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Difference Between Anodic and Cathodic Protection
Difference Between Anodic and Cathodic Protection
Difference Between Anodic and Cathodic Protection
Cathodic Protection
The key difference between anodic and cathodic protection is that in anodic protection,
the surface to be protected acts as the anode whereas, in cathodic protection, the
surface to be protected acts as the cathode.
Anodic and cathodic protection are two electrochemical processes we use to prevent
surfaces from corrosion or rusting. In an electrochemical process, we use
an electrochemical cell with two electrodes as anode and cathode. In anodic and cathodic
protection processes, we use the surface to be protected (substrate) as either anode or
cathode, which leads to name those processes as such. Sacrificial protection is a type of
cathodic protection in which we use a metal as a sacrificial anode. In this process, this
sacrificial metal corrodes while avoiding the corrosion of the cathode.
CONTENTS
In AP, we need to bring the metal to a high potential. Then, the metal becomes passive due
to the formation of a protective layer. However, AP is not widely used as cathodic protection
because it is limited to metals which has a sufficiently reliable passive layer on the surface;
for example, stainless steel.
There are two major considerations for the application of AP. First, we need to ensure that
the whole system is in the passive range. Second, we need to have precise knowledge of
ions, which can lead to extensive pitting.
In this method, the sacrificial metal corrodes instead of the protected metal. If we use
cathodic protection for large structures such as long pipelines, galvanic protection technique
is not enough. Therefore, we need to provide sufficient current using an external DC
electrical power source.
Figure 02: A Sacrificial Anode – Zinc Layer
Moreover, we can use this technique to protect fuel or water pipelines made of steel,
storage tanks, ships and boat hulls, galvanized steel, etc.