Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Massive Corrosion found in section of NEW KXL pipeline attributed to Stray DC current and Bacteria

Pipeline fighters, be sure to check out this new piece by Julie Dermansky of DeSmogBlog.

Very interesting report about massive corrosion found on a section of the existing KXL pipeline.
Follow the links to read the report.

I am still studying it, so don't have much to say yet, except: "Fascinating".

Basically this is analysis of corrosion anomalies found in the Cushing to Patoka section of the KXL.

They are saying the root cause is a combination of stray DC currents
(but strangely do not speculate a possible source) in combination with metal munching bacteria.

This section of pipe was just 4 years old! 
Essentially a BRAND NEW PIPELINE.


The "Cathodic Protection" system which is supposed to prevent or slow corrosion-- did not help.

Notice that while they admitted that stray AC current in the range of 20amps / m3 (big current)
can cause corrosion (this admission is a big deal IMO), they specifically ruled out AC stray current
in the case.

The reason why the AC/DC thing is important is because there are THOUSANDS of miles of
natural gas, crude oil, and refined products pipelines which are co-located with
high-tension electric transmission lines, which are generally (but not always) AC.
So IF it was AC stray currents in this case, it could mean that we could have
a problem of staggering proportion on our hands.

We STILL might, if we cannot find the source of the stray DC in this section.
I have attached some maps I've made of the general area of where the corrosion was found,
near the St. Paul Pumping station just west of Patoka Illinois.









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