Mentha Piperita Extract as a Natural Product for the Corrosion Inhibition of Low Carbon Steel in a Polluted NaCl Environment: Chemical, Electrochemical and Biological Studies

The impact of aqueous Mentha Piperita Extract (MPE) as a corrosion inhibitor for low carbon steel (LCS) in NaCl/Na2S solution was investigated using chemical and electrochemical techniques to evaluate the protection performance of MPE. “As the concentration of the extract increased, the protection efficiency (PE) increased, reaching 91.2% at 300 ppm, whereas the increase in temperature favored to slow decrease”. The extract was physically adsorbed on the metal surface according to the Temkin isotherm. Polarization data revealed that this extract acts as a mixed inhibitor. The mechanism of corrosion protection of MPE was discussed from electrochemical techniques. MPE was adsorbed on LCS obeying Temkin isotherm. Surface morphology techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to demonstrate the creation of a protective coating on the LCS in the presence of MPE. The extract inhibits the bacterial activity of Escherichia coli.