Interaction between aluminium cans and beverages: Influence of catalytic ions, alloy and coating in the corrosion process

Abstract

This paper studies the interaction between aluminium cans and model solutions formulated to mimic beverages. Different levels of chloride and iron were studied in acid medium in relation to their potential to aluminium corrosion. The paper also evaluates the impact of packaging properties on aluminium corrosion. Among the evaluated concentrations of Cl and Fe, a critical combination to the aluminium alloy integrity was not identified. The apparently random occurrence of corrosion when exposing packaging specimens to the studied solutions was observed, which was attributed to the heterogeneity of the specimens. Three hypotheses were pointed out and discussed to describe the occurrence of corrosion, considering alloy composition and coating property parameters, proposing a new line of studies within this topic.