Module 8, Objective 4

Cathodic Protection, pg. 38-41

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 Module 8- Objective 4

When you complete this section you will be able to:

• Identify methods of inhibiting corrosion.

• Explain the effect of applying an external impressed
current to a galvanic cell.
• Identify NACE corrosion codes and standards.

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Cathodic Protection
• Metal loss occurs at the anodic areas of steel where positive ions
are leaving the steel and released electrons flow through the
metal.

Fe  Fe2+ + 2e-

• Cathodic Protection supplies electrons to oppose that reaction.

– Giving electrons to our piece will force it to become the cathode,
preventing corrosion!
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Voltage Requirements Reduction Half-Cell Reaction
Standard Reduction
Potential E0 (volts)

• How much voltage will be required

Mg+2 + 2 e- → Mg(s) -2.37 V
Al+3 + 3 e- → Al(s) -1.66 V

to protect iron in an oxygenated Mn+2

2 H2O
+
+
2 e-
2 e-
→
→
Mn(s)
H2(g) + 2 OH-
-1.18 V
-0.83 V
water environment? Zn+2 + 2 e- → Zn(s) -0.76 V

Cr+3 + 3 e- → Cr(s) -0.74 V

S(s) + 2 e- → S-2 -0.48 V

Fe → Fe2+ + 2e- 0.44V Fe+2

Cd+2
+
+
2 e-
2 e-
→
→
Fe(s)
Cd(s)
-0.44 V
-0.40 V

O2 + 2H20 + 4e- → 4OH- 0.40V Co+2 + 2 e- → Co(s) -0.28 V

O2 + 2H20 + 2Fe → 2Fe(OH)2 0.84V Ni+2

Sn+2
+
+
2 e-
2 e-
→
→
Ni(s)
Sn(s)
-0.25 V
-0.14 V
2 H+ + 2 e- → H2(g) 0.00 V
S(s) + 2 H+ + 2 e- → H2S(g) 0.14 V

• Under standard conditions, at Cu+2 + 2 e- → Cu(s) 0.34 V

least 0.84V is required to reverse O2(g) + 2 H2O + 4 e- → 4 OH- 0.40 V

that reaction!
Cu+1 + 1e → Cu(s) 0.52 V
Ag+1 + 1e → Ag(s) 0.80 V
O2(g) + 4 H+ + 4 e- → 2 H2 O 1.23 V
Cl2(g) + 2e → 2 Cl- 1.36 V
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Au+3 + 3e → Au(s) 1.50 V
Voltage Requirements
• 0.84V is required in standard conditions.
– That’s not much! One AA battery produces 1.5V
• Is the pipeline I want to protect in standard conditions?
– No. (25° C, pure metal, 1 atm pressure, 1.00 M concentration of ions)
• Higher voltages might be needed if there is:
– More surface that needs to be protected (ex: more holes in the coating)
– Variation in conditions (ex: hot spots, ion concentration, O2 etc)
– Longer distance to the protected piece (more resistance in metal)
– More dissolved solids (ions) in soil (less resistance in electrolyte)
– Wetter soil (better electrolyte)
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 e-

CP System
e-
• Electrons will be given to e- e-
our protected piece to e-
make it the cathode.
• Regardless of where the Positive Ions
(ex:Mg2+)
Cathode
(Protected
electrons are coming from, Structure)
we need an anode too.
Negative Ions
• Cathodic protection will (ex:OH-)
not work without a shared Question: Will this cathodic protection
electrolyte between the system protect the inside of this pipe?
part to be protected and Why or why not?
No. The anodes share an electrolyte with the
the anode. exterior of the pipe, but not the interior. 6
CP and Coatings
• Cathodic protection and coatings work
very well together.
• Question: Will this CP system need to
provide any electrons to the pipe?
– No! It’s fully protected from the
electrolyte, no current flow required.
– Lower operating costs
• What if there was a small hole?
– Even then, not much protection is
needed. A low current will protect that
small area.
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CP and Coatings
• However, small holes can cause big problems!
 Shielded areas (ex: under coating disbondment) do not share an
electrolyte with the anodes. They are not protected.

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Cathodic Protection

There are two different types of cathodic protection system:

1) Sacrificial Anodes

2) Impressed Current

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Sacrificial Anodes
• Cathodic protection using sacrificial anodes does not stop corrosion
– It transfers the corrosion from the structure to another anode location.
• The anodes are made of reactive metals that have a more negative
reduction potential than the material they are protecting.
– Aluminum, zinc or magnesium alloys are commonly used on steel structures
– The more reactive metal will corrode instead of the steel
• Often used to provide cathodic protection where power lines are not
readily available (ie: remote locations).
– In well-coated pipelines, the anodes may be several kilometres apart and still
provide protection!
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Sacrificial Anodes
Example: A magnesium rod in a
domestic water heater.
• Mg rod acts as a sacrificial anode
• Protects your water heater from
corrosion.
Question: Will this protect your
water heater forever?
No, the Mg is corroding instead of the
steel, so the rod must be replaced!
– About every 5 years, on average
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Sacrificial Anodes
• Because the anodes must be replaced, we should design them
for long life and simple replacement.
• Special backfill material can provide a uniform environment
around a buried anode
– Promotes uniform anode consumption
• Get more use out of it before replacement
– Isolates the anode from direct contact with the soil
• May create local passive films (cathodes) otherwise, causing localized corrosion
– A typical backfill material for magnesium anodes is a mixture of 75%
hydrated gypsum, 20% bentonite clay, and 5% sodium sulphate
• Gives high electrical and ionic conductivity (easy ion movement)
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Impressed Current Cathodic Protection
• Commonly used where large currents are required and power
from electrical lines is available.
• Other power sources used in more remote locations include:
– thermoelectric generators (which burn natural gas)
– solar cells
– wind driven generators

• Electricity (Direct Current, DC) is ‘pumped’ from one or more

anodes into the structure requiring protection.
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Impressed Current Cathodic Protection
• Any material that receives electrons will be forced to become the
cathode (protected)
• The most common source of current for an impressed current
system is a rectifier, which transforms AC into DC.
– If AC was hooked up directly, our material would go through cycles of
protection/corrosion/protection/corrosion… not very helpful.
• The negative terminal of the rectifier must always be connected
to the structure to be protected!
– If the positive terminal is connected, electrons will be taken from the
structure and it will be forced to become the anode (corrodes)
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Impressed Current Anodes Impressed
Sacrificial
Current
AnodeAnode
in Sea in
Water
Sea Water

• Even though the electrons are

coming from electricity, we still need
an anode to allow ion transfer.
• However, the anode does not
necessarily need to corrode…
– Anode reaction in sea water oxidizes Cl-
at the surface of the anode
2Cl- → Cl2 + 2e-

• Choose an anode material that will

not corrode easily
– Graphite, high-silicon cast iron, lead,
platinized titanium
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 "Cathodic Protection", by MREest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4e_Qzn0yQE

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Codes and Standards
• There are many companies and organizations involved in
corrosion testing and prevention.
• Standards on this topic include:
– material requirements (MR) for specific environments
– testing methods (TM) to ensure consistency
– recommended practices (RP) for particular applications

Two main organizations who create these standards:

• ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials)
• NACE (National Association of Corrosion Engineers)
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 Exercise 4 (pg. 41)

2. Sketch and describe a cathodic protection system utilizing an

external current source.

3. Explain why shielded areas cannot be protected by cathodic

protection.

4. Explain why the correct polarity of an external current source must

be connected to the protected structure.

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 Bonus Question
Identify at least two important similarities and two important
differences between sacrificial anodes and impressed current
cathodic protection.

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 Bonus Question
Identify at least two important similarities and two important
differences between sacrificial anodes and impressed current
cathodic protection.
– Similarities include:
• Both provide electrons to the protected structure
• Both require an anode in a shared electrolyte to allow ion transfer
• Both are made more/less effective by the same variations in conditions (coating,
electrolyte, resistance, surface area, etc)
• Both anodes benefit from special backfill materials to increase electrolyte contact
– Differences include:
• Sacrificial anodes must be replaced
• Impressed current needs an external power source
• Sacrificial anodes must be higher reactivity than the protected metal, while
impressed current must provide enough voltage to overcome the corrosion cell
potential
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