Influence of electrolyte temperature on efficiency of electrochemical chloride removal from concrete

Chloride attack is a serious deterioration mechanism of reinforced concrete structures, causing steel corrosion in concrete. As a repair method, the electrochemical chloride removal technique named desalination was developed and has been applied to many concrete structures. Desalination can extract chloride ions (Cl−) from hardened concrete but it is impossible to remove all Cl− contained in concrete. Therefore, it is important to improve chloride removal efficiency in order to help prevent early deterioration of concrete after desalination. In this study, the influence of the temperature of the electrolyte solution on electrochemical chloride removal efficiency is investigated by chemical analysis to evaluate electrochemical migration of several kinds of ions. As a result, it was found that chloride removal percentage and transference number of Cl− increased by about 10% with a rise of temperature ranging from 20°C to 40°C.