Environmentally Sealed Groundbed
Technology
Mike Ames
VP Engineering
SAE Inc.,
Houston, TX
www.saeinc.com
Western Regional Gas Conference
Tempe, AZ
Aug 21, 2012
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Restoring Deep Anode Systems as a Viable
Cathodic Protection Solution
Long a crucial mainstay of pipeline cathodic protection systems,
traditional deep anode beds are currently falling into disfavor due to their
negative environmental impacst and long term liability issues.
Understanding and fixing the problem…
 Why traditional deep anode designs are in disfavor
 New Requirements: Confronting new constraints
 A Solution: Develop a new deep anode technology
 Benefits: Technical, environmental and financial
 Applications: The new deep well should have wide applicability
 Performance Improvements: lower costs, longer life, higher current beds
 Summary
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The Issues and Constraints
Why Deep anode systems are in disfavor…
 Water pollution has forced environmental regulatory agencies and
landowners to reduce the use or practicality of deep wells and in some
cases prohibit the use of traditional deep anode beds in sensitive areas
 Numerous agencies also restrict anode bed depths, inhibiting the installation
of suitably effective cathodic protection solutions and thereby increasing the
failure risks for protecting pipelines and other infrastructure
 Increasingly, governing agencies require abandonment bonds to assure
closure of depleted anode beds, reducing the viability of the deep anode
business case and creating long term possible legal and financial liabilities,
requiring a return to the site to install seals.
 Current anode system designs lead to early depletion of deep anode beds,
with correspondingly lower current output levels and erratic outputs, due to
depth limitations keeping them from aquifers.
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The Challenges
To restore the viability of the deep anode bed:
 Shallower deep wells deplete more quickly – provide for real deep wells
again.
 Extend the stable anode operational spans – reduce tap changing need
 Reduce the negative environmental impact of deep anode systems,
particularly in the area of underground aquifer contamination, soil
contaminant migration, and decommissioning – make it sealed
 Provide compliance to increasingly stringent environmental regulations
negatively impacting on traditional deep anode systems – change design to
make them acceptable for wide spread use.
 Improve the business case for the use of deep anode beds – cost over life
span vs up front costs
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Typical Coke Breeze Deepwell Groundbed
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Environmental Issues – Coke Breeze Beds

Coke breeze allows water/contaminants to travel up and down the hole

Vent pipes required are also open pathways for contamination/water

Vent pipes emit toxic and noxious gases to the surface

Aquifer zones are increasingly not allowed to be penetrated by coke
breeze beds

Sealing coke breeze beds are difficult using standard technology of
casings, or cement packed zones

It is possible to place the casing or concrete seal zone in the wrong
spot.

Fractured aquifers cannot be adequately sealed and allow current
output from the coke breeze bed (PVC type casings)

Steel casings are consumed by current from the groundbed and are not
practical for aquifer sealing with coke breeze backfills
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The New Technology Requirements
Develop an anode system that will…
 Satisfy regulatory agency and landowner concerns for the protection of
underground aquifers and reduce owner liability issues
 Extend anode life expectancy
 Improve anode electrical and environmental performance
 Remove the need for vent pipe as a contaminant path
 Provide for end of life closure at the time of installation, thereby reducing
downstream costs and legal liability
 Utilize existing anode installation methods and equipment
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The Solution
Seven years of product development have yielded an innovative anode
cathodic protection system that:
 Uses a low permeable back fill - a new water impermeable, conductive solid
backfill that protects aquifers and excludes soil migration
 Protects the Anode - an anode coating material that extends anode bed
lifetimes significantly (> 2 times) by eliminating chloride and sulfide attack
 Improve anode electrical performance – electronic flow inside the
groundbed, ionic flow outside
 Enhances aquifer protection by eliminating vent pipes – push gas generation
to the outside of the column. Also improves land owner acceptance
 Allows the installation of full sized deep wells to provide adequate protection
to pipelines and infrastructure. A return to appropriately sized deep wells
 Is compatible with normal installation methods and equipment for all CP systems
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The Technical Benefits
 Improved electrical performance by significantly increasing the amount of
energy transferred from the anode to the soil through an electronic process
 Extended anode life expectancy, greater than double typical beds
 More efficient and consistent anode performance over its effective life
 Versatile and flexible technology allows deep anode beds to be constructed
to nearly unlimited depths, using a variety of anode configurations suitable
to the client’s cathodic protection design
 Water impermeable design eliminates aquifer contamination paths
 Does not require out-gassing vent pipes, simplifying deployment
 Utilizes standard anode bed installation practices and equipment
 Both custom and cost efficient standard anode bed designs are available
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The Technical Benefits
Anode design and installation practices
unchanged and even simplified:
 Anode design based on measured soil
characteristics like resistivity, moisture
and salt content, and current output
requirements
 Common anode bed installation methods
and equipment can be used
 Minor learning curve to deploy the new
deep anode technology
 Vent pipes not used
 Overall benefit: same or lower design
and deployment costs, longer
performance
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Environmental Issues
Eliminating the vent pipe will eliminate these concerns !
Note: Noxious gases and coke breeze deposits from existing vent pipe
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Vent Gasses can be very corrosive and
noxious
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Corrosive liquids/gasses
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NO chance of gas in shunt boxes
EnvirAnode 9 Years
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Coke Backfill 9 Years
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Aquifer contamination paths eliminated
Diagram of the sealed deep anode technology
 Aquifer water does not migrate through the
solid anode bed, thus ensuring no crosscontamination flow between aquifers
 The entire anode column solidifies to provide
an impervious permanent seal in the well
 It can be imagined as a huge carbon anode
in the soil
 Surface contamination cannot penetrate to
the underground aquifers through solid media
 Gassing is dissipated on the outside surface
of the column into the soil
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The Environmental Benefits
 Suitable for use in any cathodic protection system
 Especially well suited for use in sensitive environmental areas and where
underground aquifers are present, or soil contaminant migration may occur
 Impermeable design inherently protects underground aquifers by sealing
against contamination from surface and underground water sources
 Anode design effectively manages out gassing to eliminate the need for a
vent pipe
 No anode bed environmental decommissioning costs as the bed is originally
installed as a sealed system
 Complies with regulatory requirements as an effective aquifer seal and
eliminates landowner concerns of aquifer contamination
 Restrictive states such as Texas and Kansas have accepted this system as
an effective seal
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Applications
This new anode and solid backfill technology is ideally suited for:
 New impressed current anode bed installations
 Retrofit anode bed replacements
 Cathodic protection system upgrades
 Cathodic protection systems located in environmentally sensitive areas
where underground aquifers or soil contamination issues exist
 Sites where traditional anode bed designs are prohibited by landowners or
environmental regulatory agencies
 Sites where aging infrastructure requires a higher performance cathodic
protection system than that delivered by traditional CP solutions
 Sites where longer life anode beds are required or specified
 Sites where traditional CP solutions do not yield a viable ROI
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The Technology: A Closer Look
Constructed from specially formulated anode and backfill materials
that:
 Promote electronic transfer of energy into the soil, while significantly
dissipating the gases into the soil that would normally be vented to the
atmosphere
 Are water impermeable, reducing anode deterioration from electrolytic
processes, and thereby significantly extending anode lifetimes while
simultaneously improving electrical performance
 Are chemically stable for a very low environmental impact
Pre-cast anode components:
 Eliminate the mechanical and cost issues of using centering devices during
the installation phase
 Are assembled using dual jacketed insulated cables
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The Technology: A Closer Look
Fabrication details:
 Both the pre-cast anodes and backfill column are constructed from
engineered hygroscopic carbonaceous materials that form a solid system
 Once solidified, the entire anode system is water impermeable
(with about the same permeability as bentonite)
 Pre-cast anodes contain a Mixed Metal Oxide (MMO) coated electrode core
 Pre-cast anodes are firmly secured to dual jacketed cables with a double
compression crimp
 The crimped connection is then embedded in resin to form an impermeable
seal against water and other corrosive agents
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The Technology: A Closer Look
Diagram of the new deep anode technology
system as installed:
 Aquifer water does not migrate through the
solid anode bed, thus ensuring no crosscontamination flow between aquifers
 The entire anode column solidifies to provide
an impervious permanent seal in the well
 It can be imagined as a huge carbon anode
in the soil
 Carbon consumption is from the outside
surface towards the MMO core
 Gassing is dissipated on the outside surface
of the column into the soil
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Anode Bed Cross Section
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The Technology: Improved Performance
Technical characteristics of the new deep anode technology:
Technical Characteristic
Value
Compression | Strength
2,500 to 3,000 psi
Permeability (Water Absorption)
3.8 x 10-7 cm/sec
Hygroscopic Behaviour
Absorbs 34.4% of its
Weight in Water
Leachates
Meets and exceeds US and
Canadian Regulatory
Requirements
Carbon Loss per Amp Year
0.5 kg or 1.1 pounds
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The Technology: Improved Performance
Accelerated Life Cycle Testing Results:
 Anode life expectancy
double or more
40
35
30
25
Years 20
15
10
5
0
Technology
Traditional Anode Bed
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New Deep Anode System
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Sealed Bed Performance - Refinery
Rectifier Output
Date
Volts
Amps
Resistance Comments
9/12/2007
Installed new groundbed
10/9/2007
3.16
10.20
0.310
Commissioned new groundbed
10/15/2007
5.02
31.50
0.159
Increased output
11/5/2007
5.01
30.60
0.164
12/19/2007
4.96
29.55
0.168
1/9/2008
5.02
29.70
0.169
2/14/2008
4.96
28.20
0.176
3/20/2008
5.00
29.10
0.172
4/8/2008
5.05
29.85
0.169
4/29/2008
5.12
30.45
0.168
5/14/2008
5.06
30.30
0.167
6/26/2008
4.91
33.45
0.147
7/16/2008
5.13
30.00
0.171
8/13/2008
5.12
30.15
0.170
9/10/2008
5.05
29.70
0.170
10/28/2008
5.04
29.85
0.169
11/12/2008
5.06
29.70
0.170
12/10/2008
5.16
30.60
0.169
1/21/2009
5.12
30.00
0.171
2/23/2009
5.09
30.15
0.169
3/23/2009
5.03
29.40
0.171
4/28/2009
5.10
29.40
0.173
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Annual Survey
Old rectifier replaced with new
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Sealed Bed Performance – Salt Water Deep
Well – Near King Ranch
Installation Date:
Initiated Date:
Date
Volts DC
Amps DC
GB Ohms
25-Oct-05
5-Jan-06
41 DaysCure time
5-Jan-06
7.2
30
0.2400
7-Apr-06
7.4
31
0.2387
30-Aug-06
7
52.8
0.1326
13-Dec-06
8.4
73
0.1151
5-Oct-07
8.35
76.8
0.1087
3-Mar-09
8.4
72.1
0.1165
1.91
2.07
1.68
2.35
2.72
2.05
2.40
2.67
2.42
1.93
1.74
1.62
1.48
1.59
1.10
29.73
1.93
2.08
1.70
2.50
2.70
2.08
2.40
3.00
2.42
1.93
1.74
1.62
1.70
1.60
1.40
30.80
4.10
3.67
1.59
5.54
5.93
2.86
4.95
3.91
4.03
4.24
3.44
3.05
2.38
1.16
2.08
52.93
5.30
5.20
2.50
6.90
7.20
3.10
5.80
6.80
6.00
6.10
5.40
4.40
3.40
2.40
3.50
74.00
5.89
4.98
2.95
6.79
8.11
4.42
5.49
5.22
6.16
5.77
6.11
4.86
3.28
2.73
4.03
76.79
5.40
4.10
1.80
6.10
7.20
3.30
5.80
1.50
7.60
7.30
7.70
5.40
3.90
3.70
1.30
72.10
Anode #
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Total Amps
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Resistance Value Jan 06 to Oct 10
Ohms
0.3000
0.2500
0.2000
0.1500
Ohms
0.1000
0.0500
0.0000
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3 Kansas Deep Wells
Kendall 6" Johnson #13
Lewis
9.79
22.12
22.28
7.1
32.2
30.7
1.37887324 0.686956522 0.725733
C1 F6
C2 F6
C2 F6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Sum All
Act Ohms
Structure
Well Info
Diam "
Depth Ft
Top Void
0.53
1.21
1.86
0.60
0.54
0.49
0.39
0.48
0.37
0.26
0.22
0.35
0.39
2.29
2.01
2.50
2.07
4.72
4.15
2.30
1.80
3.58
4.18
2.23
3.58
2.20
2.40
2.26
1.31
0.96
0.86
4.23
5.55
6.26
3.84
1.77
1.50
7.69
1.273
-1.335
35.41
0.625
-0.979
33.14
0.672
-0.871
7.00
6.00
5.00
4.00
DC Amps
DCVolts
DCAmps
GB Ohms
Tap C/F
Anode
3.00
2.00
1.00
250
40
475
40
475
200
0.00
1
2
3
4
Deepest
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5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Shallowest
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Resistance Value of 36 Beds in a Refinery
0.700
0.600
Bed Ohms
0.500
0.400
Days at Commissioning
0.300
Linear (Days at Commissioning)
0.200
0.100
0.000
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Days At Commissioning
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Design Information Requested
All deep well groundbed designs are based on common data
•
What is the soil resistivity profile in the area?
•
How much current is required of the bed?
•
Is there a diameter or depth restriction?
•
What is the distance between the well head and the shunt box?
•
What is the desired life span at the required current output level?
“Cookie Cutter” groundbeds have been established by several companies based on
their experience in a given area and with the common materials they have used
successfully. This at times gets into their purchasing departments as the
specifications for every groundbed. When bids go out, new technology is
ignored by the purchasing agents as they do not fit the letter of the spec.
Cookie cutter groundbed specifications keep out good new technologies and if your
company has them, they should be reviewed to allow consideration of this new
technology.
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The Technology: Regulatory Approvals
Relevant State environmental agencies that have restricted the use of
deep well anode system are being contacted.
To date this technology has been accepted by:
 The Railroad Commission of Texas
 The State of Kansas Corporation Commission
Notes:
 Petitioning approvals now in Minnesota, Florida, New Jersey, California
 California does not require the new sealed well’s “destruction” at end of life,
as the bed is technically installed in a “closed” state. This has saved
customers $5,000 per well on closure costs.
 Kansas may not require “closure bonds” when the sealed bed is used.
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Summary: Key Attributes
 The new anode bed technology is constructed of highly conductive, water
impermeable pre-cast anodes and solid column backfill
 Dual jacketed cables and double crimped, resin encased connections ensure the new
anode design is sealed against water and corrosive agents
 Engineered carbonaceous and environmentally neutral materials harness efficient
electronic energy transfer to eliminate the need for out-gassing vent pipes
 Anode life is extended, projections show up to double
 The new anode technology systems are designed and built to the depth and energy
output levels required
 The system seals underground aquifers against surface and cross-contamination
 The materials eliminate any soil migration paths
 Eliminates future shutdown and decommissioning costs and liabilities
 Accepted by Environmental Regulatory Agencies for use in impressed current deep
well anodes
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Summary: Benefits
 A CP solution with sound technical, environmental and financial performance
 A CP solution that prevents any soil migration issues
 Flexible and versatile CP tool suitable for new and retrofit anode beds
 High performance electrical characteristics with an extended lifetime
 Inherent protection against the contamination of aquifers from surface or
underground sources – a major environmental and landowner concern
 Environmentally compliant design built from purpose engineered materials
 Elimination of future decommissioning costs and attendant liabilities
 All factors contribute to excellent bottom-line performance and ROI
 Finally, and most importantly…
The new technology restores the viability of deep anode solutions
as a critical tool in the struggle against infrastructure corrosion and
preserves landowner’s water resources.
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Questions?
E mail: mames@saeinc.com
Mike Ames 281 445 9311
SAE Inc.
www.saeinc.com
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