1

TitleofInnovation:
Insitumonitoringconcretecorrosion
Nominee(s)
XiaoyanSun,GuangmingJiang,PhilipL.Bond,JurgKeller
AdvancedWaterManagementCentre,GehrmannBuilding,TheUniversityofQueensland,St
Lucia,QLD,Australia.

Category:

Testing

DatesofInnovationDevelopment:
(from[March,2012]to[October,2013])

Website:
(http://www.awmc.uq.edu.au/sewercorrosionandodourresearchprogram)

SummaryDescription:
Manyexistingmethodstomonitorthecorrosionofsewerconcreteareindirectand/or
destructivemeasurements.Toovercometheselimitations,anoninvasivemethodologyto
monitorcorrosiononsewerconcretewasdevelopedthroughinsitumeasurementofH
2
S
uptakeratesofconcreteatvariouscorrosionstages.TheH
2
Suptakeratebyaconcretesample
isdeterminedbymeasuringthegaseousH
2
Sconcentrationsovertimeinatemperatureand
humiditycontrolledgastightreactor.Acorrosionrateof46mm/year,determinedusingthe
H
2
Suptakeresults,agreedwellwiththeactualcorrosionrateobservedinrealsewers.
Consequently,themethodcouldbeappliedtoexaminetheconcretecorrosionratethroughthe
determinationofH
2
Suptakerate.
Thereliabilityofthismethodwasevaluatedbycarryingoutrepeatedtestsonaconcrete
couponpreviouslyexposedto50ppmofH
2
S,at30Cand100%relativehumidityfor32and33
months.TheH
2
Suptakeshowedgoodreproducibility.Itwasalsoshownthataseverely
corrodedcouponexhibitedhigheruptakeratesthanalesscorrodedcoupon.Thisisduetothe
2

corrosionlayerinthemorecorrodedcouponhavingahigherbiologicalsulfideoxidationactivity
thanthelesscorrodedcoupon.Itwasalsofound,withthismethodology,theuptakerateofthe
heavilycorrodedcouponhadastrongerrelationshiptotemperaturethanthatoftheless
corrodedcoupon.Themethodcouldbeappliedtoinvestigateimportantfactorsaffecting
concretecorrosion,particularlytemperature,gaseousH
2
Sconcentration,O
2
,surfacepHand
relativehumidity.
3

FullDescription:
Howdoestheinnovationwork?
ThisinnovationdesignedareactortomeasuretheH
2
Suptakerateonsewerconcreteblocks
andassessthecorrespondingcorrosionrate.Withtemperatureandhumiditycontrolled,
gaseousH
2
Scanbeintermittentlyinjectedintothereactortovariouslevelsandthe
correspondingH
2
Suptakeratesofconcreteblocksdetermined.Asitiswidelyacceptedthatthe
H
2
Suptakerateisproportionaltothecorrosionrate,theconcretelossinmmperyearwasthus
determinedfromthemeasuredH
2
Suptakerates.
Whenandhowwastheinnovationdeveloped?
TheinnovationwasdevelopedfromMarch2012toOctober2013.
Theinnovationbeginswithliteraturesurveyofexistingtechnologiesavailablefordetecting
sewerconcretecorrosion.Itwasthenfoundthatallexistingmethodscouldnotprovide
adequatemeasurementswithoutdisruptingtheongoingcorrosion.Atestreactorwasthen
designedandfabricatedinthesewercorrosionlaboratory.Continuousdevelopmentand
testingvalidateitseffectivenessindeterminingH
2
Suptakeratebyconcretecoupons.TheH
2
S
uptakeratewasdirectlyproportionaltotherateofconcretemasslossduetocorrosion.The
corrosionratedeterminedfromlabtestshasbeensuccessfullycomparedwiththoseobserved
intherealsewersundersimilarconditions.Overall,thisinnovationhasundergoneaseriesof
rigoroustestinginthelaboratoryduringitsdevelopment.
Whattypeofcorrosionproblemdoestheinnovationaddress?
Sulfideinducedconcretecorrosioninsewersystemsleadstoearlystructuralfailureand
shortenedlifeexpectancyofpipesandotherstructures(pumpwells,manholes,etc.).The
corrosiondamagedsewerinfrastructureiscostlytoreplaceorrehabilitate.Insewers,sulfideis
mainlyproducedinthefullyanaerobicconditionspresentinrisingmains(pressurepipes)after
pumpstations.Oncethesewageisdischargedintothegravitypipespartiallyfilledwithsewage,
transferofH
2
Sfromtheliquidphasetotheheadspaceofthepipecantakeplace.H
2
Sinthe
gasphasethentransferstotheexposedsurfaceoftheconcretepipes,whereitisoxidizedto
sulfuricacid(HvitvedJacobsen2002).Thesulfuricacidproducedinthiswaycanpenetrateinto
theporesofconcreteandreactwiththecementcompounds(particularlytheCaandAl
minerals)toformhighlyexpansivemineralslikegypsumandettringite
(3CaOAl
2
O
3
CaSO
4
12H
2
Oor3CaOAl
2
O
3
3CaSO
4
31H
2
O)(ZivicaandBajza2001).Thisprocess
leadstoconcretesurfacepHreduction,formationoflooselyboundcorrosionproductswith
littlemechanicalstrength,andthuslossofmassandeventuallystructuralfailureofthe
concretepipes.
4

Modelisahelpfultooltopredictconcretecorrosioninsewers.However,therelationship
betweenH
2
Sconcentrationandconcretecorrosionisunknown(ApgarandWitherspoon2007).
Fordifferentsewers,thecorrosionratestillhastobemeasuredduringsewerinspectionand
suchmeasurementdoesnotexist.Thisinnovationprovidesaneffectiveapproachtomonitor
theconcretecorrosionratethroughinsituandnoninvasivemeasurementonconcretecoupon.
Whatistheneedthatsparkedthedevelopmentoftheinnovation?
Previously,variousapproaches,e.g.measurementofconcretesurfacepHandcorrosionlayer
thickness,analysisofcorrosionproductsandmicrobialcharacterizationwithincorrosionlayer,
areusedtomonitorandanalyzethecorrosionprocessesinsewers(Cayfordetal.2012,Satoh
etal.2007).However,theavailabilityandusefulnessofthesemethodscanbelimited.For
example,itisdifficulttomonitorcorrosionprogressthroughpHmeasurementunderacidic
conditions(heavilycorrodedconcrete)asthepHmaystagnatewhenitdecreasestoabout35
(Islanderetal.1991,Josephetal.2012,Satohetal.2009).Therefore,surfacepHisonly
indirectlyrelatedtothecorrosionprocess,andthusnotagoodindicatorofcorrosionrate.
Thecorrosionratemaybedeterminedbydirectdetectionofthecorrosionlayerthickness.
However,thisrequiresremovalofthesurfacecorrosionlayer,whichisdestructive,disrupting
thecontinuousmonitoringofthecorrosionprocess.Additionally,detectionofthecorrosion
layerthicknessistechnicallyverydifficult.Inthecorrosionprocesstheconcretesampleswill
corrodeandmalform,thismakingitextremelydifficulttomaintainapointofreferencesothat
thechangeinconcretethicknesscanbedetermined.Specializedapproaches,suchas
imbeddingnoncorrodingcomponentsarerequired,andthesecanbedifficultandexpensiveto
implementwithinconcretesamples.Consequently,obtainingcorrosionratesbydirect
detectionrequiresyearsofmonitoringactivityandisverydemandingonresources.
Microbialanalysisisarduous,timeconsumingandcostlyandcurrentlyquantitativeanalysishas
notbeencorrelatedwithcorrosionrates(Satohetal.2009).Moreover,theunderstandingof
corrosionmicrobialcommunitiesisstillverylimited;advancedsequencingtechniquesreveal
unexpectedmicrobialtypescanbeabundant(Cayfordetal.2012),andmostinvestigationsare
restrictedtoseverelycorrodedconcrete,thusearlystagemicrobiologyisnotwellstudied.
Consequently,itiscriticaltodevelopquickandnoninvasivemethodstoreadilymeasurethe
corrosionrateofconcreteatvariouscorrosionstages.
Aretheretechnologicalchallengesorlimitationsthattheinnovationovercomes?
Yes,thereare.
Thisinnovationovercomestechnologicalchallengesandlimitationsoftheexistingapproaches
tomonitorandinvestigateconcretecorrosion.Manyexistingmethodstomonitorcorrosionof
5

sewerconcreteareeitherindirectordestructivemeasurements.Theinnovationovercomes
theselimitationsthroughusinganoninvasivemethodologytodoinsitumeasurementofH
2
S
uptakeratesofconcreteatvariouscorrosionstages.
Whatarethepotentialapplicationsoftheinnovation?
Thisnoninvasivemethodologycanbeusedtodeterminethecorrosionextentofsewerpipes
duringregularinspection.Accordingly,mitigationcanbeimplementedifcorrosionhotspots
aredetected.Also,rehabilitationcouldhappenifthesewerpipeisbadlycorroded.Thus,itisan
importanttoolforwaterutilitiestoidentifycorrosionproblemsinsewernetwork,whichcanbe
usedtoplanthesewermaintenance.
Thismethodologycanalsocontributetomanyaspectsofscientificresearchaboutsewer
concretecorrosion.ItcanbeusedtodeterminetheinfluenceofmanyfactorsontheH
2
S
uptakerateandhenceconcretecorrosion.ThisincludesfactorsofsurfacepH,temperature,H
2
S
concentration,O
2
,washingofcorrosionproductandrelativehumidity.Itcouldalsobeusedto
assessandcomparecorrosionondifferenttypesofconcreteandtheeffectivenessofadditives
andprotectivecoatings.Detailsofthekineticsandstoichiometryofchemicalandbiological
sulfideoxidationinsewercorrosionbiofilmscouldalsobeinvestigatedthroughthismethod.
Theresultscouldbeusedtodeveloppredictivemodelsofsewercorrosion.
Howdoestheinnovationprovideanimprovementoverexistingmethods,techniques,and
technologies?
Theapproachissuperiorandmoreconvenientthanothertechniquesusedtoassessormonitor
concretecorrosion.Theinnovationcanmeasurecorrosionratesofconcreteatdifferent
corrosionstagesthroughintermittentdeterminationofH
2
Suptakerates.Thiswouldbeamore
accuratemeasureincomparisontopHmeasurement;amoreconvenientandeconomical
measureincomparisontomicrobiologicalanalysis;andanondestructivemeasurein
comparisontomicrobialanalysisandmeasurementofthecorrosionlayerthicknessthrough
washingoffacorrosionlayerandmeasuringtheremainingconcrete.
Whattypeofimpactdoestheinnovationhaveontheindustry/industriesitserves?
Thisinnovationprovidesamethodologyforwaterutilitiestoruntheirsewersystemsbetterby
knowingwherethecorrosionishappeningandhowfastitishappening.Itisanondestructive
methodwhichcanbecarriedoutregularlyonmanysewersiteswithoutincurringhighcosts.
Notonlyitsavescostsforutilitiestodosewerinspection,whichcostsabout0.2millionAUD
perkilometerofpipelineinAustralia(Australasia2008),butalsoprovidesdataforplanningand
management.Bettermanagementofsewernetworkcanachievelesscorrosionandthus
extendtheservicelifeofsewerinfrastructures.
6

Doestheinnovationfillatechnologygap?Ifso,pleaseexplainthetechnologicalneedand
howitwasaddressedpriortothedevelopmentoftheinnovation.
Theinnovationdoesfillatechnologygap.
Thepreviousexistingmethodstomonitorcorrosionofsewerconcreteareeitherindirector
destructivemeasurements.However,forunderstandingconcretecorrosionprocessesinsewers
itisveryadvantageoustomeasurethecontinuouscorrosiononthesameconcretesamples.
Thiscouldnotbeconductedusingonlyindirectordestructivemethods.Therefore,anon
invasivemethodology,whichdoesnotexistpriortothisinnovation,tomonitorcorrosionon
sewerconcretewasrequired.
Hastheinnovationbeentestedinthelaboratoryorinthefield?Ifso,pleasedescribeany
testsorfielddemonstrationsandtheresultsthatsupportthecapabilityandfeasibilityofthe
innovation.
Theinnovationwasinitiallydesignedtobeusedinthelaboratory,foracollaborativeresearch
withmanywaterutilities,targetingsewerodourandcorrosion
(http://www.awmc.uq.edu.au/sewercorrosionandodourresearchprogram).Therefore,the
innovationhasbeenextensivelytestedinthelaboratoryusingconcretesamplesexposedto
controlledcorrosionchambers.However,concretesamplescanbetakenfromthefieldand
testedwithconditionsthatsimulatethoseinthesewer.Manytestswerecarriedouttodevelop
andoptimizethemethodology,suchastodeterminethebackgroundandreproducibility.Itwas
thenvalidatedwithconcreteshowingdifferentlevelsofcorrosion.Finally,theH
2
Suptake
resultswereconvertedtocorrespondingcorrosionrates,whichwerefurtherverifiedwithdata
obtainedinrealsewers.
ThelaboratorytestwasdonewithaH
2
Suptakereactor(Figure1).Afterconsideringdifferent
materialsintermsofminimalreaction/absorbancewithH
2
S,glasswaschosenasthemost
suitablematerialforthereactor.Thevolumeofthereactor(290mmLength110mmWidth
100mmHeight)wasdesignedtobeassmallaspossibletofacilitatefastratesofH
2
Suptake
(higherdetectionlimit)intheexperiments.Apairofconcretecouponscanbeanalysed
simultaneously,theseareexposedintwoseparatecompartmentsthroughthetoprectangular
opening(Figure1A).Thetotalgasphasevolumewithineachcompartmentis1.5L.Ineach
compartment,oneH
2
Ssensor(AppTekOdaLogLoggerL2)wasmountedtothesidewallto
monitorthegasphaseH
2
Sconcentrations(Figure1A).Tworesistancetemperaturedetectors
(RTD)weremountedtodetecttemperature(Figure1A).Eachcompartmenthadafanto
maintainhomogenousgaseousH
2
Sconcentration.
7

Figure1.Designofthereactor(A)forH
2
Sgaseousuptakemeasurementsandtheexperimental
setup(B).
ThelabtestswereconductedtoexamineH
2
Suptakeonconcretecouponsthathadbeen
exposedforlongtermsinalaboratorycorrosionchamberunderconditionsthatmimicthe
sewer.H
2
Sconcentration,temperatureandrelativehumidityinsidethecorrosionchamberwas
similartothoseinrealisticsewersystems.Couponpairs(Figure3)wereputunderthis
examination.Thesepairsconsistedofaprecorrodedcoupon,onecutfromanagedrealsewer,
theotherwascutfromfresh(nonaged)concretepipe.Afterbeingexposedto50ppmH
2
S,30
Cand100%relativehumidityforatleast32months,theconcretecouponpairwasretrieved
formeasurementofH
2
Suptakerates.
Priortomountingthecouponpairtotheuptakereactor,1mLofdeionizedwaterwassprayed
onthebottomofthereactortoobtain100%relativehumidityinthesealedreactor(Figure1).
Afterconfirmationoftheinternalgastightnessthecouponpairwasmountedtothereactorfor
measurementofH
2
Suptakeactivity(Figure1B).H
2
Swassimultaneouslyinjectedintoboth
compartmentstoaspecifiedlevelandtheH
2
Sconcentrationgraduallydecreasedduetothe
uptakebytheconcreteanditscorrosionlayer.Furtherinjectionscouldbeappliedtoreach
variouslevelsofH
2
Sineachcompartment.AfterseveralbatchesofH
2
Sinjection,the
A
B
Gas in
Gas out
Fan
H
2
S sensor
Expose area for coupon
Temperature sensor
Middle wall
Na
2
S
NaOH HCl
Three way valve
Three way valve
8

backgrounduptakeratesofH
2
Sweredeterminedinstantlybyremovingthecouponpair,
resealingthereactorwithastainlesssteelsheetandrepeatingtheH
2
Sinjectionandmonitoring
process.
AseriesofH
2
Suptaketestsweredesignedforthreedifferentpurposes:
(1) ToinvestigatethebackgrounduptakeofH
2
Sbythereactorandmoistair
(2) ToinvestigatethereproducibilityofH
2
Suptakemeasurementsdeterminedonconcrete
coupons
(3) ToinvestigatethecorrelationoftheH
2
Suptakemeasurementswithcouponsthathave
differentlevelsofconcretecorrosion.Theuptaketestswereperformedeitherat25or
30C.
1. BackgroundH
2
Suptakerate
ThebackgrounduptakerateofH
2
Sfortheuptakereactorwasdetermined.Backgroundrates
weredeterminedinthepresenceofeitherdryair(about75%RH),airwith100%relative
humidityorwhenairwasreplacedwithnitrogengas(about30%RH)(Figure2A).The
backgrounduptakeratedifferedinthethreeconditions(Figure2B).Especially,theyaremuch
lessthantheuptakethatisobservedinthepresenceofcoupons(seeFigure4.inthesection
below).ThesebackgroundH
2
Slossesaretypicallyabout13.0%and3.0%oftheobservedtotal
uptakeratesdeterminedforthefreshandprecorrodedcouponsrespectively.Therefore,these
backgroundlossrateswerenegligibleandcanbesubtractedfromthetotaluptakerateto
determinethenetH
2
Suptakeratesforallthecouponexperiments.

Figure2.TemporalprofilesofgaseousH
2
Sconcentrations(A)andthecorrespondingH
2
Suptake
rates(B)measuredinthereactorfilledwith(i)Nitrogenatabout30%relativehumidity,(ii)dry
airatabout75%relativehumidity,and(iii)moistairat100%relativehumidity.
A B
9

2. H
2
Suptakeratesdeterminedfromconcretecoupons
Byvisualinspectiontheprecorrodedcouponhadamoreseverelevelofcorrosionlayerin
comparisontothefreshcoupon(Figure3).TypicalprofilesofH
2
Sconcentrationandthe
correspondinguptakeratesweredetermined(Figure4)ontheprecorrodedcoupon.Nine
repeatedinjectionsofH
2
Stothelevelofabout150ppmwereappliedandthenthebackground
uptakeduetomoistairwasmeasuredbyremovingthecoupon.Theuptakeratesatthecoupon
autochthonousexposurelevel,i.e.thechamberlevelof50ppm,werearound270mgSm
2
h
1
,
whiletheratereachedaround450mgSm
2
h
1
atabout140ppm.AnimpactofH
2
S
concentrationonthecouponH
2
Suptakeratewasobserved(Figure4B).AtlowerlevelsofH
2
S,
H
2
SuptakeratesincreasedsharplywithincreasedgaseousH
2
Sconcentrations.Thentherates
tendedtoflattenoutathigherH
2
Sconcentrations.

Figure3.Topfrontviewofthemountingofprecorroded(left)andfresh(right)couponsina
stainlesssteelcasing.

Figure4.ThemonitoredH
2
Suptakeprofiles(A)andthecorrespondingsurfacespecificH
2
S
uptakerates(B)ofaprecorrodedcouponsafterbeingexposedfor33monthsinthepresence
of50ppmH
2
Sat30Cand100%relativehumidity.ThelastpeakinAisthebackgrounduptake
A B
10

andthishasbeensubtractedfromthemeasuredrateswithcouponstodeterminethenet
uptakeratesshowninB.
3. Methodreproducibility
Toexaminethereproducibilityofthemethod,H
2
Suptakeratesweredeterminedonthepre
corrodedcouponafterbeingexposedinthechamberwith50ppmH
2
S,30Cand100%relative
humidityfor32and33monthsandlittledifferencewasseenontheH
2
Suptakeratesofthe
samecoupon(Figure4and5).Theresultsclearlyindicatethatthemethodcanbeappliedto
measurecouponuptakeratesaccuratelyandreproducibly.Additionally,therepeatedH
2
S
injectionsandtheresultinguptakerateestimationsarewellfittedtoanExponentialFunction,
whichfurtherindicatesthegoodreproducibilityoftheexperimentalmethod.

Figure5.Themeasured(opencircles)andsimulated(solidline)surfacespecificH
2
Suptake
ratesofaprecorrodedcouponafterbeingexposedfor32monthsinthepresenceof50ppm
H
2
Sat30Cand100%relativehumidity.Themeasured(closedcircles)andsimulated(dashline)
surfacespecificH
2
Suptakeratesofthesamecouponexposedfor33months.
4. Differentuptakeratesforprecorrodedandfreshcoupons
H
2
Suptakeratesoftheprecorrodedandthefreshcouponsweredeterminedandcompared.
Althoughtheshapesofuptakeratecurvesoftheprecorrodedandfreshcouponlooksimilar
(Figure5&6),e.g.theyhavethesametrendofincreasingwithincreasingH
2
Slevels,thereisa
largedifferencebetweenthelevelsofuptakerates.At150ppmofgaseousH
2
S,theuptake
rateswerearound450mgSm
2
h
1
fortheprecorrodedcoupon,butonly6080mgSm
2
h
1

forthefreshcoupon.Verylikely,thisdifferenceofH
2
Suptakerateisdirectlyrelatedtothe
extentofcorrosiononthetwocoupons.Theprecorrodedcouponhadundergoneextensive
11

corrosion,beingpartofasewercomponent,priortothelaboratorycorrosionincubationsand
tests.Whilethefreshcouponhavingnosuchpreviousexposure.

Figure6.Themeasured(circle)andsimulated(solidline)surfacespecificH
2
Suptakeratesofa
freshcouponafterbeingexposedfor32monthsinthepresenceof50ppmH
2
Sat30Cand
100%relativehumidity.
5. Effectsoftemperature
ToevaluatetheinfluenceoftemperatureontheH
2
Suptakeofconcretecoupon,theH
2
Suptake
ratesweredeterminedat25C(Figure5&6)and30C(datanotshown)forthesamepre
corrodedandfreshcoupon.Theshapesofuptakeratecurvesweresimilaratthetwo
temperaturelevels,although,itisevidentthatuptakeratesat30Carehigherthan25Cforall
H
2
Sconcentrations.Forexample,attheH
2
Sexposurelevelof50ppm,theH
2
Suptakeratesare
31517and556,whichareabout18%and22%higherthanthoseat25C,forthepre
corrodedandfreshcouponsrespectively.
6. Determiningcorrosionrateandverificationwithdataobservedinreal
TheH
2
Suptakerateisproportionaltothecorrosionrate,i.e.theconcretemasslossinmmper
year.ItisreportedthatacidformationincreasesasalinearfunctionofgaseousH
2
Slevels
(Josephetal.2012).Also,itissuggestedthattheconcretecorrosionratehasapositive
correlationtotheamountofH
2
Stransferredontothepipesurface.Intheapplicationof
estimatingcorrosionratesfromtheH
2
Suptakerate,certainfactorsneedtobeconsidered.For
example,theconcretealkalinity,i.e.theamountofacidrequiredtoreactwithcementtoform
thecorrosionproducts.Baseduponthisapproach,corrosionratesobservedbywaterutilities
andreportedinliteraturewerecomparedtothecalculatedcorrosionratesusinglaboratory
measuredH
2
Suptake.ItthusprovidesawaytoevaluatethecorrelationbetweenH
2
Suptake
rateandrealcorrosionrate.
Gaseous H
2
S concentration (ppm)
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
H
2
S

u
p
t
a
k
e

r
a
t
e

(
m
g

S

m
-
2

h
-
1
)
0
20
40
60
80
100
12

ThecorrosionrateinaMelbourne(Australia)sewerhasbeenobservedtobe67mmperyear
whichoccurswhentheaveragetemperaturevariesfrom18to22Candtheaveragegaseous
H
2
Slevelsisaround7.7ppm(peaksvaryingfrom5to60ppm).Incomparison,theuptakerates
oflaboratorycouponsmeasuredat100%relativehumidityand25Cwereselectedat7.7ppm
andconvertedtothecorrespondingcorrosionrates(Table1).Thecorrosionratescalculatedfor
theprecorrodedcouponsweresimilarbutslightlyslowerthanthecorrosionrateofthe
MelbournesewerwhiletheratesforthefreshcouponweremuchslowerthanMelbourne
sewer(Table1).Theslowerrateforthefreshcouponmaybeexpectedasthisconcreteisstillin
theinitialphasesofdevelopingacorrosionlayer.However,forawelldevelopedcorrosion
surface,suchastheprecorrodedcoupon,theH
2
Suptakeratecanbeusedtoestimatereal
corrosionrates.
Table1.Thecorrosionratesoflaboratorycoupon,realsewer(MelbourneSewer)andliterature
withH
2
Sconcentrationat7.7ppm.
H
2
S
(ppm)
Corrosionrate(mm/year)
Labconcretecoupon Melbournesewer
(Vollertsenetal.
2008)
(Aesoyetal.
2002)
7.7
3.91.9
(3417*)
6.07.0 NA About12.0
100
42.41.6
(37214)
NA
41.1 91.3
(360800)
About16.0
*NumberinthebracketsisthemeasuredH
2
SuptakerateandtheunitismgSm
2
h
1
.
Howorwhyistheinnovationunique?
TheinsitumeasurementofH
2
Suptakeratesproducedconsistentresultsevenatlowlevelsof
H
2
S(Figure4,5&6).Inaddition,theexperimentallydetermineduptakeratesofconcrete
couponsincontrolledconditionscorrelatedwellwiththeuptakeratescalculatedfromthe
corrosionrateofrealsewers(Table1).ThisisthefirststudyonthemeasurementofH
2
Suptake
rateofsewerconcreteincubatedincontrolledconditionssimulatingrealsewers.
Istheinnovationcommerciallyavailable?Ifyes,howlonghasitbeenutilized?Ifnot,whatis
thenextstepinmakingtheinnovationcommerciallyavailable?
TheH
2
Suptakereactorisnotcommerciallyavailable.
Thenextstepsincludebutarenotlimitedtoitsfurtherdevelopment.Themeasureduptake
resultsareusedforthedevelopmentofadetailedmodelpredictingcorrosionrateinreal
sewers.Then,thecorrosionmodelwouldbecommercializedandusedasaconsultativetool.
13

Inaddition,thisinnovationhasbeenappliedinotherresearchobjectives,e.g.totest
applicationsforcontrolofconcretecorrosion.Consequently,onceamethodisproventobean
effectivetechnologyforcontrollingsewerconcretecorrosion,itcanbefurtherappliedinreal
sewers.Therefore,thecurrentinnovationcanfacilitatecommercializationofotherresearch
innovations.
Areyouawareofotherorganizationsthathaveintroducedsimilarinnovations?Ifso,howis
thisinnovationdifferent?
Usingadifferentmethod,H
2
SuptakeratesofconcretepipeshavebeenmeasuredwithH
2
S
levelsrangingfrom1000ppmto0ppm(Vollertsenetal.2008).Themaindifferencesbetween
ourapproachandthepreviousstudywere:
Firstly,theymeasuredtheH
2
SuptakeofcorrodedconcreteexposedtoH
2
Sconcentrationsthat
aremuchhigherthantypicallydetectedinrealconcretesewers.Giventhepotentialtoxicityof
suchhighH
2
Sconcentrations,themicroorganismswithintheirexperimentalpipecorrosion
layercoulddifferconsiderablyfromrealsewersandfromourstudies.
Secondly,relativehumidityandtemperature,importantfactorsinfluencingconcretecorrosion,
werenotcontrolledintheirstudy.
Finally,ourapproachcanberapidlyusedtomeasuresulfideuptakeratesofconcretesamples
fromdifferentconditions.However,thepreviousmethodcouldnotbesoeasilyusedasthe
measurementwasconductedonawholesegmentofpipeandthustestingconcretepipes
exposedtovariousconditionswouldbeaproblem.
Arethereanypatentsrelatedtothiswork?Ifyes,pleaseprovidethepatenttitle,number,
andinventor.
No.
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environmentalmicrobiology78(19),71607162.
14

HvitvedJacobsen,T.(2002)Sewerprocesses:microbialandchemicalprocessengineeringofsewer
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