Have you ever wondered how the pipelines are protected from significant corrosion even after being underground or exposed for so many years? The answer to that is simple: Cathodic protection. Cathodic protection is a method for protecting any sort of metal surface, especially corrosive ones, from almost all types of corrosion effectively. Without this protection, a metal surface would start acting like an anode would easily corrode away. Therefore, for underground pipeline protection, cathodic protection is the most effective solution. In the following article, we will go through its operation and maintenance procedures.
Cathodic protection, as mentioned above, is an effective measure to prevent corrosion to underground pipeline systems. However, cathodic protection could be further divided into two types based on the operation.
- Galvanic Cathodic Protection
This method involves coating the original metal surface with another more reactive metal. The latter is called the sacrificial or galvanic anode and, compared to the original metal, has a lesser negative electrochemical potential. Therefore, the galvanic anode is oxidized rather than the original metal, thus protecting it.
- Impressed Current Cathodic Protection
The ICCP is a more effective and economical method than the other methods when the equipment, be it offshore or underground pipelines are much more significant to be protected by galvanic anodes. In this method, using a rectifier or an external power source (DC), the cathodic structure is supplied with electrons.
As useful as this method is, it does require maintenance every once in a while. It is advised that it is checked every two to four years for proper functioning. If the design is faulty, then the areas meant to protect might not receive enough current, and thus failing the whole protection method. Therefore, maintenance is essential here. The maintenance procedure is simple yet requires specialized types of equipment that should be installed with it for accessibility. Below stated are four such standard tests for checking the maintenance of the protection:
- Testing the voltage potential of the pipe-to-soil by comparing it a half-cell of copper sulfate
- Testing and verifying the pipe continuity
- Testing the anode voltage output
- Testing the current flow between the anodes and the pipe
When it comes to providing the best pipeline cathodic protection, Cortec-Me has time and again proved to be one of the best in the field. Therefore, for more information, get in touch with Cortec-Me and have the best cathodic protection services for your equipment.
