CATHODIC PROTECTION-8

CHE-545-172
DR IME B.OBOT

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 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES
• Sir Humphrey Davy reported in 1824 that copper
could be successfully protected against corrosion by
coupling it with iron or zinc.
• In the 1920s, cathodic protection was first used to
protect buried pipelines carrying oil and gases.
• In the beginning of this century, thousands of miles of
buried pipelines and cables are effectively protected
by cathodic protection.
• Cathodic protection is also applied to storage tanks,
ships, offshore drilling structures, condensers, and
concrete bridges.

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 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
• Cathodic protection (CP) is defined as the
reduction or elimination of corrosion by
making the metal a cathode by means of
impressed current or sacrificial anode
(usually magnesium, aluminum, or zinc).
• This method uses cathodic polarization to
control electrode kinetics occurring on the
metal-electrolyte interface.

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Anodic and Cathodic Reactions of Iron in Acid

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Basic Physics of CP of iron in acid

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Evans diagram-Principle of cathodic protection

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Polarization Principles of CP of iron in acids

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 Types of Cathodic Protection
• Based on the polarization used to
protect metallic structures, CP
systems are divided into two types:
(1) Sacrificial Anode Cathodic
Protection.
(2) Impressed current system.

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 Sacrificial Anode Cathodic Protection
• Corrosion protection is accomplished by coupling a less noble (more
electronegative) metal in the galvanic series with the pipeline.
• In the diagram shown below, a nobler pipeline metal in this galvanic
couple is cathodically polarized, while the less noble metal is anodically
dissolved.
• High purity anodes (zinc, aluminum, or magnesium) are required to
avoid significant anode polarization and accumulation of insulating
reaction products.
• The anode is packaged in a backfill consisting of 75% gypsum, 20%
betonite, and 5% sodium sulfate.
• The backfill absorbs corrosion products and water from the soil to keep
anodes active.
• Sacrificial anodes are coupled to the pipeline at regular intervals based
on the current requirements needed to protect the pipeline.

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Sacrificial Anode Cathodic Protection

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Requirements for a Good Sacrificial Anode
• (a) The potential between the anode and the
corroding structure must overcome the formation
of anode cathode cells on the corroding
structure.
• (b) When drawing current, the anode should not
be polarized to a large extent.
• (c) The anode must have high anode efficiency,
that is, the current produced by metal dissolution
must be readily available for cathodic protection.

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Requirements for a Good Sacrificial Anode
• Magnesium and zinc are the predominantly used
galvanic anodes for the cathodic protection of
pipelines.
• The corrosion potential difference of magnesium with
respect to steel is 1 V, which limits the length of the
pipeline that can be protected by one anode.
• Economic considerations have led to the use of
aluminum and its alloys as anodes.
• However, aluminum passivates easily, decreasing
current output. To avoid passivation, aluminum is
alloyed with tin, indium, mercury, or gallium.

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Galvanic anode Characteristics

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 Basis for selecting a sacrificial anode system
Advantages:
(i) No need for an external power source
(ii) Less complex installation
(iii) Uniform distribution of current
(iv) Minimum maintenance
(v) Minimum cathodic interference
Limitations:
(i) Current output is limited. It has limited driving potential;
therefore, the protection for the bare steel area is limited for
each anode.
(ii) Poorly coated structures need more anodes.
(iii) The system is ineffective in high resistive environments.

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Galvanic Series in Soil and Sea water

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Current Density Required to reach Ecp for steel in moving and
standing seawater and in soil

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Electrochemical reaction in sacrificial
Anode CP System

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Impressed current cathodic protection

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Impressed current cathodic protection

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Reaction- ICCP

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ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
OF ICCP

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COMPONENTS OF ICCP

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 Basis for selecting Impressed Current System
Advantages:
(i) The system can be applied with a wider range of voltage and current
requirements.
(ii) High current can be impressed with a single ground bed.
(iii) Single installation can protect larger metallic surface.
(iv) Uncoated and poorly coated structures can be effectively
protected.
(v) Voltage and current can be varied to meet changing conditions with
time.
Limitations:
• (i) Overprotection leads to coating damage and hydrogen
embrittlement.
• (ii) The system is affected by interference problems.
• (iii) External power is necessary, thus the system is vulnerable to
power failure. 23
Summary of Cathodic Protection

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CP of a buried pipe

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CP of a buried pipe

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 CP of a buried pipe

(a) Sacrificial of galvanic anode (b) Impressed

Current Anode.
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CP of Pipelines

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Protection Criteria

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Reference Electrodes

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Potential Protection

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Potential and Corrosion of buried pipes

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NACE STANDARDS FOR CP

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SAUDI ARAMCO REQUIREMENTS

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Anodes for ICCP

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Anodes in ICCP

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Soil Corrosivity

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Soil Corrosivity

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Soil Corrosivity

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Soil Corrosivity

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PROBLEMS ON CP

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