Patent ID: 7056399

Claim:
A process for treating an iron alloy comprising not less than 35 weight % Fe, comprising: (i) reducing the surface of the iron alloy by contacting it with a mixture comprising from 0.001 to 4.9 weight % of H 2 and 99.999 to 95.1 weight % of one or more gases selected from the group consisting of steam and inert gases at a temperature of from 200° C. to 900° C. and a pressure from 0.1 to 500 psig for a time from 10 minutes to 10 hours; (ii) treating the reduced surface of the iron alloy with a composition comprising: (a) from 5 to 80 weight % of dimethyl disulfide; (b) from 10 to 70 weight % tetra-butyl poly sulfide; (c) from 2 to 15 weight % pentaerythritol tetrakis (3-mercaptopropionate); (d) optionally from 0 to 10 weight % ethyl 2-mercaptopriopionate; (e) from 0.1 to 10 weight % dimethyl methylphosphonate; and (f) from 0.2 to 5 weight % disulfiram, the sum of components (a) through (f) being adjusted to total 100 weight %, in an amount from 10 to 10,000 ppm in a carrier gas selected from the group consisting of steam, inert gases and hydrocarbon at a temperature from 400° C. to 850° C. for a time from 10 minutes to 10 hours; and (iii) curing the resulting surface in a carrier gas selected from the group consisting of steam, and inert gases or a mixture there of for a time from 0.1 to 50 hours.