ABSTRACT
In contrast to what many - including some corrosion professionals - may think, microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) is not limited to just a few bacteria. In fact, it is not only corrosion-related bacteria (CRB) such as sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) that affect the severity of corrosion, but also their "cousins", including the sulfate-reducing archaea (SRA). This chapter discusses an important aspect of microbes that can have a tremendous impact on the microbiology of corrosion post-Hydrostatic Testing (HYD). SRB are exotic microorganisms in the sense that in a planet where the availability of oxygen is an essential requirement, these bacteria are anaerobic. The impact of SRB on the corrosion of metals was discovered toward the end of the nineteenth century. The importance of biofilm formation for HYD is that if the HYD water is maltreated and drain/dry is not carried out properly, the likelihood of biofilm formation and corrosion being induced after HYD will be quite high.
