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CP
Most widely used method
Can prevent corrosion of any metal/alloy exposed to any
aqueous electrolyte
Properly maintained system can provide corrosion
protection indefinitely
First: 1820s British used CP on copper fittings of wooden
sailing vessels
Suppression of toxic corrosion products allowed growth of marine
organisms => sailing speed
1920s, for buried steel pipelines of the USA in Gulf coast
oilfields
1950s, for steel hulled ships
Greatest use for coated C-steels
Extends service life of thousands of miles of buried steel
pipelines, oil & gas well casings, offshore oil drilling
structures, ships, water tanks, chem. equipt
CP criterion
CP: process whereby the corrosion rate of a metal
is decreased or stopped by decreasing the
potential of the metal from Ecorr to some lower
value (cathodic polarization) and in the limit to
EM, the thermodynamic equilibrium half-cell
potential
At E = EM,
iox,M = ired,M = io,M,
=> net transfer of metal ions to the solution no longer
occurs.
This is the criterion for complete cathodic
protection.
Fundamentals
CP reduces the corrosion rate by cathodic polarization of
the corroding metal surface
Eg. Iron corroding in dilute aerated neutral electrolyte
Fe Fe 2 2e (1)
O2 2 H 2O 4e 4OH ( 2)
Cathodic polarization reduces rate of (1)
This also the rate of (2)
Application
Any metal can be protected by cathodic polarization
Widest use: C-steel in mildly corrosive neutral aqueous
environ.
Stainless steel & Cu: intrinsically corrosion resistant-
dont need CP
Al & Zn: undergo cathodic corrosion due to alkalinity
generated by cathodic rxn
CP -not economical when corrosion rate is high
eg. Steel in strong acids
Require high currents and large rectifiers
Copious evolution of flammable H from
cathodic rxn- hazardous
Coatings to minimise the current requirements
fail in acid solutions
Max CR of uncoated steel in aerated quiescent
water ~ 0.47 mm/y
Tolerated in many applications
Not tolerated for permanent steel structures requiring
long life eg. buried pipelines, drilling platforms CP
Choice of methods
Cost-effectiveness
Cathodic protection is generally accomplished by
one of the following two methods
Cathodic Protection by Impressed Current
Factors
capital costs for power sources
Cost of semi-permanent anodes
running costs to supply the electric power
Generally large and particularly inaccessible systems eg long
pipelines, & food and chemical plants where contamination from the
corrosion of sacrificial anodes cannot be tolerated
Cathodic Protection by Sacrificial Anodes
Factors
initial and replacement costs of the anodes
labor and facilities needed to replace them
the costs of regular inspection
Cathodic Protection by Impressed Current
Rectifier- supplies impressed Single or multiple anodes
current after converting AC to distribute cathodic
to DC currents
Remote locations- diesel
gensets/solar power cells Buried structures,
seawater, freshwater-
graphite anode
(economical, an additional
1.7 V needs to be applied
to make it anode)
High Si cast iron, Pt
coated Ti*
Anodes are backfilled with
conductive material (eg
granulated coke)
-Spreads current over
greater area
oxide on bare titanium protects it from corrosion but it resist the passage of the
protecting current into an aqueous medium
Pt coating produces an efficient anode with a substrate that is protected in the
event of local failure of the platinum film.
Steel in acid
CR decreases by 103 to 1 A/cm2.
a decides the extent of reduction
Each 40 mV decreases by a factor of 10
Unpolarized CR
CR from polarization of 120 mV
Impressed current density, iapp = 1.5 x 10-2 A/cm2 = 15,000 A/cm2
to protect 1 m2, we need 150 A
Can we use coatings to reduce current requirements? NO
Coatings fail rapidly in strong acidic solution
CP is impractical in aggressive acidic solutions with high corrosion rates
More usual case of CP of steel in neutral aerated water/ seawater
Dissolved oxygen diffusion control
CR = 100 A/cm2
In neutral pH range & quiescent conditions,
accumulation of Fe(OH)2 decreases this to 20
A/cm2
Cathodic polarization CR = 0.1 A/cm2
Iapp = 100 A/cm2
This is also very high!
use coatings along with CP !
Coatings are resistant in neutral solutions
Unpolarized CR
CR from polarization of 120 mV
More usual case of CP of steel in neutral aerated water/ seawater
Unpolarized CR
CR from polarization of 120 mV
Cathodic Protection by Sacrificial Anodes
Connection to a
second active metal-
sacrificial anode
Nobler structure is
cathodically polarized
Active metal is
anodically dissolved
Anodes: Mg, Zn, Al
Few kgs to hundreds
of kgs
Fe Fe 2 2e
This rxn is suppressed by surplus of electrons provided by sacrificial anode
Reduction reaction is accelerated
Sacrificial Anode Cathodic Protection
io,H io,H
+ 2(M) 2(N)
EH2/H+ icorr(M)
icorr(M-N)
E
Ecouple
io,M
- icorr(M-N)
io,N
icorr(N)
EM/M+
log i
Sacrificial anodes
Steel Anode
Tank current
Localized
Corrosion
Steel pipe
Current from a CP system will pass through a nearby low resistance current
path in the earth (pipeline) before it returns to the protected structure (tank)
Protection current is attenuated- incomplete protection
Cathodic protection of pipeline where the current enters the pipeline
Increased anodic corrosion where the current leaves the pipeline
Power supply
Ground level
Steel Anode
Anode Tank current
connection
Insulated
Steel pipe