Coolers, acid anodic protection from corrosion

The anodic protection technique now enables air coolers and tube bundles in sulfuric acid plants to be protected from corrosion reliably and economically. Anodic protection was provided for air coolers of sulfuric acid production plants for the first time in 1966. Since then, a combined cooler surface area exceeding 10,000 m in air-cooled and water-cooled sulfuric add plants has been protected in this way worldwide. The installed initial electrical direct current output of the potentiostats is >25 kW, corresponding to an energy requirement of 2.5 W/m for the surface needing protection (Kuron and Grafen 1988). 

Fig. 24.6. Inside an acid cooler. Fig. 9.5 gives an external view. Tubes start through the tube sheet , shown here. They extend almost to the far end of the cooler where there is another tube sheet . Cool water enters at this end and flows through the tubes to the far end. Between the tube sheets , the tubes are surrounded by warm acid moving turbulently around them. Heat transfers from the warm acid to the cool water (through the tube walls). The tube entering from the right contains a thermocouple. The polymer tubes in the foreground surround metal rods. The rods are bare between the tube sheets. An electrical potential applied between them and the water tubes anodically protects the tubes against acid side corrosion.

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