Abstract
Biofilms are the predominant antagonists when it comes to microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC). The removal of this biofilm community is crucial to mitigating the risk of corrosion failures due to MIC. Despite this, there are few current techniques that can accurately address whether a biocide treatment is effectively removing the biofilm, simply lowering its metabolic activity, or killing the cells, thereby leaving the infrastructure intact for new microbes to more easily attach to surfaces. We have developed a technique utilizing Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy to determine the efficiency of biofilm removal of commonly used oilfield biocides using thickness and volume calculations. Volume measurements allow us to quantify the ability of the biocide to penetrate throughout the biofilm rather than only seeing a reduction in overall thickness which can be influenced by a number of factors.