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16 - Sulphate-reducing bacteria and their role in corrosion of ferrous materials

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 August 2009

By
Iwona B. Beech  and
Jan A. Sunner
Edited by
Larry L. Barton  and
W. Allan Hamilton
Larry L. Barton
Affiliation:
University of New Mexico
W. Allan Hamilton
Affiliation:
University of Aberdeen
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Summary

INTRODUCTION

In both natural environments and human-made systems, a phylogenetically diverse and heterogeneous group of anaerobic sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) (Barton, 1985; Odom and Singelton, 1993; Postgate, 1984) thrive as members of complex microbial communities, living on surfaces of particles, minerals and manufactured materials, i.e. within biofilms (Characklis and Marshall, 1990; Dar et al., 2005 and references therein).

The presence of biofilms often results in deterioration of colonized substrata. In the case of metallic materials, undesirable change in their properties resulting from material loss under biological influence is termed microbially-influenced corrosion (MIC) or biocorrosion. A number of reviews have been published describing fundamental and practical aspects of MIC (Geesey et al., 2000; Hamilton, 2000; Beech and Coutinho, 2003; Beech and Sunner, 2004).

The annual direct and derived costs of corrosion are estimated to be around 4% of the GNP of developed countries, of which 10–20% are related to biocorrosion (Geesey et al., 2000). In the oil and gas industry, biocorrosion accounts for 15–30% of the corrosion cases, resulting in financial losses in a range of 100 M $ per annum in the USA alone, excluding costs of lost revenues and often necessary remediation treatments. In some cases, for example in the Gulf of Guinea, extremely high rates of pitting-corrosion related to biocorrosion have reduced the life of oil subsea lines to one year (J.-L. Crolet, personal communication).

Type
Chapter
Information
Sulphate-Reducing Bacteria
Environmental and Engineered Systems
 , pp. 459 - 482
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

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