TAPPI Presents Free Webinar on Microbially-Influenced Corrosion

Microbially-influenced Corrosion (MIC) is probably the most difficult form of corrosion to identify in a pulp and paper mill. It does not produce any unique type of corrosion and no tests exist that uniquely identify the cause of corrosion as MIC. Instead the identification of MIC must rely on multiple consistent pieces of evidence that all point to MIC as the cause of corrosion. This webinar will discuss factors that indicate MIC may be occurring and the tools (including emerging tools for DNA analysis) that are available to examine each of these factors. A case of MIC in mill water and white water will be presented to illustrate how MIC can be identified.

Dr. Sandy Sharp is an independent consultant with degrees in metallurgy, corrosion and chemistry and four decades of experience solving corrosion problems. For 22 years he led a corrosion control group within a $4 billion pulp and paper company to plan, manage and implement corrosion control efforts to increase the profitability and safety of mill operations. Sandy’s group was selected, with peers from DuPont, Ford Motor Company, Intel, and Union Carbide for a national study of best practices in the delivery of in-house materials engineering services. For many years he also supervised Westvaco’s papermaking microbiology research group. He has published 60 papers in refereed technical journals and has received ten awards for teaching TAPPI courses, based on student rankings. He recently completed the development of a new 24-hour modular course on Controlling Corrosion in Pulp and Paper Mills which he has been giving at mill sites. He was appointed a TAPPI Fellow in his first year of eligibility, was the first NACE Fellow from the paper industry and has received 12 other national and international awards plus 7 other awards for meritorious service in corrosion control.

This webinar has been prepared to show individuals involved with mill operation and maintenance how to determine whether corrosion damage was initiated or promoted by microbial growth and how to control and monitor it. Participation is open to all TAPPI Members and nonmembers at no charge. Please visit the Microbiology Webinar Website to register.

The Microbiology & Microbial Technology committee is an active part of the paper & board division and has produced a series of successful webinars on this and other important topics. They also feature presentations at TAPPI’s PaperCon Conference being held next year in Atlanta GA April 19-22. For more information visit www.papercon.org.