Carbon steels, though being the most commonly used metal in Mauritius, are prone to atmospheric corrosion attack. One method to curb corrosion is to use corrosion resistant materials such as weathering steel. Weathering steel is, however, not commonly used locally. The aim of the project was, therefore, to investigate the feasibility of using weathering steel instead of carbon steel in Mauritius. This was performed through a Life Cycle Assessment for carbon steel in Mauritius and determining the atmospheric corrosion behaviour of weathering steel in the local atmosphere.
The Life Cycle Assessment was performed using openLCA 1.6.3 software. A proper flow of the carbon steel was established where all stages of life of the metal were thoroughly established, including recycled scraps. The atmospheric corrosion behaviour of weathering steel was determined through outdoor exposures at two sites, namely, Port Louis and Reduit. Mild steel samples were also exposed for comparison purposes. The outdoor exposure of the metal samples revealed that the corrosivity of the atmospheres fell in the category C4, according to ISO 9223. Weathering steel corroded lesser than the mild steel samples by more than 30%. The LCA for carbon steel has shown that steel production has the greatest environmental impact in the boundary system. The use of weathering steel provides the alternative to substantially decrease the environmental impact through lesser imports. Financially, the price of weatheringsteel and mild steel is nearly equal. Hence, weathering steel should be proposed as an alternative to carbon steel in Mauritius.