6 Things You Need to Know About Platinized Titanium Anodes (6)
#6: Applications for Platinized Titanium Anodes
The primary use of platinized titanium anodes is in the field of metal finishing and cathodic protection of ferrous metals that are used in structures buried in soil and the steel exposed to marine environments such as oil and gas producing platforms, ships, oil well casings, and jetties. Platinum-titanium anodes successfully compete with cheaper graphite and lead electrodes in some of these applications.
Process plants that use platinized titanium include electro-chlorination plants, breweries, paper producers, and chemicals such as reagents, perchlorates, and chlorates.
Platinized titanium anodes are extensively used in electrolytic processes. They have successfully replaced lead anodes in electroplating applications due to their lower consumption, dimensional accuracy, ability to form precise deposit thicknesses on desired geometric shapes, predictable plating chemistry, and ease of maintenance. These anodes can be designed and formed with various geometries based on the parts to be electroplated. Platinum on titanium anodes are highly preferred anodes for electrodeposition of copper, chromium, platinum, nickel, palladium, and gold.
Seawater applications
Platinized titanium is predominantly used as an anode material for the cathodic protection of seafaring ships, particularly for corrosion prevention of the hull and its components, including rudders, pumping systems, rotating parts, propellers, piping, submerged parts and structures, ballast tanks, dock system structures, and cargo tanks.
Underground applications
Platinized titanium anodes are used in cathodic protection systems for underground storage tanks, pipes, tank bottoms, cable sheaths, and structures buried under corrosive soil. (Learn more about the corrosive effects of soil in An Introduction to Soil Corrosion.)
Oil and gas applications
Platinized titanium anodes and tantalum anodes are being used in cathodic protection systems to protect piping, casings, sucker rods, and aboveground storage tanks from corrosion.
Sewage systems, water supply systems, and reinforced concrete structures
Platinum on titanium anodes is used in the cathodic protection systems of sewage treatment plants, water supply infrastructure, and steel-reinforced structures.
Conclusion
Platinized titanium anodes have successfully replaced lead anodes in hard chromium plating due to their advantages of lower maintenance, improved quality of deposition, higher productivity, and consistency. They have achieved a position of dominance as a corrosion engineer's first choice for the impressed current type of cathodic protection of steel exposed to marine environments. Newer applications are being developed to take advantage of the superior attributes of platinized titanium.
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