Sustainable tools - corrosion and cathodic protection

Overview

Sustainability is a core attribute for an ICE Engineer and corrosion management can be used as an effective tool to support sustainable and low carbon development.

As engineers, owners and operators of sustainable structures we have a responsibility to ensure the best use of our current natural resources, using less materials and ensuring that those materials used will last as long as possible and can be completely recycled and reused in the future.

In this talk, guest speaker, Paul Segers will demonstrate how corrosion management can be used as an effective tool to support sustainable and low carbon development - now and in the future.

Understanding how corrosion works and how corrosion can be controlled enable us to:

• Use less material
• Ensure the longest maintenance free operational life
• Ensure a higher level of recyclability at the end of service life
• Ultimately saving money and the environment, by providing a means of sustainable development and operation of our infrastructure.

Carbon values

Recycled steel produces approximately 0.255 tons of CO₂ per ton when compared with approximately 1.7 ton of CO₂ per ton of virgin steel, this corresponds to an 85% reduction of the CO₂ emissions during steel production.

The published world production of crude steel in 2015 was approximately 2,714 million tons of steel @ 1.7 tons of CO₂/ton, equivalent to 4,614 million tons CO₂ and 4,462 million tons of cement @ 0.97 tons of CO₂/ton, equivalent to 4,328 million tons of CO₂.

Total combined steel and cement production in 2015 was approximately 8,942 million tons of CO₂ and continues to increase. (5,843 in 2010, 4,588 in 2006).