SACRIFICIAL ANODES

SAFEGUARDING MARINE ASSETS

Corrosion of metals causes global economies to lose billions of dollars each year. Using sacrificial anodes has the potencial to reduce 33% of these costs, that could be prevented with the use of appropriate corrosion protection systems (Tezdogan and Demirel, 2014).

In particular, the marine industry is severely prone to corrosion from time to time, as seawater is a strongly corrosive electrolyte. Metallic structures that are submerged in seawater suffer severe corrosion if not properly protected. Ships and boats are on water for extended amount of time carrying passengers, cargo or performing offshore operations. Preventing corrosion is thus important to avoid any potential water leaks that could hamper the safety of personnel and operations.

In this whitepaper, we focus on the basic idea of corrosion, factors affecting it and methods that prevent corrosion in the marine sector. A special focus is drawn on corrosion in sea chest areas that use box coolers as a cooling solution and corrosion prevention method as sacrificial anodes – their design and lifetime.