Ethanol bacteria 1 speed up pipeline damage: Common steel grades fatigue 25 times faster than in air

摘要

SCIENTISTS have found that bacteria in ethanol accelerate the degradation of steel pipelines. Researchers from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) tested ethanol containing the common Acetobacter aceti bacteria on X52 and X70 grade pipeline steel. They found that the bacteria produced an acid which cause cracks to grow at least 25 times faster than when the metal was exposed to air alone, and that the coarser X52 grade steel was particularly vulnerable to this.