SAE 304 stainless steel in acidic applications, it is commonly replaced by 316 stainless steel. 304 stainless steel is used for a variety of household and industrial applications such as food handling and processing equipment, screws, machinery parts, and car headers. 304 stainless steel is also used in the architectural field for exterior accents such as water and fire features. It is also a common coil material for vaporizers. They all possess the same nominal chromium and nickel contents and thus possess the same corrosion resistance, ease of fabrication and weldability. The carbon content of 304H (UNS S30409) is restricted to 0.04-0.10%, which provides
Stainless steel Hydrochloric acid will damage any kind of stainless steel, and should be avoided. All types of stainless steel resist attack from phosphoric acid and nitric acid at room temperature. At high concentration and elevated temperature attack will occur and higher alloy stainless steels are required. In general, organic acids are less corrosive than mineral acids such as hydrochloric and sulfuric acid. As the molecular weight of organic acids increase their corrosivity decreases. Formic acid has the lowest molecular weight and is a strong acid. Type 304 can be used with formic acid though it will tend to discolor the solution.