With the existence today of many thousands of miles of buried cross country transmission and distribution pipelines, and considering the Department of Transportation Code of Federal Regulations regarding corrosion mitigation programs for hazardous materials, the use of cathodic protection has become more wide-spread than ever before. It is not uncommon while taking a cross-country drive to observe literally hundreds of AC grid powered rectifiers mounted on poles or near compressor stations all across the country. In more remote areas, one might see diesel or natural gas driven motor-generators (MG's) supplying power for rectifiers. Occasionally, thermoelectric generators (TEG's) driven by natural gas or LPG are used to directly convert heat into DC current to energize ground beds for cathodically protecting a buried structure. Why the motor-generators or TEG's? The lack of available commercial grid power or the extremely high costs associated with overhead (and direct burial) power line construction to remote sites. Also, some government (e.g. BLM) lands do not allow pole lines to cross them.

Subject
Electric current, Costs, Electrochemical cells, Voltage, Batteries, Arrays, Cathodic protection, Power systems, Storage, Open circuits, Lead, Rectifiers, Equipment
© 1980 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
1980
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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