Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Summary
Monitoring of microbial corrosion is always difficult which any significant future deviation can be interpreted
because of the sessile nature of bacteria and the lack of as a sign of a potential problem.
meaningful correlation between routine bacteria counts The following sections describe the current methods
and bacterial activity. This problem is further aggravated used for routine monitoring, specifically for Aramco's
in a large oilfield water system because of size and large oilfield water systems. The limitations of these
sampling difficulties. This paper discusses some methods, the difficulties encountered, and some sug-
monitoring techniques currently used in the oil industry, gested studies for modification and improvement are
their limitations, and possible areas for improvement. discussed also.
These improved techniques are in use or will be im-
plemented in the Aramco systems. Current Monitoring Methods
The methods currently used by Aramco can be catego-
Introduction rized as (1) cell counts in water, (2) metal surface ex-
Microbial corrosion has caused some failures in seawater amination, (3) scraping solids analysis, (4) water quality
injection systems. Whether or not microbial corrosion analysis, and (5) evaluation of current bactericide
represents a major corrosion mechanism in the oilfield treatment.
water system is a controversial question. However, it has
certainly become a major concern in recent years. Cell Counts in Water. These are used to detect bacterial
There are two approaches in dealing with microbial organisms and their concentrations. It is recognized that
corrosion problems in a large oilfield water system. One confirmation of free-flowing bacteria in the water does
approach is to start treating the system with bactericide not automatically mean trouble. However, if bacteria
in conjunction with regular scraping when the system is counts demonstrate a definite increase across the system,
commissioned. The other is to treat the system only or over a period of time, the odds are that bacteria are ac-
when an impending microbial-related problem is clearly tive and working on the metal somewhere in the system.
defined. In either case, monitoring of microbial corro- Cell counts routinely monitored include sulfate-
sion is essential. reducing bacteria (SRB) , general aerobic bacteria
The first approach is more or less a precautionary (GAB), iron bacteria, and others. SRB are widely
measure. The treatment and selection of bactericides is recognized to be primarily responsible for bacteria-
usually based on past experience and laboratory evalua- induced corrosion in an anaerobic environment. Depend-
tion tests. While the treatment is being implemented, a ing on the nature of the sample to be tested and the types
reliable monitoring program could assess the effec- of problems encountered (or expected) in the field, one
tiveness of the current program of microbial corrosion or several different enumeration techniques are
control. employed.
In the second case, monitoring of microbial corrosion For field work, the method generally used by Aramco
is even more important. It would provide timely infor- is culturing of samples in liquid growth media specifical-
mation toward implementation of a treatment program ly designed for detecting a certain group of organisms.
before the system could get out of control. These laboratory media are prepared using the ap-
The industry's awareness of microbial corrosion has propriate field water as a base, with addition of general
been indicated by the number of papers published in re- growth nutrients for the organisms. The use of field
cent years on this subject. These articles cover a wide water to prepare the media provides a water composition
spectrum of interest from fundamental corrosion similar to that in which the bacteria originated. The
mechanisms to case studies, detection methods, control media are supplemented with other ingredients to create
measures, etc. Although it is not clear to what extent an environment conducive to growth of certain bacteria
microorganisms are responsible for the observed field (e.g., certain reducing agents have to be added into the
corrosion failures, the general consensus still favors ear- SRB media). The media then are dispensed into serum
ly establishment of a routine microbial corrosion vials at exactly 9 mL [9 cm 3 ] each and sealed with rub-
monitoring program. The best approach seems to be the ber stoppers and aluminum seals. After sterilization, the
establishment of solid baseline data for the system after vials are inoculated in the field (using sterile disposable
0149-2136/84/0071·1509$00.25
syringes), followed by lO-fold serial dilution of the
Copyright 1984 Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME original sample into a series of seven or eight medium
JULY 1984 1171
vials. These vials are incubated at the corresponding potential corrosion sites is virtually impossible. Once the
water temperature (as close to the operating temperature system is open, corrosion engineers and microbiologists
as possible) for observation of positive microbial can take this opportunity to conduct various tests.
growth. The microbiological tests related to metal surface ex-
The main reason for using the serial dilution method is amination generally consist of (1) various types of
its simplicity and convenience for field work. This bacteria counts per unit area and (2) visual and
method requires little equipment, reasonable working microscopic examination of the surface for topographical
time, and minimal training of technicians. changes and damages. In our opinion, metal surface ex-
For laboratory testing, other conventional microbio- amination provides the best clues for solving the mystery
logical techniques can be used. These techniques, which of microbial corrosion, and this method deserves more
require the skills of specially trained microbiologists, in- attention.
clude direct microscopic examination, spread plate or
pour plate using solid agar medium, agar shake tubes, Scraping Solids Analysis. Major water-Injection
most probable number (MPN) method, etc. All these systems are scraped regularly, as frequently as monthly.
methods have advantages and disadvantages and one The solids removed by scraping are a composite sample
should be aware of this when conducting a test. of pipe wall deposits that contain corrosion products and
Sometimes, more than one technique is used, depending biomass. A scraping solids analysis may provide infor-
on the kind of information needed and the nature of the mation on the extent of bacterial activities on the metal
test samples. surface.
Recently, a high-quality microscope has become The solids generally are tested for various types of
available in our laboratory for quantitative and bacteria counts per unit weight of dry solids, elemental
qualitative examination of various types of samples. This analysis, and sulfide concentration. They also are tested
microscope is capable of bright- and dark-field, phase- for solids identification, such as total organic carbon
contrast light microscopy as well as epifluorescence (TOC) and volatile suspended solids (VSS) vs. total
microscopy. The epifluorescence examination allows suspended solids (TSS). The total amount of solids
direct counting of the total bacteria population present in removed from a scraping operation is estimated from the
a sample within a short time. Specific stains are used in quantity of sludge found in the receiver and by integra-
this technique to make organisms fluoresce and cells tion of periodic suspended solids measurements made
thereby are differentiated from other nonliving particles during the scraping.
of similar size and shape. These stains, such as acridine
orange (AO) and DAPI (4' ,6-diamidino-2-phenyl- Water Quality Analysis. A water quality analysis
indole), are highly sensitive and specific for nucleic generally provides secondary information on microbial
acids. AO binds specifically with deoxyribonucleic and corrosion. These tests are conducted mainly for other
ribonucleic acids (DNA and RNA); DAPI is a DNA reasons such as water quality assurance for injectivity
stain. This method was developed only in the last few consideration, scaling tendency monitoring, and con-
years but has been widely used in aquatic systems. It is cerns about other corrosion mechanisms. Again, like cell
precise, quantitative, and is considered the most power- counts in water, water analysis itself will not indicate if
ful tool for estimating total numbers of bacteria. the system is suffering from significant microbial corro-
sion. Only the trend of water quality variations may pro-
Metal Surface Examination. Metal surface examina- vide such information and that is where we should focus
tion probably is the only reliable and effective way to our attention.
correlate other bacterial monitoring data with corrosion Parameters routinely monitored include sulfide level,
damage. The metal surfaces referred to here include iron concentration, TOC, TSS, particle counts, dis-
corrosion-monitoring coupons, drop-out spools, and the solved oxygen, redox potential, pH and temperature.
pipe surface.
Corrosion coupons are commonly installed in water Evaluation of Current Bactericide Tre~tment. Water
systems at various sites where a high potential for corro- samples are routinely collected for bacteria counts and
sion, including microbial corrosion, exists. These water analysis as described in previous sections. In addi-
coupons are regularly removed from the system for ex- tion, water samples are periodically collected for special
amination. Before undergoing the routine cleaning pro- field tests to evaluate the performance of the bactericide
cedure for corrosion/pitting rate measurement, the presently used in the system.
coupons are subjected to a series of microbiological Bactericide-persistence tests become critical in large
tests. oilfield water systems in light of the long transit time for
Drop-out spools are used much more selectively than bactericide. Our seawater injection project is a good ex-
corrosion coupons. These spool sections are actually part ample. The nominal time required from bactericide en-
of the piping system and are installed in locations likely trance at the Qurayyah treatment plant to the remote in-
to have a high potential for bacterial growth. Sometimes jection wells is about 24 hours. The bactericide slug,
spool sections are designed to include dead-legs that when reaching the far end of the system, should still be
would simulate worst-case conditions. As operations effective in rendering the water bactericidal.
permit, drop-out spools are removed from the system for Bactericide persistency depends on its stability when
inspection. interfacing with bacteria, metal surfaces, and other con-
The pipe surface is the metal surface least available for taminants in the water. There are two methods being
examination. Unless the system develops a leak or is used to determine the persistence of the bactericide in
shut down for testing and inspection, direct access to the our water systems. The first method is analysis of the