Chloride Extraction from Portland Cement Concrete: A Review

Abstract

Several concrete structures are suffering from chloride attack which causes corrosion of the reinforcements. The chloride attack may be due to the presence of chloride in the constituents materials used in manufacturing reinforced concrete. In the common Patrice, such reinforced concrete structures to be either repaired or replaced and the later is the most common one when chloride content is being high which means much loss for the economy. Several studies have been conducted to investigate the ability of removing the chloride for the contaminated reinforced concrete. This process can prolong the expected life time of the contaminated reinforced concrete structures. This paper is focusing on reviewing the electrochemical chloride extraction (ECE) as an important key to enhance the durability of reinforced concrete structures. The influence of various factors on chloride removal efficiency are reviewed and presented. Various factors including, time of extraction, current density, ratio of cover thickness and side length, initial chloride ion concentration, ratio of cross-sectional area of reinforcement to crosssectional area of specimen, type of the used electrolyte, type of the used cathode and concrete composition as well as its characteristics are reviewed. Moreover, the advantages, the expected drawbacks, the challenges as well as the expected future of the ECE are reviewed and highlighted.