Corrosion in Tinplate Cans Used for Food Storage, Part 3: Effects of Cysteine, NaCl, and Tomatoes on Corrosion of Tin, Iron, and Tinplate

Abstract

Tinplate cans used to contain foodstuff are fabricated from steel coated with a thin layer of tin and then overcoated with a thin polymeric layer. Previous papers in this series investigated the corrosion behavior of tinplate cans containing chopped tomatoes or one of the chemical components found in cans of chopped tomatoes. The amino acid cysteine was found to be an aggressive agent that can cause corrosion and blackening of the can headspace region. In this study, the corrosion phenomena associated with tinplate cans were investigated by studying the behavior, individually, of uncoated pure tin, iron, and tinplate in chopped tomato, NaCl, and cysteine solutions using electrochemistry, optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. Black corrosion products, identified as sulfides, formed when the tin, iron, and tinplate specimens were exposed to cysteine solution at three different pH values. The black corrosion products were also found on both iron and tinplate when the samples were immersed in tomato solution. These results indicate that blackening on bare iron and tinplate could form easily from the decomposition of chemical compounds in heated tomatoes.

Criteria and methodologies for determining the causes of swelling of canned tomatoes in tinplate containers

“…The treatment selects the microbial flora from a small group of indicator bacteria (Casolari, 1991; Chapin et al., 2014; Martin et al., 2016; Vicini, 1984) such as lactic and enterobacteria, Bacillus coagulans , butyric clostridia, and thermophilic clostridia, as well as yeasts and molds (Daryaei et al., 2013; Previdi & Previdi, 1991; Riccardi, 2001; Vicini & Zimmermann et al., 2013). This in turn influences the choice and type of container since all acidic or acidified food preserves, such as those based on tomatoes, have the property of corroding the container (Barbieri et al1971; Chang, 2021; Chang et al., 2022; Dhuey, 2019; Montanari, 2015; Palmieri et al., 2002; 2004).…”

“…and high aggressiveness (sauerkraut, asparagus). This is due to the presence of sulfur compounds, some of which, such as the amino acid cysteine, are also present in tomatoes (Chang et al., 2022), or of sulfoprotein compounds such as those present in fish products, meats, legumes, and also in corn to mask the marbling that forms on traditional tinplate (Barbieri & Rosso, 1990; Montanari, 2015). For these reasons, the use of coated cans has been continuously increasing.…”

Identification of Corrosive Volatile Compounds Found in the Headspace of Chicken Noodle Soup Retorted in Metal Cans

“…Kontominas et al [ 14 ] conducted research on common defects in the interior walls of metal cans containing tuna in soybean oil and found that lacquer adhesion failure caused by sulfides from fish allowed acidic compounds in the containers to migrate towards the internal metal surface, and this initiated discoloration and corrosion. Black deposits are sometimes observed on the internal walls of defective cans that contain sulfur-rich products [ 3 , 15 ]. These black deposits are defined as “sulfur staining,” which develops when FeS clusters form inside the defective cans [ 16 ].…”

Examination of surface contamination and impurities in tinplate samples, both passivated and non-passivated

“…Previous studies have utilized various analytical techniques to investigate the surface layer of commercial tinplate [6][7][8][9][10] . For instance, in addition to the XPS method with argon ion sputtering used by Chen et al [11] , Sun et al [12] , and Azzerri et al [13] , other studies have employed techniques such as Raman spectroscopy [14] , atomic force microscopy [15] , and X-ray diffraction [16] to analyze the surface composition and structure of tinplate.…”