Investigation of the Corrosion of Aluminum Soft Drink Packaging in A Citric Acid Environment with Catalytic Ions Through the Box-Behnken Design Approach

The corrosion of aluminum beverage cans poses a significant industrial challenge that causes economic and health problems. However, there exists a requirement to gather scientific data that can offer knowledge to the food and packaging sectors, aiding in enhancing materials and reducing losses linked to this issue. This research examined how aluminum cans interacted with beverages using model solutions containing copper and chloride concentrations close to those typically found in beverages. This research highlights the influence of the temperature (20-50 °C), chloride concentration (25-1000 mg/L), and copper concentration (25-1000 µg/L) as independent variables on the corrosion of Al can in citric acid solution using Response surface methodology (RSM) with the Box–Behnken design (BBD). The input corrosion current density was assessed through potentiodynamic polarization tests conducted under variable conditions outlined in the design matrix. With p-values under 0.05 and good regression coefficients (R2), the (ANOVA) approach confirmed that the quadratic model developed was significant.  The RSM demonstrated a strong alignment between the predicted outcomes and the observed responses. The [Cl-] exhibited the most prominent and adverse impact on the dissolution of aluminum. The EIS graphs indicated that the corrosion reaction is primarily governed by the diffusion process.