Dominic “Don” Gervasio

Taking High Temperature Electrodes to the Next Level of Simplicity Isn’t So Simple

Sulfur and corrosion prevent accurate reference sensing

The Gervasio lab team in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering is developing a silver wire electrode for use in extremely high temperature applications. These reference electrodes have a number of uses in industry including corrosion control for petroleum storage tanks, molten salt vessels for heat transfer and energy storage in solar and nuclear power plants. They also have applications for process control in metal extraction and metal forming reactors.

A STABLE REFERENCE ELECTRODE FOR INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES

One form is a silver silver-sulfide electrode (SSSE) that maintains its reference potential at low and high temperatures whether sulfur is present or not. This immunity to sulfur is important since sulfur in the system will alter the reference potential provided by commercially available reference electrodes. A stable reference electrode potential in time is needed for reliable sensing, process and corrosion control in many industrial processes.

First Practical High Temperature Working Reference Electrode Developed

The team developed and patented the first practical high temperature working reference electrode, a silver/silver chloride reference electrode (SSE) which is a silver wire in a quartz shield with a porous tip that can operate at temperatures from room temperature to as high as 900 degrees Centigrade. This SSE is especially important for applications above 100 degrees Centigrade since previously only water-based reference electrodes were available. The present work with the SSE will extend prior art of the SSE. to allow for operation not just at high temperatures, but by giving an unchanging potential in the presence of sulfur, a problematic impurity that is often found in many industrial applications. Furthermore, the new design of the SSE will eliminate the need for the fragile quartz shield to simplify the use of a reference electrode in the field.

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