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X-ray Diffraction
X-ray diffraction is a powerful technique, which enables the precise composition of a corrosion product to be determined. As an example, the corrosion product of a well water pipeline was analyzed and found to contain hydroniumjarosite. This corrosion product is associated with microbiological activity in which the ferrobaccilis bacteria reacts with sulfates in the water to produce hydrogen ions. The consequent lowering of pH resulted in acid corrosion of the carbon steel pipeline.
Figure 1: X-ray Diffraction pattern detecting the presence of hydroniumjarosite
Figure 1
This image of steel well water pipeline corrosion product shows the presence of rod-like bacteria.
X 7,000
Figure 2
This higher magnification image shows typical rod-like shape of the Thiobaccilus bacteria. X 15,000
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