Reinforced concrete seawater cooling towers provide cooling system to SABIC plants. Since 2006, all reinforced concrete seawater cooling towers and their basins have been constructed with built-in Cathodic Prevention (CP) systems to prevent chloride-induced corrosion of the reinforcing steel, which had been a major cause in deterioration and premature failure of seawater structures in the past.Impressed current cathodic prevention (ICCP) systems were designed and installed to prevent chloride-induced corrosion of steel reinforcement in reinforced concrete seawater cooling towers and their basins. The anode system consisted of mixed metal oxide coated titanium expanded mesh ribbon and titanium conductor bar. For better current control and uniform current distribution across the entire areas of the cooling towers & basins, the CP system was split into >200 independently controlled anode zones primarily based on exposure environment and then on zone size. The entire CP system is monitored and adjusted using a customized remote monitoring system (i.e. software & hardware).The anode design, zone configuration, installation practices, special features & operation of the remote monitoring system, and the initial performance of the CP systems are described and discussed. The CP systems were successfully commissioned and energized. The specified criteria have already been met at 1409 (79%) monitoring locations out of the total of 1780 (for all 3 structures) and the polarisation growth in the negative direction is gradually increasing with time. The power supply and remote monitoring system that was specifically designed for this project has proved to be an essential tool for monitoring, assessing and controlling of such a large CP system.
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