Leaking underground storage tank. Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) created numerous holes in this home heating oil fuel tank.
Definition
AMPP (formerly NACE) and ASTM define corrosion as “the deterioration of a material, usually a metal, that results from a chemical or electrochemical reaction with its environment” (ASTM Terminology G193). AMPP defines microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) as “corrosion affected by the presence or activity, or both, of…
Bottom sample from ultra-low-sulfur diesel tank showing hazy fuel over bottoms-water loaded with suspended solids.
Opportunity Cost
In two previous articles, I’ve discussed the opportunity costs associated with premature filter plugging (see November 2016 and February 2019). My November 2016 article focused on the disconnect between operator awareness and the actual incidence of substantial contamination in underground storage tanks (UST) and fuel transfer equipment between…
READ MORE
International Association for Stability, Handling and Use of Liquid Fuels (IASH)
IASH was founded in 1983 when Nahum Por, a chemist at Oil Refineries Ltd., Haifa, Israel, obtained support from the Israel Institute of Petroleum & Research to sponsor a conference to discuss issues related to the stability and handling of liquid fuels. The focus was on fuels and crude oil stored as strategic reserves. Between 1983 and 2003, IASH met triennially – venues alternating between Western…
READ MORE
Biofilm at Metalworking Fluid Surface – Sump Wall Interface.
Biofilms Part 1 Recap
In my last What’s New article I wrote:
Biofilms can form on any surface that is in contact with water. In aqueous systems such as heat exchanger, potable water, firemain, containing water-miscible metalworking fluid, biofilms can coat >90 % of surfaces in contact with the fluid. In systems containing fuels, lubricants, or other fluids in which water is not normally miscible, biofilms…
READ MORE
Metalworking fluid return sluice cover plate; underside, showing biofilm build-up.
What are biofilms?
ASTM1 defines biofilm as a noun: “microorganisms living in a self-organized community attached to surfaces, interfaces, or each other, embedded in a matrix of extracellular polymeric substances of microbial origin, while exhibiting altered phenotypes with respect to growth rate and gene transcription.” The ASTM definition adds: “Biofilms may be comprised of bacteria,…
READ MORE
