Microbiologically-influenced corrosion (MIC): Development of a model system to investigate the role of biofilm communities within MIC and their contro

微生物腐蚀(MIC)是一个主要的工业问题，据估计，仅石油和天然气行业每年10亿GB的腐蚀成本就有20%左右。生物膜是表面附着的微生物群落，比未附着的细菌对抗菌剂更具耐受性，并可在任何与水接触的表面形成。它们的存在增加了底层金属的腐蚀率，造成了重大损害，并在维修和管理方面都带来了成本。目前，公司使用杀菌剂剂量试图控制细菌生长。然而，关于杀生剂方案对生物膜的发育动态、群落组成、功能或生存能力的影响知之甚少，也没有对其有效性进行外部验证。该项目将开发和验证一个具有代表性的模型系统，在该系统中，在运行管道中发现的典型接种可以作为生物膜进行培养和调查。然后可以介绍商业上可用的杀生剂以及新的抗菌化合物，并进行以下调查：对生物膜活力的影响使用qPCR和NGS等分子微生物方法改变生物膜内不同物种的流行率和活性利用跨学术界和行业使用的方法改变底层金属的腐蚀率通过收集的数据，上述方法之间的机理关系，为不同杀菌剂的具体影响提供新的见解，并可能突出杀菌剂开发的新方法。这种模式的开发将有助于朝着循证杀菌剂剂量的方向发展，使资产所有者能够减少MIC的影响，从而降低成本、提高可持续性和延长资产寿命。DNV GL作为行业合作伙伴的贡献将使学生能够接触到行业标准实践以及具有代表性的样品和测试条件。产生的数据可能会影响正在通过NACE国际(nace.org)起草的关于杀菌剂剂量的新标准的建议。

Microbiologically-Influenced Corrosion (MIC) is a major industrial concern, estimated to contribute around 20% of the £1 billion annual cost of corrosion to the oil and gas industry alone. Biofilms are surface-adherent microbial communities that are more tolerant towards antimicrobials than unattached bacteria and will form on any water-contacting surface. Their presence increases rates of corrosion of underlying metals, causing significant damage and representing cost in both repair and management. Currently companies use biocide dosing to attempt to control bacterial growth. However, little is known about the impact of biocide regimens on the developmental dynamics of biofilms, their community composition, function or viability and there has been no external validation of their efficacy. This project will develop and validate a representative model system in which inoculate typical of those found in operating pipelines can be cultured as biofilms and investigated. Commercially available biocides as well as novel antimicrobial compounds can then be introduced, and the following investigated: Impact on biofilm viability Changes in prevalence and activity of different species within the biofilm using molecular microbial methods such as qPCR & NGS Changes in corrosion rate of the underlying metal with methods used across academia and industry Mechanistic relationships between the above through the data collected, providing novel insights into the specific effects of different biocides and potentially highlighting new approaches to biocide development. The development of such a model will support a move towards evidence-based biocide dosing, empowering asset owners to reduce the effect of MIC leading to reduced cost, increased sustainability and increased asset lifetime. The contribution of DNV GL as industrial partners will give the student access to both industrial standard practices and representative samples and testing conditions. The data produced will likely influence the recommendations of a new standard being drafted on biocide dosing through NACE International (nace.org).