An Overview of Cathodic Protection
Cathodic protection is the process in which American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) underground piping and propane tanks are protected from aggressive rust. (That is to say, some rusting is not necessarily harmful.) Cathodic protection addresses the steel disease (oxidation) by providing a protective layer to prevent further rusting. There exist two means in which cathodic protection for metal is achieved for underground piping: galvanized anodes (often referred to as sacrificial anodes) and impressed currents (typically referred to as impressed current cathodic protection).