From technical  point of view, the engineers/ technicians usually relate corrosion to the rusting and wasting away of a pipe which is buried in the ground. In this sense, corrosion can be considered as a process of natural forces working to restore the refined works of man to their original state of complete and uniform equilibrium. Thus, in the case of the buried pipe, corrosion is the process of natural forces working to restore the iron in the steel pipe, through rusting, to its original stable form of iron oxide, or native iron ore. The type of corrosion with which we are most familiar, and the type which causes extensive damage to buried pipe, is electrochemical corrosion.

Cathodic protection is recognized as the most effective method in preventing corrosion of steel or iron structures such as underground pipelines, storage tanks, the interior of water storage tanks, ocean pilings, and electrical transmission towers. Cathodic protection effectively protects underground or submerged metallic structures through the use of a negative potential applied by an external source to the structure. Commonly, once the structure has been made sufficiently negative, environmental corrosion (soil or moisture) is resisted. Buried steel structures will revert back to their natural state as an iron oxide without proper intervention.

Although cathodic protection is the most applicable method of preventing corrosion, the scientific studies have been lasting to improve this technique, particularly in microbiologically enhanced soils, or to invent new innovative techniques, which are desired more effective and more economic.

The purpose of this short-description is to invite the universities/ research centers/ manufacturers to get involved in technical/ scientific experiments to develop an alternative corrosion protection method or to take the most appropriate method one step further through modifying the method for extreme conditions. The required partner profile is of universities, research centers and pipe manufacturers.