Basic Chemistry and Basic Corrosion Theory
2:17
CP 1 – Cathodic Protection Tester Course Manual
©
NACE International, 2000
02/01/05
Use and Care of Copper Sulfate Reference Electrodes
•
Keep clean.
•
Keep the plastic/rubber cap on the porous plug when not in use.
•
Periodically clean the porous plug to prevent clogging the pores.
•
Keep free of contamination. Periodically replace copper sulfate and
clean copper rod with a nonmetallic abrasive material; use silica
sandpapers, for example, not an aluminum oxide paper to clean the rod.
If the solution becomes cloudy, clean it out and replace with fresh
copper sulfate solution. Be certain there are always undissolved crystals
in the solution; this creates a super-saturated solution in which the
copper will not corrode and thus will be stable. Perform maintenance
after electrode has been used in a situation where contamination could
have occurred (e.g., salt water). Chloride contamination changes the
chemical reactions and the reference potential becomes a lower
composite with the error being –20 mV at concentrations of 5 ppt and
–95 mV at concentrations of 10 ppt.
•
Keep a few spares on hand. Electrodes do get lost now and then and you
need to have extras to continue your work.
•
Keep one fresh electrode in the office or shop to be used to calibrate
your field electrodes. Clean field electrodes if they are more than 5 mV
different from your calibrating electrode.
•
Correct for potential variations due to temperature and sunlight. Record
the temperature when taking readings in the event temperature
correction is needed. A temperature correction of 0.5 mV/
°
F or 0.9
mV/
°
C must be either added or subtracted when reference temperature
is above or below ambient temperature, respectively.
•
Shield the electrode from direct sunlight during measurements (e.g.,
place dark tape over clear strip on side of electrode). The potential of a
reference electrode in the sun can decrease from 10 to 50 mV versus an
electrode kept in the dark.
EXPERIMENT 2.1 and EXPERIMENT 2.2
Summary of Contents for CP 1
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