904L Stainless Steel and the Industries That Depend on It

What Makes 904L Different

904L carries low carbon content with high chromium, nickel, molybdenum and copper. That combination gives excellent resistance to pitting, crevice corrosion and stress corrosion cracking, and it is highly resistant to both sulphuric acid and phosphoric acid. The copper addition is the part standard austenitic grades do not have.

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Chemical and Petrochemical Use

904L is used extensively in chemical processing plants, refineries and petrochemical works, where acids, chlorides and other aggressive chemicals are present. It also resists corrosion from organic acids such as acetic and formic acid, which is why it turns up in fine chemical and food acid plants.

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Marine and High Temperature Service

Its resistance to seawater and chloride induced corrosion puts it into marine equipment, offshore platforms and coastal structures. It also keeps its mechanical properties at elevated temperature, which suits heat exchangers, furnace components and other high temperature equipment.

Pharmaceutical and Food Work

High purity and strong corrosion resistance make 904L suitable for pharmaceutical and food processing. It is non reactive and withstands frequent cleaning and sterilisation cycles without degrading or contaminating the product.

What It Costs You and What It Saves

904L is more expensive than 316L because of the alloy content. The return is service life: the combination of corrosion resistance, toughness and strength is what keeps equipment in service instead of on a replacement cycle. Specify it where the medium is a reducing acid, and use 2205 duplex instead where the driver is chloride plus strength.

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