6. Conclusion

Corrosion inhibitors are a fully-fledged means of protection against metallic corrosion. They are unique in that they are the only means of intervention from within the corrosive environment, making them an easy and inexpensive method of corrosion control, provided the product(s) used are of moderate cost. The many studies carried out on these compounds over the last fifty years have led to the development of specific products or mixtures of products for given corrosion systems (metal-corrosive environment pairs). However, each case of corrosion remains a special case, and it is essential to know the basic operating data for these inhibitors, their limits of use and their particular toxicity, so as to be able to use them with a sufficient margin of safety.