Inhibition of consortium sulfate reducing bacteria from crude oil for carbon steel protection

Abstract

The efficiency of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) to reduce the activity of consortium bacteria consisting of sulphate-reducing bacteria (C-SRB) has been investigated on variable concentration by weight loss test, potentiodynamic polarization and diffusion disk methods. C-SRB was isolated from tropical crude oil of Malaysian offshore. Biofilm analysis was also evaluated by variable pressure scanning electron microscopy (VPSEM). Weight loss and potentiodynamic polarization analyses showed that CTAB is able to inhibit the biocorrosion process and their inhibition efficiency had reached to 85 and 65% at 300 ppm CTAB, respectively. Increasing of CTAB efficiency as a function of concentration was also supported by diffusion disk analysis. Biofilm analysis showed that less of C-SRB and their metabolic by-product had been observed. It was concluded that CTAB was able to reduce the C-SRB activity and prevent biocorrosion process on carbon steel surface.