A self-driven underground metal pipeline cathodic protection device

Abstract

The present invention discloses a self-driven underground metal pipeline cathodic protection device, including a ground, a metal pipeline member buried under the ground, and also including: a pipeline protection unit connected to the outside of the metal pipeline member for protecting the metal pipeline member; an energy supply unit, including a box body arranged in the ground, the upper and lower parts of the box body are respectively connected to the pipeline protection unit to form a current loop, and is used to provide electric energy to the pipeline protection unit. The present invention buries the energy supply unit in the ground, uses the current generated by the soil microbial fuel cell, and transmits electrons to the metal pipeline member through the pipeline protection unit, so that the metal pipeline member is under the protection of the cathode current, and the metal is protected from corrosion, which effectively slows down the corrosion rate of the metal pipeline. The entire process does not require the use of an additional DC power supply, saving energy and materials.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of underground metal pipeline protection, in particular to a self-driven underground metal pipeline cathode protection device. Background Art

[0002] Pipeline is an important way to transport oil at present, with the characteristics of relatively low transportation cost and high economic benefits. The quality of transportation pipeline is an important guarantee for the safety of oil transportation, and corrosion is an important factor affecting the quality of pipeline. At present, the commonly used methods for corrosion protection of oil pipelines are cathodic protection, adding corrosion inhibitors and protective coating protection. Cathodic protection method is divided into two categories, current cathodic protection method and sacrificial anode method. Cathodic protection technology is a kind of electrochemical protection technology. Its principle is to apply an external current to the surface of the corroded metal structure, and the protected structure becomes the cathode, so that the electron migration caused by metal corrosion is inhibited, avoiding or weakening the occurrence of corrosion;

[0003] However, the above-mentioned pipeline cathodic protection method usually consumes additional energy and materials. During the construction process, additional DC power supply needs to be laid, and the power supply process is greatly affected by the geographical environment.

[0004] The above contents are only used to assist in understanding the technical solution of the present invention, and do not constitute an admission that the above contents are the closest prior art. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a self-driven underground metal pipeline cathodic protection device to solve the problem that the prior art proposed in the above background technology requires additional DC power supply for cathodic protection of underground metal pipelines, which consumes energy and materials, and the power supply process is greatly affected by the geographical environment.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0007] A self-driven underground metal pipeline cathodic protection device comprises a ground, a metal pipeline member buried under the ground, and further comprising:

[0008] The pipeline protection unit is connected to the outside of the metal pipeline and is used to protect the metal pipeline;

[0009] The energy supply unit comprises a box body arranged in the ground, wherein the upper and lower parts of the box body are respectively connected with the pipeline protection unit to form a current loop for providing electric energy to the pipeline protection unit.

[0010] Furthermore, the upper part of the box is set as an air cathode, and the lower part of the box is set as an anode chamber;

[0011] A proton exchange membrane is arranged inside the box and between the anode chamber and the air cathode, and is used for conducting protons from the anode to the cathode.

[0012] Further, the volume of the anode chamber is greater than the volume of the air cathode;

[0013] The anode chamber is buried in the lower part of the ground, and the air cathode is arranged on the upper part of the ground;

[0014] The upper end of the box body is provided with a vent hole which is communicated with the air cathode.

[0015] Furthermore, the anode chamber is filled with soil carrying anaerobic microorganisms, which is used as a material for microbial power generation.

[0016] Furthermore, the pipeline protection unit includes:

[0017] An anode plate is arranged inside the anode chamber, and the anode plate is wrapped by soil carrying anaerobic microorganisms;

[0018] A first wire, one end of which is connected to the anode plate, and the other end of which passes through the box and is connected to the metal pipe member;

[0019] The second wire has one end connected to the air cathode and the other end connected to the metal pipeline member, and is used to form a current loop for the pipeline protection unit.

[0020] Furthermore, a distance is provided between the first conductive wire and the second conductive wire at a connection point of the metal pipe component, so as to generate a negative potential outside the metal pipe component.

[0021] Furthermore, the interior of the anode chamber is an oxygen-free environment, which is used to provide breeding conditions for soil carrying anaerobic microorganisms.

[0022] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0023] 1. The present invention buries the energy supply unit in the ground, utilizes the current generated by the soil microbial fuel cell, and transmits electrons to the metal pipeline parts through the pipeline protection unit, so that the metal pipeline parts are protected by the cathode current, the metal is protected from corrosion, and the corrosion rate of the metal pipeline is effectively slowed down. The whole process does not require the use of additional DC power supply, saving energy and materials. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention.

[0025] Figure numerals: 100, ground; 101, metal pipe fittings; 1, energy supply unit; 2, pipe protection unit; 11, box; 12, anode chamber; 13, proton exchange membrane; 14, air cathode; 141, vent; 21, anode plate; 22, first wire; 23, second wire. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0027] See also Figure 1 , the present invention provides a technical solution:

[0028] A self-driven underground metal pipeline cathodic protection device includes a ground 100, a metal pipeline member 101 buried under the ground 100, and further includes:

[0029] The pipeline protection unit 2 is connected to the outside of the metal pipeline 101 and is used to protect the metal pipeline 101;

[0030] The energy supply unit 1 includes a box body 11 disposed in the ground 100 . The upper and lower parts of the box body 11 are respectively connected to the pipeline protection unit 2 to form a current loop for providing electrical energy to the pipeline protection unit 2 .

[0031] It should be noted that: the energy supply unit 1 is buried in the ground 100, and the current generated by the soil microbial fuel cell is used to transport electrons to the metal pipe part 101 through the pipeline protection unit 2, so that the metal pipe part 101 is under cathode current protection, the metal is protected from corrosion, and the corrosion rate of the metal pipe is effectively slowed down. The whole process does not require the use of additional DC power supply, saving energy and materials.

[0032] As an improvement, Figure 1 As shown, the upper part of the box body 11 is set as an air cathode 14, and the lower part of the box body 11 is set as an anode chamber 12;

[0033] A proton exchange membrane 13 is disposed inside the housing 11 and between the anode chamber 12 and the air cathode 14 , and is used to conduct protons from the anode to the cathode.

[0034] Furthermore, the volume of the anode chamber 12 is greater than the volume of the air cathode 14;

[0035] The anode chamber 12 is buried in the lower part of the ground 100, and the air cathode 14 is arranged on the upper part of the ground 100;

[0036] The upper end of the box body 11 is provided with a vent hole 141 communicating with the air cathode 14 .

[0037] Furthermore, the anode chamber 12 is filled with soil carrying anaerobic microorganisms, which is used as a material for microbial power generation.

[0038] Wherein, the pipeline protection unit 2 comprises:

[0039] The anode plate 21 is disposed inside the anode chamber 12, and the anode plate 21 is wrapped by soil carrying anaerobic microorganisms;

[0040] A first wire 22, one end of which is connected to the anode plate 21, and the other end of which passes through the box 11 and is connected to the metal pipe 101;

[0041] The second wire 23 has one end connected to the air cathode 14 and the other end connected to the metal pipe member 101 , so as to form a current loop for the pipe protection unit 2 .

[0042] In addition, a distance is provided between the first conductive wire 22 and the second conductive wire 23 at the connection point of the metal pipe 101 , so as to generate a negative potential outside the metal pipe 101 .

[0043] Furthermore, the interior of the anode chamber 12 is an oxygen-free environment, which is used to provide breeding conditions for the soil carrying anaerobic microorganisms.

[0044] It should be added that a microbial fuel cell is a device that uses microorganisms to directly convert chemical energy in organic matter into electrical energy. The soil in the anode chamber 12 of the present invention is rich in organic matter and has a large microbial population, and is a natural culture medium for electricity-producing microorganisms. Soil microbial fuel cells can use electricity-producing microorganisms and rich organic matter to decompose these organic matter and release electrons and protons under the action of anode microorganisms. The electrons are transferred to the cathode through an external circuit to form an electric current.

[0045] It should be noted that: in the specific implementation process of the present invention, Figure 1As shown, by filling the anode chamber 12 with soil carrying anaerobic microorganisms, and the air cathode 14 is directly exposed to the upper part of the ground 100, the anode plate 21 generates electrons by the organic matter reduction reaction of the anaerobic microorganisms in the soil, and the air cathode 14 generates electrons by the reduction reaction with oxygen in the air. In this process, the first wire 22 connects the electrons from the anode plate 21 to the outer wall of the metal pipe member 101 to form a cathode current, and the second wire 23 connects the electrons from the outer wall of the metal pipe member 101 to the battery cathode. The protons form a loop through the proton exchange membrane 13 between the anode chamber 12 and the air cathode 14, so that the metal pipe member 101 is protected by the cathode current, and the metal is protected from corrosion. There is no need to lay an additional DC power supply, which reduces the consumption of energy and materials, and also effectively slows down the corrosion rate of the metal pipe.

[0046] In the present invention, the volume of the anode chamber 12 is made larger than the volume of the air cathode 14, so that the volume of the air cathode 14 can be set to be extremely small, while the anode chamber 12 can be set to be larger. In this way, on the premise that the air cathode 14 can react with oxygen in the air to generate a reduction reaction, a large amount of soil carrying anaerobic microorganisms can be accommodated in the anode chamber 12, so that most of the entire box 11 can be buried below 100 degrees below the ground, and the power supply process is less affected by the external geographical environment;

[0047] In addition, the present invention sets the volume of the anode chamber 12 to be larger and the interior of the anode chamber 12 to be an anaerobic environment, which can continuously reproduce anaerobic microorganisms and continuously supply organic matter consumed by microbial reactions, thereby ensuring that the first wire 22 and the second wire 23 can have a continuous and stable current for a long time, so that the metal pipe fittings 101 can be protected for a long time, thereby extending the service life of the metal pipe fittings 101 and improving the reliability of pipeline transportation.

[0048] It should be noted that, in this article, relational terms such as first and second, etc. are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device.

[0049] Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, and that the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A self-driven underground metal pipeline cathodic protection device, comprising a ground (100), a metal pipeline member (101) buried under the ground (100), characterized in that: Also includes: A pipeline protection unit (2) connected to the outside of the metal pipeline component (101) and used to protect the metal pipeline component (101); The energy supply unit (1) comprises a box (11) arranged in the ground (100), wherein the upper and lower parts of the box (11) are respectively connected to the pipeline protection unit (2) to form a current loop for providing electric energy to the pipeline protection unit (2).

2. A self-driven underground metal pipeline cathodic protection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper part of the box (11) is provided as an air cathode (14), and the lower part of the box (11) is provided as an anode chamber (12); A proton exchange membrane (13) is provided inside the box (11) and between the anode chamber (12) and the air cathode (14), and is used to conduct protons from the anode to the cathode.

3. A self-driven underground metal pipeline cathodic protection device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The volume of the anode chamber (12) is greater than the volume of the air cathode (14); The anode chamber (12) is buried in the lower part of the ground (100), and the air cathode (14) is arranged on the upper part of the ground (100); The upper end of the box body (11) is provided with a vent hole (141) which is in communication with the air cathode (14).

4. A self-driven underground metal pipeline cathodic protection device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The anode chamber (12) is filled with soil carrying anaerobic microorganisms, which is used as a material for microbial power generation.

5. A self-driven underground metal pipeline cathodic protection device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The pipeline protection unit (2) comprises: An anode plate (21) is disposed inside the anode chamber (12), wherein the anode plate (21) is wrapped by soil carrying anaerobic microorganisms; A first wire (22), one end of which is connected to the anode plate (21), and the other end of which passes through the box (11) and is connected to the metal pipe member (101); The second wire (23) has one end connected to the air cathode (14) and the other end connected to the metal pipe member (101), and is used to form a current loop for the pipe protection unit (2).

6. A self-driven underground metal pipeline cathodic protection device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The first conductive wire (22) and the second conductive wire (23) are spaced apart at a connection point of the metal pipe member (101), so as to generate a negative potential outside the metal pipe member (101).

7. The self-driven underground metal pipeline cathodic protection device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The interior of the anode chamber (12) is an oxygen-free environment, which is used to provide breeding conditions for soil carrying anaerobic microorganisms.

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