MATCOR’s proprietary deep anode system is a cost-effective approach to installing deep anodes.

Recently a customer asked MATCOR to bid the installation of multiple deep anode systems, each consisting of 15 high silicon cast iron anodes to be installed in 350-ft. deep holes. MATCOR provided an alternate proposal based on our proprietary Durammo® system.

2 Major Benefits of Durammo 

1. It eliminates the need for a junction box
2. It requires a lot less cable due to its being a continuous anode system with only two primary cables

Meaningful Cost Savings

When you are looking at 15 individual anodes with hundreds of feet of dual insulated HMWPE/Kynar® or Halar®  (pick your preferred fluorinated polymer – they are very similar in their chemical resistance and are both suitable for deep anode installations), the cabling costs are significant as is the cost of a suitably sized junction box. Multiply these savings over several sites and it can lead to a meaningful costs savings over the typical conventional anode installation.

9 Reasons DURAMMO® Beats Conventional Anode Systems »

Expand Your Scope of Work!

Our client took advantage of the cost savings for the Durammo and awarded MATCOR the installation work and used the cost savings to have MATCOR repair, replace and add additional test stations instead of paying for a lot of additional cable and junction boxes. The Durammo cost savings allowed the operator to expand the scope of work doing more with the monies budgeted on the project.

Talk to your MATCOR representative to see how the Durammo can allow you to get more done with your limited CP budget monies.

To get in touch with our team of experts for more information, to ask a question or get a quote, please click below. We will respond by phone or email within 24 hours. For immediate assistance, please call +1-215-348-2974.

Josh Johnston, MATCOR’s director of sales, wanted to share a recent conversion of a new customer to the growing list of satisfied Durammo Deep Anode System users.  As Josh explained, “the Durammo is a salesman’s dream product. It offers our customers an innovative product that has an amazing track record. Its design makes it safer and easier to install because it comes preassembled ready to immediately lower down the hole.”

A complete description of the Durammo deep anode system is available here.

As Josh continued, “The hardest part about selling the Durammo, is that it is different than what they have used and what others are offering. There is a certain leap of faith that we ask customers to take when trying something different. I can explain to them that it is less expensive, has a longer operating life, is safer and easier to install, that several thousands of these are installed across the country and around the world, some with more than 20 years in service. It all sounds great, but it is different. That is my job, to convince people to do something different.”

One such company is Enerfin Resources Company, a midstream company operating natural gas and crude oil field services assets in Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana. MATCOR met with them in the Fall of 2019 and explained to the Enerfin team the benefits of the Durammo deep anode system. As Josh noted, “Enerfin was willing to try this “new to them” technology, based on the value we offered.”

In March, MATCOR installed three of the Durammo systems for Enerfin. Tony Gustin, Project Development & Construction Manager noted, “the installation of these systems was very professional and the factory assembled system dropped in place as easy as advertised. We are sold on this product and look forward to using MATCOR and the Durammo system on many future projects.”

If you are ready to try something better, but different for your next deep anode system project, contact MATCOR and we would be happy to help you take the next step.

Contact a Corrosion Expert

This article explores the carbon footprint of cathodic protection deep anode systems and compares it to that of a typical passenger car.

Deep Anode Systems

Deep Anode Systems are commonly used throughout the CP industry as a cost-effective means to discharge significant amounts of current to protect pipelines over long distances or large structures in a small area. One of the common components in a deep anode system design is the vent pipe. 

The deep anode system vent pipe serves two important related functions:

• To prevent gas blockage that will impede the operation of the anode system
• Prevents the accumulation of chlorine concentrations where chlorides are available

Both issues are directly related to the electro-chemical reactions that occur at the anode to coke backfill, and coke backfill to earth interfaces. 

There are two basic types of anodes used in deep anode systems—conventional “massive” anodes, and dimensionally stable anodes.

The conventional “massive” anodes are those anodes that consume as part of the electro-chemical reaction and as such their mass is critical in determining the system’s performance life. The dimensionally stable anodes, typically Mixed Metal Oxide (MMO), are catalytic in nature and do not consume as part of the anodic reaction.

Cathodic Protection Reactions

The primary cathodic protection reactions all involve generating gas:

In a properly functioning deep anode system, the gases that occur from these reactions predominantly involve the coke backfill creating carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.  If chlorides are present, some percentage of chlorine gas will also be generated. 

The Importance of Venting the Deep Anode System

The gases generated in the coke column typically do not rapidly diffuse into the earth around the coke column and thus will build up. These gases are not electrically conductive and once enough gas builds up around the anode, then the anode can no longer effectively discharge current—a phenomenon known as gas blockage. If Chlorides are present, the chlorine gas reacts with water to create hydrochloric and hypochlorous acids that can attack the cable insulation and cause permanent damage. This is why it is important to properly vent these gases that are a part of the electro-chemical reaction that must occur for CP to function.

What’s the Carbon Footprint?

Given that deep anode systems generate gas, an interesting, although not commonly asked question, is how much carbon dioxide a typical deep anode system generates—in other words, what is the carbon footprint of a deep anode cathodic protection system.

With a few worst-case assumptions and a little stoichiometric chemistry analysis we can answer this question. Assuming all the reactions are generating carbon dioxide and there is no oxygen generation, then for every 4 electrons generated, one CO₂ molecule is generated.

One amp-year is equal to 3.1536 x 10⁷ amp seconds or coulombs. One Faraday or 96.487 coulombs is equal to one mole of electrons, therefore, one amp-year is equal to 326.84 moles of electrons. With the 4 to 1 ratio of electrons to CO₂, that means that for every mole of electrons, 0.25 moles of CO₂ are generated. CO₂ has a molar mass of 44.01 g/mol, so for each amp year a total mass of 3,596 grams of CO2 is generated.

For a nominal 50 amp anode system, that would mean a maximum generation of 180 kg of CO₂ per year if CO₂ was the only gas generated.

How much CO2 is 180 kg/year?

The EPA estimates that the typical passenger vehicle generates 4,600 kg of CO₂ per year.

Therefore, your 50 amp deep anode system generates about 4%—or just 1/25^th—of what a typical passenger car generates annually.

If you have other technical questions, or for information on MATCOR’s deep anode cathodic protection solutions, please contact us at the link below.

Contact a Corrosion Expert