Magnesium cathodic protection

The cathodic protection of plain carbon and low-alloy steels can be achieved with galvanic anodes of zinc, aluminum or magnesium. For materials with relatively more positive protection potentials (e.g., stainless steels, copper, nickel or tin alloys), galvanic anodes of iron or of activated lead can be used. 

Hydrogen is involved in cathodic protection with magnesium anodes on account of the high contribution of self-corrosion. This must be considered in its use in closed containers, e.g., boilers. In enamelled boilers there is no danger from deflagration of the oxy-hydrogen gas under normal service conditions [2] however safety requirements must be observed [28,29], particularly with routine maintenance work. 

Cathodic protection with magnesium anodes can be just as economical as impressed current anode assemblies for pipelines only a few kilometers in length and with protection current densities below 10 xA m" e.g., in isolated stretches of new pipeline in old networks and steel distribution or service pipes. In this case, several anodes would be connected to the pipeline in a group at test points. The distance from the pipeline is about 1 to 3 m. The measurement of the off potential... 

At the relatively low protection current density of 200 llA m and with the anode positioned on one side, it is to be expected that with this storage tank sufficient reduction in potential would be achieved on the other side of the tank from the anode. The off potential was measured using a measurement point at a depth of about 2 m as f/cu-cuso4 = -0.88 V at the tank. At the other side of the tank as well as above it, off potentials of-0.90 to -0.94 V were found. These potentials were measured with a protection current of 10 mA (anode 1 6 mA, anode 2 4 mA) with an additional resistance of 8 Q in the protection current circuit (see Fig. 11-2). With a direct connection between the tank and the group of magnesium anodes, the initial current was about 16 mA, which after 1 h of polarization decreased to about 14 mA. The reserve current, based on a long-term current of 10 mA, amounted to ca. 40% in the operation of the cathodic protection installation. 

Magnesium anodes are frequently used as an additional protection measure at a later stage for stainless steel tanks. In this case the anodes are connected through a 5- to 10-Q resistor to the tank to avoid an unnecessarily high current for the cathodic protection of the tank and simultaneous high consumption of the anodes. 

Cathodic protection with impressed current, aluminum or magnesium anodes does not lead to any promotion of germs in the water. There is also no multiplication of bacteria and fungi in the anode slime [32,33]. Unhygienic contamination of the water only arises if anaerobic conditions develop in the slurry deposits, giving rise to bacterial reduction of sulfate. If this is the case, HjS can be detected by smell in amounts which cannot be detected analytically or by taste. Remedial measures are dealt with in Section 20.4.2. 

Table 22-1 Installation costs of a cathodic protection station with three magnesium anodes for = 100 mA, r = 30 W m and service life of 36 years.

Fig. 22-1 Economic application range for cathodic protection with magnesium anodes or with impressed current.

The decision on whether cathodic protection with impressed current or with magnesium anodes is more economical depends on the protection current requirement and the soil resistivity. This estimate only indicates the basic influence of the different variables. In the individual case, installation costs can vary widely so that a specific cost calculation is necessary for every project. 

Cathodic protection (CP) is an electrochemical technique of corrosion control in which the potential of a metal surface is moved in a cathodic direction to reduce the thermodynamic tendency for corrosion. CP requires that the item to be protected be in contact with an electrolyte. Only those parts of the item that are electrically coupled to the anode and to which the CP current can flow are protected. Thus, the inside of a buried pipe is not capable of cathodic protection unless a suitable anode is placed inside the pipe. The electrolyte through which the CP current flows is usually seawater or soil. Fresh waters generally have inadequate conductivity (but the interiors of galvanized hot water tanks are sometimes protected by a sacrificial magnesium anode) and the conductivity... 

Epoxy based primer systems remain the best suited for the corrosion protection of magnesium. Cathodic epoxy electrophoretic paints , chromate inhibited epoxy-polyamide primers and high temperature stoving epoxy sealers are used to provide protection up to 180°C. For higher temperature applications up to 300°C, epoxy silicone or polyimide based systems can be used. 

Magnesium anodes suspended inside a galvanised hot-water tank and in electrical connection with it afford cathodic protection to the zinc, the alloy layer and the steel, at high temperatures as well as in the cold. The magnesium is eventually consumed but it is probable that in the interim a good protective scale will have formed on the inside of the tank, so that the magnesium anode will then no longer be necessary. One of the difficulties of this method, however, is the maintenance of a sufficiently even current distribution over the inside of a tank to protect the whole surface, especially in waters of low conductivity. The method is therefore unlikely to be applicable to soft waters. 

Thus brucite (Mg(OH)2) is also commonly found on surfaces under cathodic protection in seawater. Because more hydroxyl ions (higher pH) are required to cause magnesium hydroxide to precipitate, the magnesium is virtually always found in the calcareous deposits associated with calcium and its presence is an indicator of a high interfacial pH and thus either high cathodic current densities or relatively poor seawater refreshment. 

Anode efficiency is of little practical significance and can be misleading. For example, magnesium alloy anodes often have an efficiency ca. 50% whilst for zinc alloys the value exceeds 90% it does not follow that zinc alloy anodes are superior to those based on magnesium. Efficiency will be encountered in many texts on sacrificial anode cathodic protection. 

Whilst cathodic protection can be used to protect most metals from aqueous corrosion, it is most commonly applied to carbon steel in natural environments (waters, soils and sands). In a cathodic protection system the sacrificial anode must be more electronegative than the structure. There is, therefore, a limited range of suitable materials available to protect carbon steel. The range is further restricted by the fact that the most electronegative metals (Li, Na and K) corrode extremely rapidly in aqueous environments. Thus, only magnesium, aluminium and zinc are viable possibilities. These metals form the basis of the three generic types of sacrificial anode. 

Soil resistivity surveys are often impractical in built-up areas, but in such areas impressed-current cathodic protection is usually avoided on account of the danger of interaction. Under such conditions adequate protection can be achieved by installing magnesium anodes in the pipe trench should the soil resistivity measurements made when the trench is opened indicate that this is necessary. 

Cathodic protection equipment has been used very successfully in water tanks and HW and steam boilers as anticorrosion devices for 100 years or more. Such equipment comes in many shapes and sizes, and comprises a sacrificial anode of either zinc or magnesium alloy, either bolted directly to a suitable internal water-wetted (cathodic) metal surface, or self-contained by enclosing the anode with a suitable cathode (such as a silver plated base metal). Usually several devices are required for any boiler, more for larger units and less for smaller ones, and these require replacement every one to two years. 

FIGURE 12.20 In the cathodic protection of a buried pipeline or other large metal construction, the artifact is connected to a number of buried blocks of metal, such as magnesium or zinc. The sacrificial anodes (the magnesium block in this illustration) supply electrons to the pipeline (the cathode of the cell), thereby preserving it from oxidation. 

Cathodic protection systems have started a number of hydrocarbon fires, either by direct current sparking to earth, or from thermite reactions causing sparks when rusty lumps of iron fall on magnesium electrodes. 

Magnesium, zinc, or aluminum blocks are anached to ships hulls, oil and gas pipelines, underground iron pipes, and gasoline storage tanks. These reactive metals provide cathodic protection by acting as a sacrificial anode. 

Coimecting iron objects to a more active metal is called cathodic protection. Cathodic protection is widely used to protect underground storage tanks, ship hulls, bridges, and buried pipes. One of the most common forms of cathodic protection is to connect the object to magnesium. When magnesium is coimected to an iron object, magnesium rather than iron becomes the anode in the oxidation process. In cathodic... 

In cathodic protection, a metal more active than iron such as magnesium or zinc is connected to the iron object. The more active metal is oxidized protecting the iron. 

Cathodic protection involves connecting a metal to be protected to another metal that is more easily oxidized. The more easily oxidized metal serves as the anode and the metal to be protected is the cathode in an electrochemical cell. The metal that is oxidized is called the sacrificial anode because it is sacrificed to protect another metal. Metals such as zinc and magnesium are often used to protect iron. Cathodic protection is demonstrated in this activity by using two steel nails. The nails are placed on a shallow dish. Using a white or light-colored dish displays the oxidation better [iron (III) oxide, Fe Oj, referred to commonly as rust is more visible on a light-... 

Cathodic protection A method in which an active metal, such as magnesium, is connected to steel in order to protect it from corrosion. 

Figure 52.2 Cathodic protection, magnesium is connected to an iron object and undergoes oxidation, protecting the iron from rust.

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