Corrosion protection was always an important part of industrial development. The use of oil- and
solvent-based products in the preservation of metal has been a common practice for over one hundred
years. While these products may offer good corrosion protection, they often contain hazardous
ingredients and are non-degradable. A number of regulations were implemented recently for the
protection of the environment. The most known among them are North Sea (UK, Norway, Denmark,
The Netherlands) and US Gulf Coast lists of the chemicals environmentally acceptable in these regions,
limiting the type of chemicals allowed for use in accordance with their level of biodegradability,
bioaccumulation and toxicity.
Recently, the use of vegetable oils and their esters has been found to offer many similar properties to
their petroleum derived counterparts. By incorporating vapor corrosion inhibitors (VCI A, VCI B, VCI
C, and VCI D) in different naturally derived solvents, optimal corrosion protection or other desired
properties can be obtained yielding environmentally friendly, biodegradable products. The laboratory test results and industrial applications of these products will be discussed in this paper.