Electrochemical Chloride Extraction: Re-injecting Sustainability into the Pacific Market

Abstract The presence and ingress of chlorides, particularly in marine environments, is one of the main factors responsible for the deterioration of steel reinforced concrete structures. Electrochemical Chloride Extraction (ECE) is a reemerging maintenance process available across the Pacific that is being utilized to sustainably interrupt the initiation and progression of corrosion, in this scenario through an electrochemical process which draws chloride ions already present in concrete away from the reinforcing steel towards a temporarily surface-mounted anode. This process not only mitigates future chloride-induced corrosion of steel by extracting chlorides, but it also alters the material properties in the concrete cover and at the steel surface, including a measurable increase to the pH and the re-formation of a protective passive layer on the steel. This paper highlights some of the variables that may influence the apparent efficiency of the process, such as concrete resistivity and cover depth, environmental factors, structure and reinforcement configuration, and sampling errors.