Methanogenic archaea and sulfate reducing bacteria induce severe corrosion of steel pipelines after hydrostatic testing

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2020.01.055

Abstract

Abstract:

Complex interactions within a microbial consortium can induce severe corrosion in oil pipelines. This study investigated the mechanism of microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) that led to failure of X52 steel pipelines after hydrostatic testing. Laboratory hydrostatic testing with untreated lake water and underground water were used to simulate and study the events that led to the actual corrosion. Biofilm analysis, weight loss, and several electrochemical measurements demonstrated rapid corrosion rates after hydrostatic testing. Analysis of microbial community structures revealed that methanogenic archaea and sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB), introduced by the hydrotest water, formed corrosive biofilms on X52 steel coupon surfaces that induced severe pitting.

Key words: Pipeline steel, Microbiologically influenced corrosion, Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), Pitting corrosion

Enze Zhou, Jianjun Wang, Masoumeh Moradi, Huabing Li, Dake Xu, Yuntian Lou, Jinheng Luo, Lifeng Li, Yulei Wang, Zhenguo Yang, Fuhui Wang, Jessica A. Smith. Methanogenic archaea and sulfate reducing bacteria induce severe corrosion of steel pipelines after hydrostatic testing[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2020, 48: 72-83.

Figures/Tables 16

Table 1 Chemical composition of groundwater (GW) and untreated lake water (LW) used in this study.

Composition		Groundwater (GW)	Lake water (LW)
Nitrate	mg/L	0.030	0.036
Fluoride	mg/L	0.347	0.437
Sulfate	mg/L	44.4	236
Chloride	mg/L	84.0	0.09
Phosphate	mg/L	1.19	0.899
Cadmium (Cd)	μg/L	<0.05	5.2
Iron (Fe)	μg/L	12.2	4.4 × 10⁴
Manganese (Mn)	μg/L	2.3	95.6
Lead (Pb)	μg/L	1.1	<0.09
Copper (Cu)	μg/L	2.2	1.65
Zinc (Zn)	μg/L	1.6	0.93
Molybdenum (Mo)	μg/L	0.436	65.3
Aluminum (Al)	μg/L	36.1	3.42

Fig. 1. Relative distribution of (a) bacterial and (b) archaeal 16S rRNA gene sequences at the genus level in the raw LW used for this study.

Fig. 2. FESEM images of X52 steel surfaces after (a) exposing to LW for 14 days, (b) exposing to LW for 30 days, (c) exposing to GW for 14 days, (d) exposing to GW for 30 days, (e) removal of the biofilm from coupons exposed to LW for 14 days, and (f) removal of the biofilm from coupons exposed to LW for 30 days.

Table 2 EDS analysis (wt.%) of exposed surfaces of the X52 steel coupons after exposure to LW or GW after 14 or 30 days.

	C	N	O	P	S	Na	Cl	Cr	Mn	Fe
LW-14 days	18.34	3.10	35.93	8.83	2.47	4.43	—	—	0.22	26.68
LW-30 days	33.43	5.66	27.74	1.62	7.32	1.18	—	—	0.18	22.87
GW-14 days	11.09	0.02	9.60	0.04	0.01	—	0.48	0.01	1.13	77.61
GW-30 days	7.69	0.03	5.11	0.30	—	—	—	0.30	1.00	85.56
LW washed- 14 days	5.75	—	1.92	—	—	—	—	—	1.26	91.07
LW washed- 30 days	4.41	—	2.66	—	—	—	—	—	—	92.93

Table 3 Element atomic percentages (%) measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) on coupons exposed to LW or GW for 14 and 30 days.

Elements	Fe	Cr	P	Cl	S	N	O	C
14 days
LW	23.57	—	1.17	0.70	0.93	2.25	42.72	28.66
GW	27.10	0.88	—	—	—	—	51.60	20.42
30 days
LW	11.21	—	1.72	—	9.92	7.85	10.36	58.94
GW	14.17	—	—	—	—	10.22	36.45	39.16

Fig. 3. (a) S 2p peak of X52 steel coupon surfaces after exposure to LW solution for 30 days, (b) Fe 2p3/2 peak of X52 steel coupon surfaces after exposure to LW solution for 30 days, and (c) Fe 2p3/2 peak of X52 steel coupon surfaces after exposure to GW solution for 30 days.

Fig. 4. (a) Variation in pH of GW and LW after 14 and 30 days of laboratory hydrostatic testing. (b) Weight loss of triplicate X52 steel coupons after exposure to GW or LW after 14 and 30 days.

Fig. 5. CLSM images of X52 steel coupon surfaces after exposing in (a, b) LW solution for 14 and 30 days, or (c, d) after exposing in GW solution for 14 and 30 days.

Fig. 6. (a) Variation in OCP with exposure time, and polarization curves of X52 steel coupons after exposure to LW or GW solutions for (b) 14 and (c) 30 days.

Table 4 Corrosion parameters obtained from dynamic potential polarization curves of X52 steel coupons exposed to GW or LW for 14 and 30 days, respectively.

	i_corr (A/cm²)	E_corr (V) vs. SCE
14 days
GW	2.58 × 10^-6	-0.719
LW	1.74 × 10^-5	-0.738
30 days
GW	6.56 × 10^-6	-0.903
LW	1.48 × 10^-5	-0.848

Fig. 7. Nyquist and Bode plots of X52 steel coupons after 30 days of exposure to (a, b) GW and (c, d) LW, respectively.

Fig. 8. Equivalent circuits used for simulating the impedance spectra (Fig. 7) of X52 steel coupons exposed in (a) GW for 30 days as well as LW for the first 20 days, and (b) LW solution after 20 days. Rs and Rct display the solution resistance and charge transfer resistance, respectively. Rf represents the film resistance, Qf represents the constant phase element of the surface film, Qd1 represents the constant-phase element, and W is Warburg element.

Fig. 9. Corrosion rates of X52 steel coupons exposed to GW or LW for 30 days measured by (a) Rp obtained by LPR, and (b) Rct obtained by EIS.

Fig. 10. Relative distribution of (a) bacterial and (b) archaeal 16S rRNA gene sequences at the genus level. LW1b represents microorganisms in biofilms attached to X52 steel coupon surfaces after exposure to LW without added culture media; LW2b represents microorganisms in biofilms attached to X52 steel coupon surfaces after exposure to LW with added 2216E culture media.

Fig. 11. Live/dead CLSM 3-D images of biofilms and biofilm thickness from (a) X52 steel exposed to LW1 for 14 days, (b) X52 steel exposed to LW2 for 14 days, (c) X52 steel exposed to LW1 for 30 days, and (d) X52 steel exposed in LW2 for 30 days. LW1 represents incubation in lake water alone, and LW2 represent incubation in lake water with added 2216E culture media.

Fig. 12. Schematic diagrams of the proposed methanogenic and SRB corrosion mechanisms in low organic carbon environments.

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