The inhibition of sulfate reducing bacteria adhesion and corrosion on the carbon steel surface using ZnO particles

Sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) can adhere to the internal surface of the pipelines to form a biofilm under which a serious localized corrosion could easily occur. Therefore, the reduction of the adhesion of SRB biofilm and the inhibition of SRB corrosion are highly significant for the safety of oil and gas production. In this work, two types of zinc oxide (ZnO) particles, the unmodified ZnO particles with smaller specific surface area and the modified one with a larger specific surface area, were employed to inactivate SRB in the test solution. The results show that the sterilization rates of modified ZnO particles are much higher than the unmodified ZnO particles. This can be attributed to the fact that the modified ZnO particles with larger specific surface areas result in the generation of more Zn²⁺ which limits the growth of SRB. As a result, the adhesion of biofilm on the specimen surface and the corrosion under the biofilm are effectively inhibited.