Microbial Analysis is part of the Bioclear Group
If there is water, then there is life. In industrial processes, this frequently translates into the unwanted presence of bacteria and fungi. This can take the form of high-risk microorganisms (such as Legionella) or biofilms. Biofilms can cause clogging of pipes, reduced heat transfer and rapid and localized corrosion (MIC) in locations such as geothermal plants and cooling towers. A microbiological check-up via NGS can help prevent and control biofilms.
And so is the risk of finding bacterial growth in unwanted places.
“Let’s put it this way,” says Elsemiek Croese from Microbial Analysis, “one of the key ingredients of life is water. In that light, it is no surprise to see that geothermal projects are sensitive to developing issues like biological clogging or microbial induced corrosion (MIC) when it comes to bacterial growth. Maybe even more so than in oil and gas.”
Everybody is familiar with the phenomenon of corrosion. Corrosion is the degradation of materials (particularly metals) through electrochemical reactions.
A year ago, iron-eating bacteria were all over the news because ships in the port of Ghent Terneuzen suffered from very rapid corrosion damage.
Revealing the Silent Threats
Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MIC) can be a silent destructor in various environments where MIC-related microorganisms thrive under favorable conditions. Here are 7 examples of environments where MIC corrosion can occur:
In our consultancy work, we regularly come across well-intentioned actions by clients that cause unintended reactions, such as the development of MIC (microbial corrosion). At first sight, these are often very logical actions which, unfortunately, can have major consequences. We have listed five of them for you. These experiences of others may help you to prevent similar problems.
Doing nothing means cavities.
There I was, on a draughty terrain with a view over a lot of transport pipes. It was cold and windy, but it didn't bother me, because the impressive view of the pipes dominated. A transport pipeline is in fact a great invention! No trucks, train carriages or ships, but pipelines that transport products from A to B. In the Netherlands, we have no less than 300,000 kilometres of underground transport pipelines. You hear nothing, smell nothing and with underground pipelines you see nothing either, so it's a win-win-win situation. Fascinating...
Be in control with Inhome qPCR
In a lot of industrial production processes, microbiology plays a very important role. This can be either a positive or a negative consequence.
What are biocides?
Biocides are chemicals that are used to suppress, combat or prevent harmful or unwanted organisms.
Biocides are used in many different places in the industry to monitor safety and quality.
In 2016, we started collaborating with the Canadian company OSP Microcheck. Due to this collaboration, we currently offer our services at three locations: Houston (USA), Calgary (Canada) and Groningen (The Netherlands). The big advantage for our customers in both the USA and Canada, is that samples no longer have to be shipped to the Netherlands. This saves time, reduces CO2- emission, and brings us closer to our customers.
