Cathodic Protection of Carbon Steel in Soil: A Study of Induced Passivation

Two-month experiments were carried out with carbon steel electrodes buried in an artificial sand wetted at 50–55% of saturation with a 0.07 mol L−1 Na2SO4·10H2O solution. Various protection potentials (corrected from the ohmic drop) were applied from −0.60 to −1.13 V/Cu-CuSO4. In each case, the behavior of the electrode protected by cathodic polarization was compared with that of an unprotected electrode. The electrochemical study was performed using voltammetry, linear polarization resistance measurements, and EIS. Surface characterization of the coupons was carried out using optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction. First, cathodic protection was observed to induce a spreading of the electrolyte on the metal surface because of electrocapillary effects. The active area, or more precisely the wet area, of the electrode increased, leading to a decrease in soil electrolyte resistance Rs measured using EIS. This phenomenon was experimentally confirmed via visual observations of the surface of the coupons at the end of the experiments. Secondly, cathodic protection induced a passivation of the steel surface. The passive state persisted for 35 to 85 h after cathodic protection was stopped and could be studied during various periods of interruption of the protection. In each case, the OCP of the previously polarized coupons reached high values, actually 200–250 mV higher than those measured for the unprotected coupons, and was associated with high polarization resistance Rp values (~40 kΩ cm2). Depassivation of the metal finally occurred, a phenomenon revealed by simultaneous important drops of both OCP and Rp.