(471d) Simulation of Biocorrosion in Pipe Flow Using an Electrochemical Glass Cell Bioreactor with a Rotating Cylinder Coupon

Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) is a growing problem in the oil and gas industry that results in huge financial losses each year worldwide. Reservoir souring, equipment and pipeline failures due to MIC pitting attacks are of great concerns in field operations. A group of bacteria known as sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) are often the culprits. Currently, the basic understanding of SRB biofilm growth and MIC under flow conditions is still surprising lacking. Mass transfer plays an important role in MIC and fluid flow is related to mass transfer and fluid shear. Fluid shear impacts biofilm attachment and growth that are directly linked to MIC. This work aimed at studying mass transfer and flow effects on MIC due to SRB. It is very inconvenient to use a pipe flow system to study MIC because of the very high requirement on pump flow rates. An electrochemical glass cell bioreactors with a rotating cylinder coupon was used to simulate pipe flows. The ATCC 7757 strain of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans (a common SRB) was used in this work. The carbon steel coupon's rotation speed could be mathematically correlated with the average linear velocity in pipe flow. The experimental results from this work help understand MIC behavior under stagnant and flow conditions. They may also provide criteria for using fluid shear as a potential non-biocidal mitigation method.