steel is largely attributed to pitting corrosion when the column is operated at low temperatures (60 °C and 70 °C). However, at high temperatures (90 °C), a transformation from pitting corrosion to stress corrosion occurs along the crystalline form. To ensure the stable operation of the polysilicon rectification tower, this paper proposes corrosion protection measures based on the results of the analysis as described.