Development of an Environmentally Benign Microbial Inhibitor to Control Internal Pipeline Corrosion Quarterly Report (open access)

Development of an Environmentally Benign Microbial Inhibitor to Control Internal Pipeline Corrosion Quarterly Report

The overall program objective is to develop and evaluate environmentally benign agents or products that are effective in the prevention, inhibition, and mitigation of microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) in the internal surfaces of metallic natural gas pipelines. The goal is to develop one or more environmentally benign (a.k.a. ''green'') products that can be applied to maintain the structure and dependability of the natural gas infrastructure. Previous testing indicated that the growth, and the metal corrosion caused by pure cultures of sulfate reducing bacteria were inhibited by hexane extracts of some pepper plants. This quarter tests were performed with mixed bacterial cultures obtained from natural gas pipelines. Treatment with the pepper extracts affected the growth and metabolic activity of the microbial consortia. Specifically, the growth and metabolism of sulfate reducing bacteria was inhibited. The demonstration that pepper extracts can inhibit the growth and metabolism of sulfate reducing bacteria in mixed cultures is a significant observation validating a key hypothesis of the project. Future tests to determine the effects of pepper extracts on mature/established biofilms will be performed next.
Date: July 30, 2004
Creator: Lowe, Kristine L.; Bogan, Bill W.; Sullivan, Wendy R.; Cruz, Kristine Mila H.; Lamb, Brigid M. & Kilbane, John J., II
System: The UNT Digital Library