Why use stainless steel? Stainless steel is the ideal material choice for a wide range of plant applications due to its resistance to corrosive products such as acids, caustic solutions, oxidizers, and environmental corrosive elements such as salt laden air when found near the sea. However, other gases such as sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, and chlorine also attack stainless steel leading to localized pitting, stress corrosion, and crevice corrosion cracking. Resistance to these gases depends on their temperature and the alloying content material of the stainless steel.