Stainless steel will not resist sea water as well as Monel. Another use for bronze strainers is where the product can be contaminated by iron, but the cost of stainless steel is prohibitive. A good example is handling of liquid sugar. The material is sensitive to iron pickup. Stainless steel is expensive.
Bronze is a good compromise and is therefore used.
Bronze can also be used with mildly corrosive materials where iron is unsatisfactory and stainless might be too costly. 7 Carbon Steel C arbon steel strainers are used mainly in the oil and petrochemical industry. They have excellent resistance to mechanical or thermal shock and these are important considerations in the event of a fire. Most oil refineries will not permit iron piping components for this reason. Steel strainers are also used for higher pressure applications because of their great strength.