10406 Laboratory Investigation of MIC in Hydrotest Using Seawater

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Product Number: 51300-10406-SG

ISBN: 10406 2010 CP

Author: Kaili Zhao, Tingyue Gu, Czar Ivan T. Cruz and Ardjan Kopliku

Publication Date: 2010

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Microbiologically Induced Corrosion (MIC) is a potential threat associated with hydrotesting. It has been established that Sulfate Reducing Bacteria (SRB) can utilize hydrocarbons or even live on CO2 – H2 autotrophically. Pitting due to MIC during hydrotesting itself may not be a serious problem, because its duration is limited to several days or months. The biofilms left behind after the hydrotest may present a serious threat once the pipelines are commissioned and used for many years, because pipeline fluids may contain a sufficient amount of nutrients for biofilms to flourish. This laboratory investigation was conducted to study the MIC threat in hydrotests using seawater. Arabian and Gulf of Mexico (GoM) seawater samples were collected from offshore locations. Quantitative PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) analysis was used to detect SRB in seawater samples. It was found that offshore GoM “clean seawater” did not contain a sufficient amount of organic carbons to support the rapid growth of biofilms. Enriched seawater spiked with SRB was used to speed up biofilm growth. An MIC prediction software program based on the mechanistic Biocatalytic Cathodic Sulfate Reduction (BCSR) theory was able to predict longer term SRB pitting using short-term pitting data in laboratory experiments for MIC in hydrotest.

Keywords: hydrotest, SRB, MIC, seawater, THPS, model