Tin Plate and the Electrochemical Series¹

Corrosion in Food Containers, The Mechanism of Corrosion of Tin Plate by Various Food Products

“…of tin plate by various food products has been the subject of extensive investigations by the steel industry and the canmanufacturing industry. In the late 1920's, various groups showed that in deoxygenated acid-food products, tin is anodic to the steel base and protects it at its own expense (4)(5)(6). The next 15 years were spent primarily in investigating the effect of different manufacturing variables on the corrosion performance of tin plate (2).…”

Trends in the Design of Food Containers

“…In plain tinplate cans for acid foods, tin provides cathodic protection to steel (3,4). The slow dissolution of tin prevents steel corrosion.…”

Effects of temperature and storage on the iron and tin contents of commercially canned single-strength orange juice

“…However, in the presence of a corrosive acidic liquid, a reversal of polarity takes place. Tin now becomes the local anode and the steel base the local cathode (Lueck and Blair, 1928; Kohman and Sanborn, 1928). Thus, the protective mode of the tin plate is now via an electrochemical process, and this happens in canned acidic fruit juices such as citrus juices.…”