Marine organisms breed prolifically in relatively shallow water where offshore structures are often situated. This makes seawater pipework particularly vulnerable to blockages, which can have serious consequences for the efficiency of seawater cooling and fire fighting equipment.

Pump Unit Construction

Cathelco Ltd. pump protection anti-fouling units are designed to be mounted at the bottom of pumps, often inside the stilling tube or caisson. These marine growth prevention systems consist of special copper and aluminum anodes housed within a steel framework and fed with an electrical current from a transformer / rectifier. The anode mounting frame acts as the cathode, creating a completely self-contained unit, which is electrically isolated from the pump using a specially designed isolation kit.

Controlled Dosing

Although the seawater is dosed to higher concentrations than sea-going vessels, this is sufficient to prevent marine growth and suppress corrosion within the pipework. The Cathelco Ltd. unit is automatically activated when the pump is switched on, however, a low dosage is maintained at all times to keep the bottom of the pump and strainer area free from bio-fouling.

Anode Life

The life of the anodes is calculated to coincide with the scheduled maintenance period for the pumps, typically at intervals of between 2 and 5 years.

Deck Mounted and Tank Systems

In some cases, it is not practical to fit anode units within stilling tubes due to lack of space or unusually high dosage requirements. An alternative is to provide a deck mounted electrolysis tank with a pipework system to distribute the dosed seawater to the bottom of each pump, where it is carried throughout the pipework by the seawater flow.