Corrosion Inhibition Effect of Clove Essential Oil Extract with Basil and Atlas Cedar Oil on Mild Steel in Dilute Acid Environment

The corrosion inhibition effect of clove, atlas cedar, and basil essential oil extracts on mild steel was studied. Clove essential oil was separately admixed with basil oil extract (CBO) and atlas cedar oil extract (CAO) in 0.5 M H₂SO₄ and HCl solutions. Weight loss measurement, potentiodynamic polarization technique, and optical microscopy were used to evaluate their performance. The two admixed inhibitor compounds performed effectively at most concentrations with highest inhibition performance of 95.48 and 95.32% in H₂SO₄ solution. In HCl solution, the inhibition performance of CBO and CAO inhibitor compounds are 92.7 and 97.98%. CBO and CAO displayed mixed inhibiting properties with dominant cathodic inhibition effect. Severe surface degradation was visible on the non-inhibited steels in H₂SO₄ while extensive localized degradation was visible on the non-inhibited steel from HCl solution. The presence of CBO and CAO inhibitor significantly improved the surface of the mild steel.