Key Features

• 5,000 kg (11,000 lbs) in weight.
    
• Ideal for:
  - Oil Platform Retrofits
  - Submarine Pipeline Retrofits
  - Reel Barge Pipelines
  - Deep Well Casings
  - Offshore Power Generators
     
• Unique and innovative design incorporating specially formulated metallurgical microstructure.
    
• Each anode individually tested and certified prior to release.
    
• Tailored to produce the required current and design life.
    
• Modular cube design ensure maximum utilization and minimizes reduction in current output during design life.
    
• Versatile, reliable, rugged.
    
• Easily monitored when in service - no maintenance required.

Magnesium Elektron's team of metallurgists and process engineers have worked together with cathodic protection specialists, Cumberland Cathodic Protection Ltd., to develop the Elektron Modular high performance magnesium anode.

The anode is unique in its design in that it is made up from a series of large segments, each having a specially formulated metallurgical structure to ensure that the electrochemical performance is the same across the whole anode. This enables the anode to be consumed in a controlled manner, delivering consistent performance year after year.

1.  Alloy Specification

Four 1,250 kg magnesium modules that make up this unique product are precision cast in Magnesium Elektron's main production foundry, which has a capacity of 10,000 tons per year. Each cast is spectrographically analyzed to ensure that the chemistry of each module meets the required chemical composition. The modules are all cast with a full-length steel insert, which is welded to steel plates at the top and base of the anode.

The top plate of the anode incorporates a lifting eye and an attachment point for cabling. This enables easy connection and installation of the unit in the field.

The four modules are heat treated before final assembly using a proprietary sealant, specially formulated to perform in shallow and deep-sea environments.

3.  Quality Assurance

All Magnesium Elektron products are supplied to the international quality assurance specification BS EN ISO 9001:2000 & ASTM-B-843-93(98).

The quality and performance of each Elektron Modular anode is monitored through a rigorous material sampling and testing regime. The level of quality assurance provided with each anode and its modules is unprecedented in the anode industry.

Each of the four segments that make up the Elektron Modular Anode are sampled and subjected to material testing and certification before shipment to the client's location. This includes the ASTM G97-89 electrochemical test. 

The unique design of the product enables test samples to be taken from the whole cross section of each module. This ensures that every anode produced by Magnesium Elektron performs to the given specifications.

1.  Homogeneous Electrochemical Performance

The electrochemical performance¹ of the anode material is homogeneous over its cross section. Anode material taken from three positions (surface, ¼ section; ½ section) of the anode modules consistently produces over 1000 A-hrs/kg. This is achieved through careful control of the alloy chemistry and microstructure over the whole cross-section of the anode and ensures consistent performance over its entire lifetime. This is unique to the Elektron Modular anode.

1. The performance of the alloy used in the Elektron Modular anode was tested using the standard ASTM G97-892 method. Testing was performed in triplicate.

2.  ASTM G97 "Standard Test Method for Laboratory Evaluation of Magnesium Sacrificial Anode Test Specimens for Underground Applications" (West Conchohocken, PA: ASTM, 1997)

2.  Effect of Current Density on Electrochemical Performance

The electrochemical performance¹ of Elektron Modular Anode material was tested at current densities of 1, 3, and 6 A/m2 in ASTM standard ocean water³. The results show that the anode material consistently produced an output of greater than 1000 A-hrs/kg at all three current densities and demonstrates that the performance of the Elektron Modular anode is not adversely affected by variation of current density.

1.  Electrochemical performance was tested using an adaptation of the NACE TM0190-902 test for aluminum anodes.
2.  NACE Standard TMO190-90, "Standard Test Method- Impressed Current Test Method for Laboratory Testing of Aluminum Anodes" (Houston, TX: NACE 1990)
3.  ASTM D1141-98, "Standard Practice for the Preparation of Substitute Ocean Water" (West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM 1998)

3.  Effect of Electrolyte on Electrochemical Performance

Samples taken from the Elektron Modular Anode were tested in ASTM standard ocean water³; ASTM standard ocean water and bentonite; ASTM standard ocean water and silica sand. The results show that the anode material performs at over 1000 A-hrs/kg when tested in all three media. This demonstrates that the Elektron Modular Anode will maintain its efficiency if buried in the seabed by sediment or drifting sand.

3.  ASTM D1141-98, "Standard Practice for the Preparation of Substitute Ocean Water" (West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM 1998)
1.  Electrochemical tests were carried out using an adaptation of the NACE TM0190-902 test for
aluminum anodes.
2.  NACE Standard TM0190-90, "Standard Test Method- Impressed Current Test Method for Laboratory Testing of Aluminum Anodes" (Houston, TX: NACE 1990)

4.  400 kg Trial Anode Data

A demonstration Elektron Modular Anode was manufactured by Magnesium Elektron in 2003. This was a scale version of the actual 5,000 kg anode and weighed 400kg.

The demonstration anode was subjected to independent testing by Saudi Aramco, who attached it to one of their many well heads located in the Arabian Gulf. The anode was tested for 6 months and then brought to the surface for weighing and inspection.

Through out the test, the current output of the anode was logged and is shown below. There is a small decrease in the current output in the first few weeks of service after which the current output then becomes stable. After weighing, the performance of the trial anode was calculated to be 997 A-hrs/kg (45.4% efficiency).