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2010-09 - Wastewater Marisol
2010-09 - Wastewater Marisol
B iogenic sulfide
corrosion of wastewater
conveyance structures Testing Permeation
bic conditions to form hydro-
gen sulfide gas (H2S). Under
turbulent and decreasing pH
can sometimes seem as
Resistance in Coatings
conditions, especially, H2S
unstoppable as it is escapes from the aqueous
destructive and costly. phase to the sewer atmos-
With elevated levels of
H2S gas and the subse-
for Wastewater Structures phere where it can react
with oxygen to form ele-
quent formation of sulfu- mental sulfur, which is
ric acid in domestic Here’s a look at ongoing research deposited on the sewer wall.
wastewater collection sys-
tems, it’s critical to protect
on the effect of permeation The sulfur then becomes a sub-
strate for oxidizing bacteria
valuable infrastructure from resistance on coatings (SOBs, e.g, Thiobacilli sp.) that con-
sewer corrosion. A protective in headspaces vert the sulfur into a dilute sulfuric
coatings system is a viable protec- acid (H2SO4), theorized at a concentra-
tor of these surfaces only as long as it tion no greater than 5–7%.3 The sulfuric
can withstand the permeation of the acid attacks the cement binder of the con-
sewer gases and acid attack, arguably the microor- crete, exposing aggregate, and thereby
most important property of a severe ganisms might be involved. The exact weakening the structure. This biogenic
wastewater protective coatings system. sequence of events varies widely, and sulfuric acid corrosion process is a wide-
depends on the conditions at a given site. ly known culprit of corrosion in waste-
Sewer Bugs: Tiny, Yet Destructive However, a general process can be water systems (Fig. 1).
Biogenic corrosion has been studied since described.2
its discovery in the mid-1940s. The basic Domestic sewage entering wastewater Sewer Gases:
biogenic processes that result in corro- collection systems contains large An Unpleasant Concoction
sion, which can be very severe, involve amounts of sulfate ions (SO4=), which are Little has been reported about the gases
sequential steps and at least two sorts of reduced by sulfate reducing bacteria and vapors that commonly emanate from
microorganisms.1 More than 60 types of (SRBs, e.g. Desulfovibrio sp.) under anaero- septic sewages flowing in normal domes-
carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) tion in sewer environments (Fig. 2). It was
gases are thought to exist in the head- thought that these coatings failed from
spaces of wastewater conveyance and direct sulfuric acid exposure generated
43%
treatment structures as a result of the through biogenic sulfide corrosion. But on
decomposition of waste.3 (Gases such as many occasions, the authors observed
ammonia [NH3], sulfur dioxide, and failures of the protective coatings on sur-
nitrous oxide are also theorized to be pre- faces with a pH above 4.0-5.0 and very 54%
Table 2: Sewer Gas Levels by Site (ppm) actual levels of sewer gases in attack. Although testing has yet to be con-
typical U.S. wastewater collec- cluded for any of the sites, enough usable
Sewer Gas Levels by Site (ppm)
tion systems across the U.S. and data has been collected from them to
H2S CO2 CH4 the gases’ effect on high-perfor- obtain a general picture of the sewer gas
Central Florida 78 11,700 6,000 mance coatings, the authors concentrations in a “typical” severe waste-
Northwestern US 6 545 1,500 began a study in 2007 to mea- water headspace environment.
New England 14 1,550 2,000 sure sewer gas concentrations To date, a total of 17 sets of sewer air
Rocky Mountain US 328 1,910 2,500
and study their effects on vari- measurements have been taken at the
ous traditional and emerging pro- seven testing sites. Researchers gathered
Midwestern US 256 1,178 1,625
tective coatings technologies. The grab samples of the sewer atmospheres
South Texas 590 17,520 4,000 field study began with four test- with a remote multi-gas detector and a
Coastal Virginia 660 3,000 12,000 ing sites but now has seven test- methane meter. Additional measure-
Average 276 5,343 4,232 ing sites. The sites were chosen ments have been taken by municipal
Median 256 1,910 2,500 because they all had a history of wastewater treatment plant staff and oth-
severe biogenic sulfide corrosion ers at some of the sites as needed, using a
and they represented different gas sampling pump or an H2S logger. The
analysis and the selection of a frequency geographic locations and climates in the three main sewer gases detected are
at which differences in coating perfor- country. The current testing sites are in hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and
mance can be reliably determined. Any North Central Florida, Northwestern methane. Although attempts have also
reduction of a coating’s impedance is U.S., New England, Rocky Mountain U.S., been made to measure concentrations of
related to the nature of the polymer, its coastal Virginia, Midwestern U.S., and ammonia (NH3), sulfur dioxide (SO2),
density and fillers. Although dry film South Texas. nitrous oxide (N2O), and other sewer
thickness (dft) can also influence imped- The purpose of the investigation is two- gases thought to be present, no significant
ance, the authors feel that dft is sec- fold: to measure the gas levels in the severe levels have been detected in this study.
ondary, as evidenced by comparing the wastewater headspace environments and The main gas composition by testing site,
coal tar epoxy with the aromatic to study the effects of these sewer envi- to date, is presented in Table 2, and the
polyurethane and amine epoxy mortars, ronments on typical protective coatings mean sewer gas mixture is given in Fig. 3.
all having comparable film thicknesses systems. The expectation is to gain a better The average gas concentrations are
yet different post-test impedance results, understanding of the sewer gases present noteworthy because they provide a
as seen in Table 1. in sewerage structures and connect them model for a sewer gas mixture in typical
Because so little was known about the to in situ biogenic corrosion and sewer gas domestic wastewater conveyance head-
Fig. 7: South TX: 55% solids by volume polyamide epoxy applied at 11 mils Fig. 8: South TX: A 75% solids by volume coal tar epoxy applied to carbon
DFT to carbon steel panel before 12-month exposure (left), following 12- steel panel at 22 mils DFT before 12-month exposure (left), following 12-month
month exposure (middle), following 12-month exposure, cleaned (right). Note exposure (middle), following cleaning (right). Note heavy sulfur crust (middle)
heavy sulfur crust (middle) and ubiquitous blistering on cleaned panel (right). and extensive blistering on cleaned panel (right).
polymer’s barrier protection determined mally concentrated sewer air and acceler- known previously that the H2S levels in
by the polymer’s electrical resistance. EIS ated pace of corrosion that was and con- the headspace were elevated, municipal
measurements are taken before and after tinues to take place there. Although it was employees had not attempted to detect
approximately 365 days field exposure. other sewer gases. When the authors
A reduction in the EIS impedance mea- began testing in 2007 one of the
surement suggests the polymer is nega- top priorities was to gain a better
tively affected, via permeation, by the picture of the sewer gas mixture
severe wastewater headspace environ- that was responsible for attacking
ments. their particular manhole struc-
• Permeation was also measured on the ture.
cross sections of the coated concrete The average of five H2S read-
cylinder specimens using digitally ings in South TX was 590 ppm,
enhanced optical microscopy. When the which is considered by the
cross section of the coated concrete cylin- authors as extremely elevated,
der is viewed through a 100X stereo even for severe wastewater head-
microscope with digital imaging, perme- spaces (Fig. 5). In addition, the
ation is observed as discoloration of the Fig. 9: Midwestern US: Polyamide epoxy applied to carbon averages of CO2 and CH4 were
steel panel at 11 mils DFT before 12-month exposure (left)
film. also extremely concentrated reg-
and following 12-month exposure, cleaned (right).
• Visual Inspection—Protective coatings Note moderate blistering following exposure. istering an average of 17,520
should not blister, check, crack, or allow ppm and 4,000 ppm, respective-
corrosion of the substrate when exposed ly. This particular mixture of
to severe wastewater environments. sewer gases has proven to be
Polymers that retain film quality are highly corrosive with the three
assumed to offer better substrate protec- key gases ostensibly working
tion. Visual inspection of the panels is con- together to penetrate protective
ducted using ASTM methods for rating coatings and deteriorate both
blistering, rusting, checking and cracking. concrete and steel panels.
A brief description of the one year In Midwestern U.S., the site cho-
exposure data from the South TX and sen was an influent channel at
Midwestern U.S. field sites is presented the city’s main wastewater treat-
below. Due to limited space, specific data ment plant. The influent struc-
from the other sites is being withheld ture is typical of similar treat-
from this article but influence the ment facilities and was chosen to
authors’ overall conclusion. Fig. 10: Midwestern US: A 75% volume solids coal tar epoxy represent a typical sewer gas
applied to carbon steel panel at 15 mils DFT before 12-month
The South TX in situ testing site is the exposure (left) and following 12-month mixture. Unlike the South TX
most severe testing site in terms of abnor- exposure, cleaned (right). testing site, the Midwestern U.S.
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Testing Coatings for Wastewater
The other gases measured at consider-
South Texas EIS Permeation
ably lower concentrations than South
14
Texas and slightly lower than the aver-
13 ages. CO2 registered at 1,176 ppm and
12 CH4 at 1,625 ppm.
(0.1 Hz)
10
Polyamine Epoxy Mortar twelve months exposure (Figs. 7 and 8).
Coal Tar Epoxy
9 One notable difference between the pan-
Polyamide Epoxy
8 els was the heavy yellow insoluble sulfur
precipitate (crust) on the South TX pan-
7
els (Figs. 9 and 10). The surface pH was
6 measured above 4.0 on these panels, sim-
Initial 12 months
ilar to Midwestern US panels not exhibit-
Fig. 11: Initial and 12-month EIS Analysis on steel panels exposed in situ. ing sulfur crust, again, suggesting that sul-
furic acid formation is extremely dilute.
site only appeared to experience moderate The average of four H2S readings in The steel panels coated with the
corrosion to uncoated concrete and cast Midwestern U.S. was 256 ppm (Fig. 6). polyamide epoxy were observed blister-
iron surfaces. But septic wastewater Although considerably lower than South ing from both sites following 12 months
entering the wastewater treatment plant TX this is still high enough to be consid- in situ exposures. This corresponds to
influent channel contributed to consis- ered by the authors as a severe level. It is the substantial drop in impedance
tently high concentrations of H2S gas, reg- slightly higher (8%) than the average H2S reflected in Figs. 11 and 12. The coal tar
ularly ranging from 200–250 ppm. level from the entire test samples (3%). epoxy panel exhibited blistering and a
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EIS Log Z
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Fig. 13: South TX: 55% volume solids polyamide
Initial 12 months epoxy applied at 17 mils DFT to concrete cylinder
panel before 12-month exposure (left) and following
Fig. 12: Initial and 12-month EIS Analysis on steel panels exposed in situ. 12-month exposure (right).
sharp drop in EIS from the South TX site, panels will be evaluated following an addi- tions (e.g., 3, 6, 9, 12 o’clock positions) cir-
but only discoloration and a flatter drop tional 12 months’ exposure. cumferentially along cross section (Fig.
in impedance were observed from the Permeation was also conducted on the 13). A 100X stereo microscope with digi-
Midwestern US site. The other products, coated concrete specimens using optical tal imaging measured permeation of the
from both sites, showed much higher microscopy analysis of the coated cross film, via discoloration, at each of the four
retained impedance and no signs of visual section of the panel. Measurement points measurement points (Fig. 14 and Table 4).
degradation following 12 months. The were taken at four, evenly divided loca- Besides hydrogen sulfide gas, little is
Cl i c k o u r R e a d e r e - Ca r d a t p a i n t s q u a r e .c o m / r i c
SPYfor
Jersey, Noyes Data Corporation 1989. Exposures,” JPCL, (April 2008) Federation, 2003).
6. Boon, Arthur G., “Septicity in Sewers: pp. 44-57. 9. Gray, Linda and Bernard Appleman,
Causes, Consequences and 8. Briand, Remi and Randy Nixon, “A “EIS: A Tool to Predict Remaining
Coating Life,” JPCL, (February 2003)
a
pp. 66-74.
every mission
Vaughn O’Dea is Director of
Sales, Water & Wastewater, for
Tnemec Company, Inc., where
Inspect Any Metal Surface Coating he is responsible for strategic
For pipes, tanks or any coated contoured sales, marketing, and technical
surface in the field or inside your manufacturing initiatives. He is an SSPC
facility, we simplify coating integrity testing
Protective Coatings Specialist, a NACE-certi-
with our full line of SPY® portable and
permanent Holiday Detectors. fied Coatings Inspector, and a NACE-certified
Corrosion Technician. He has written numer-
SPY® Model 780, 785 and 790 ous technical reports and articles for various
Portable Holiday Detectors
• New ergonomic design
industry journals. He is active in the technical
Detector Systems
same shipment. • Custom designed to streamline control of the company’s prod-
(excludes Model 670) manufacturing ucts. He has over 20 years of
• From pipecoating inspections to large experience in the research and
Reliable continuous inspections
on the assembly line flat surfaces
development and the manufac-
turing of high-performance coatings. A mem-
ber of AWWA, WEF, SSPC and FSCT, Briand
For more details on SPY® products and our complete line of SPY® Holiday has co-authored a paper for the 2003 WEF
Detection Equipment visit our website @ www.picltd.com. Technical Exposition & Conference and has
written for several technical publications relat-
PIPELINE INSPECTION COMPANY, LTD.
PH: (713) 681-5837 • FAX: (713) 681-4838 ed to the coatings industry. He was awarded
the JPCL Editors Award in 2008. JPCL
28 JPCL September 2010 www.paintsquare.com
Cli c k o u r R ea d er e-C ar d at p a in t s q u ar e.co m/ ri c