Impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) is the most common corrosion control method for protecting metallic structures. Mixed metal oxide (MMO) anodes are one of the commonly used impressed current anodes. Such anodes have been widely utilized in the industry due to their good electrocatalytic activity, low consumption rate, long service life, light weight, availability in various shapes, and high ratio of performance to cost. To assess the various MMO ribbon anodes performance in terms of their service life, an electrochemical acceleration life testing (EALT) with relatively high current densities has been conducted. The anode’s ability to perform at a higher current density than the application’s design requirements was measured, and anodes’ performance ranked based on time-to-failure using the EALT.
The requested design criteria for the ribbon anodes is current output of 42 mA/m with typical lifetime of 50 years. The tests were conducted in accordance to NACE-TM-0108 on different MMO ribbon anodes, and compared. The EALT results showed that anode Product-A and Product-B did not meet the design specification criteria and failed at application designed current density. Whilst the anodes Product-C and Product-D showed better performance, and met the criteria.