The chromate conversion treatment is widely used, but it requires highly toxic chromic acid solutions with the consequent effluent disposal and ecological problems. The removal of these toxic chemicals is considered a priority within European Union. The corrosion resistance of three alternative treatments applied on electrogalvanised steel, and immersed in aerated 0.3 M Na2SO4 solution, pH 10, at 25 °C, was investigated using electrochemical techniques. Their performance was compared with the obtained using the traditional Cr6+-based treatment in the same conditions. The achieved results show that the alternative coatings exhibited discrete protective properties in the sulphate solution. The nitro-cobalt chemical conversion treatment showed similar protective properties than the traditional Cr6+-based treatment, while with the Cr3+-based treatment those were very poor. The phosphate treatment initially performed acceptably but as the time elapsed, its protective properties decreased.

As Cr (VI) compounds used to formulate conversion layers provide enhanced anticorrosive protection to zinc coatings, but they are produced using hazardous chemicals, the development of ''green'' technologies is a paramount purpose. Consequently, the corrosion behavior of zinc coatings subjected to a Cr3+ based passivating treatment, with and without sealing, was studied through EIS measurements in 0.5 M Na2SO4 solution. The analyses of the experimental data allowed inferring that the Cr3+-based conversion treatment with an adequate sealer provides good corrosion resistance and, coupled to an adequate painting system, could be a suitable alternative to traditional chromate coatings.

The atmospheric corrosion behaviour of galvanised steel sheets and steel/55%Al-Zn system with or without different paint schemes was analysed. The samples were exposed to the atmosphere in the experimental station of CIDEPINT. Periodically, all specimens were visually inspected and sampling was made to evaluate the general behaviour of the protective system. Normalised physicochemical and EIS tests were performed on each specimen. The corrosion products were characterised by SEM. The data included in the present work concern to the first step of exposure (800 days). The foreseen whole period of testing is 7 years. From the present results may be concluded that: 1) on the analysed industrial environment, the bare sheets of steel/55%Al-Zn system have suffered less damage than the bare galvanised ones, 2) chloride and sulphide are present in the corrosion products denoting the aggressiveness of environment, and 3) in general, all duplex systems have shown a fairly good protective behaviour.