Shipwrecks and Salvage (1 Viewer)

[Constip8edSkunk]

Another shipwrecks question that neither the textbooks nor the adviceline (will any of them actually start answering the questions rather than dictating the book...) helped...

In the process of electrolyric restoration of iron, it is said that the majority of rusted products, such as Fe2O3.H2O, are reduced back to magnetite, Fe3O4.

What is the process that is used to restore the magnetite into pure iron? Is further electrolysis required? Is the artefact restored to pure iron at all, or is it left as magnetite?

ta

 

[ND]

I never really thought about it, i just assumed it remained magnetite.

edit: Yep, doesn't get reduced back to iron:

"In the case of iron, most of the corrosion products, if they
can be reduced, are reduced to magnetite. Unlike non-ferrous metals, it has not been shown that any of the iron
corrosion products actually reduce back to metal."

http://nautarch.tamu.edu/class/anth605/File10b.htm

 

[Constip8edSkunk]

cool, nice website, thanks

so are there a layer of magnetite remaining on the artefact?

 

[ND]

I don't think they'd leave it on there - it's black. I'm not sure how they remove it.

 

[Constip8edSkunk]

hmmm found it i think...

pathways says after the removal of chlorides, the current density of the electrolysis is increased to a muvh higher level of 0.1Am^-2 which loosens any remaining corrosion layers... this may take months or years depending on the size of artefact.

 

[ND]

Ah cool, i've never really used pathways.