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Introduction To Cathodic Protection

This document provides an introduction to cathodic protection, which is a technique to control corrosion of metal surfaces. It describes how cathodic protection works through creating an electrochemical cell that concentrates the oxidation reaction at an anode, protecting the cathode. The document outlines different cathodic protection methods and provides details on galvanic cells and impressed current systems.

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ali Abbas
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11 views

Introduction To Cathodic Protection

This document provides an introduction to cathodic protection, which is a technique to control corrosion of metal surfaces. It describes how cathodic protection works through creating an electrochemical cell that concentrates the oxidation reaction at an anode, protecting the cathode. The document outlines different cathodic protection methods and provides details on galvanic cells and impressed current systems.

Uploaded by

ali Abbas
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction to Cathodic Protection

Cathodic protection (CP) is : a technique to control the corrosion of a metal surface by


making it work as a cathode of an electrochemical cell.

Foreword

Corrosion or deterioration of metals has posed a problem to industry for many years. Of all
the various anti-corrosion systems used, Cathodic Protection is one of the most efficient,
being a positive and economical solution to the multiple corrosion problems encountered
either on shore or offshore (marine environments).

When dissimilar metals are in electrical or physical contact (the former through an electrolyte),
galvanic corrosion can take place. The process is akin to a simple DC cell in which the more
active metal becomes the anode and corrodes, where as the less active metal becomes the
cathode and is protected. The galvanic series shown below in Table 1 can be used to predict
the metal which will corrode in contact with another metal, based on whether it is cathodic or
anodic with respect to another. On top of the table are the "Noble" or cathodic (protected)
metals and at the bottom, the more active or Anodic metals.

Table 1
Standard electromotive force series for selected metals

Potential at 25 oC (77 oF), V Metal-metal ion equilibrium (unit activity)


+0.80 Ag/Ag+
+0.34 Cu/Cu2+
(reference) 0 H2/H+
-0.44 Fe/Fe2+
-0.76 Zn/Zn2+
-1.66 Al/Al3+
-2.36 Mg/Mg2+

Cathodic Protection is an electrochemical means of corrosion control in which the oxidation


reaction in a galvanic cell is concentrated at the anode and suppresses corrosion of the
cathode in the same cell. Figure 1 shows a simple cathodic protection system. The steel
pipeline is cathodically protected by its connection to a sacrificial magnesium anode buried in
the same soil electrolyte.
Figure1

Cathodic protection was first developed by Sir Humphrey Davy in 1824 as a means of
controlling corrosion on British naval ships. Virtually all modern pipelines are coated with an
organic protective coating that is supplemented by cathodic protection systems sized to
prevent corrosion at holidays (defects) in the protective coating. This combination of
protective coating and cathodic protection is used on virtually all immersed or buried carbon
steel structures, with the exception of offshore petroleum production platforms and reinforced
concrete structures.

Fundamentals of Cathodic Protection


Table1, shows the theoretical electrochemical potentials obtained by pure metals in 1 N
solutions of their own ions. Figure2, shows two of these metals, iron and zinc, separately
immersed in a weak mineral acid (or sea water). The chemical reactions that occur in Figure2
are:

Oxidation reaction Fe --> Fe2+ + 2e-


Reduction reaction 2H+ + 2e-
Net reaction 2H+ + Fe --> Fe2+ + H2
Oxidation reaction Zn --> Zn2+ + 2e-
Reduction reaction 2H+ + 2e- --> H2
Net reaction 2H+ + Zn --> Zn2+ + H2
Figure2

Both metals corrode, and both corrosion (oxidation) reactions are balanced by an equal
reduction reaction, which in both cases involves the liberation of hydrogen gas from the acid
environments. The two corrosion reactions are independent of each other and are determined
by the corrosivity of hydrochloric acid on the two metals in question.

If the two metals were immersed in the same acid and electrically connected (Figure3), the
reactions for zinc would then become:

Oxidation Zn --> Zn2+ + 2e-


Reduction 2H+ + 2e- --> H2
Figure3

Almost all of the oxidation reaction (corrosion of zinc) has been concentrated at the zinc
electrode (anode) in Figure3, and almost all of the reduction reaction (hydrogen liberation)
has been concentrated at the iron electrode (cathode). The oxidation of the zinc anode in
Figure3, is much faster than that in Figure2. At the same time, most of the corrosion of iron in
Figure2, has stopped in Figure3. As shown schematically, the zinc anode in Figure2, has
been used to cathodically protect the iron cathode in Figure3.
Of course, some corrosion of the iron may still occur; whether or not this happens depends on
the relative sizes of the zinc and iron electrodes. Some reduction of hydrogen may still occur
on the zinc anode. The anode is the electrode at which a net oxidation reaction occurs,
whereas cathodes are electrodes at which net reduction reactions occur. All cathodic
protection systems require an anode, a cathode, an electric circuit between the anode and
cathode, and an electrolyte. Thus, cathodic protection will not work on structures exposed to
air environments. The air is a poor electrolyte, and it prevents current from flowing from the
anode to the cathode.
Cathodic Protection can be accomplished by two widely used methods:

1. By coupling a given structure (say Fe) with a more active metal such as zinc or
magnesium. This produces a galvanic cell in which the active metal works as an anode and
provides a flux of electrons to the structure, which then becomes the cathode. The cathode is
protected and the anode progressively gets destroyed, and is hence, called a sacrificial
anode.

2. The second method involves impressing a direct current between an inert anode and the
structure to be protected. Since electrons flow to the structure, it is protected from becoming
the source of electrons (anode). In impressed current systems, the anode is buried and a low
voltage DC current is impressed between the anode and the cathode.
Sacrificial anode systems are simpler. They require only a material anodic to the protected
steel in the environment of interest. Figure4, shows an impressed-current system used to
protect a pipeline. The buried anodes and the pipeline are both connected to an electrical
rectifier, which supplies direct current to the buried electrodes (anodes and protected
cathode) of the system. Unlike sacrificial anodes, impressed-current anodes need not be
naturally anodic to steel, and in fact, they seldom are. Most impressed-current anodes are
made from non-consumable electrode materials that are naturally cathodic to steel. If these
electrodes were wired directly to a structure, they would act as cathodes and would cause
accelerated corrosion of the structure they are intended to protect. The direct current source
reverses the natural polarity and allows the materials to act like anodes. Instead of corrosion
of the anodes, some other oxidation reaction, that is, oxygen or chlorine evolution, occurs at
the anodes, and the anodes are not consumed.

Figure 4

Impressed-current systems are more complex than sacrificial anode systems. The capital
expenses necessary to supply direct current to the system are higher than for a simple
connection between an anode and a cathode. The voltage differences between anode and
cathode are limited in sacrificial anode systems to approximately 1 V or even less, depending
on the anode material and the specific environment. Impressed-current systems can use
larger voltage differences. The larger voltages available with impressed-currents allow remote
anode locations, which produce more efficient current distribution patterns along the protected
cathode. These larger voltages are also useful in low-conductivity environments, such as
freshwater and concrete, in which sacrificial anodes would have insufficient throwing power.

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