Background

Acetic acid, (CH3COOH or ethanoic acid) is a colorless liquid with a pungent, vinegar-like odor. Although it is classified as a weak acid, in water-freeconditions acetic acid is Glacial Acetic Acid and can cause severe corrosion issues at elevated temperatures.

Materials

Due to glacial acetic acids extremely corrosive nature, zirconium 705 alloy has been the traditional material of choice. Zirconium’s corrosion resistance to acetic acid is excellent however because of its difficulty in fabrication and raw material expense, zirconium is only available in limited forms.

Tantalum metal’s corrosion resistance to glacial acetic acid surpasses that of zirconium but still suffers the same limitation as zirconium in terms of its ease of fabrication and price. With NewCo’s technology the corrosion resistance of tantalum is available on common forms at prices that are significantly less than zirconium.