Anodic Protection
Anodic Protection
Anodic Protection
ANODIC PROTECTION
9.1 INTRODUCTION
Use of anodic protection (AP) can be considered when coating and cathodic pro-
tection techniques are not suitable for protecting a structure against corrosion.
The AP technique is normally used very successfully in aggressive environments,
such as sulfuric acid and mild solutions [1-4]. The main requirement
for AP is that the material to be protected must exhibit an active-passive be-
havior, but the passive potential range must be wide enough and the passive
current must be sufficiently low as compared with the corrosion current. Thus,
a potentiostat can be used to supply a potential in the passive region of a po-
larization diagram, but potential monitoring is necessary; otherwise, a potential
deviation can make the material to become active and anodic protection is lost.
In anodic protection the structure to be protected is the anode by connecting
it to the positive terminal of an electrochemical circuit, whereas the negative
cathode is made of steel or graphite. On the other hand, in cathodic protection,
the structure to be protected is made the cathode (positive).
Figure 9.2 shows a schematic set up for AP of a steel tank for storing an acid
solution. Normally, sufficiently large cathodes are needed in order to compensate