Most modern pasteurizers are continuous feeds where the bottles are alternately sprayed by various temperature water jets. The water is highly corrosive due to the high amount of aeration occurring in the spray. The water is a good electrolyte for galvanic corrosion couples from the different alloys used in construction. In addition, within this warm, wet, and oxygenated environment are several sites where bacteria and other biologicals can grow and create deposits. These sites can easily become oxygen deprivation cells as previously discussed.
Cathodic protection works very well in preventing both types of corrosion.
The platinum electrodes are attractive because of their passivity and long service life. One problem when applying this technology to the brewery industry is that oxygen can form as a byproduct at the cathode. The oxygen comes from a breakdown of the water if the over-voltage is too high. This is not a problem for external equipment but would lead to badly oxidized beer if used in conditioning or lagering tanks. The solution in these cases is to use resin- impregnated carbon.