Bacteriogenic Sulfuric Acid Attack of Cementitious Materials in Sewage Systems

Chapter
First Online:
Part of the RILEM State-of-the-Art Reports book series (RILEM State Art Reports, volume 10)

Abstract

Well functioning sewage networks are critical to public health. Increasing urbanisation puts rising demands on existing networks and creates a need for new networks, especially in developing countries. Sewage networks represent a very aggressive environment for cementitious materials. At the same time their relative inaccessibility poses challenges for maintenance and repair. The main cause of degradation is the corrosion of concrete due to the in-situ production of sulfuric acid by bacteria. In this chapter, we discuss the mechanisms behind this so-called bacteriogenic corrosion and the state of the art for determination of the relative resistance of different concrete types to this form of degradation. The reader is also referred to Monteny et al. (2000) for a more extensive review on the subject.

Keywords

Bacteria Acidothiobacillus Sewer Biogenic Calcium aluminate cement Hydrogen sulfide Sulfuric acid 
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Copyright information

© RILEM 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Laboratory of Construction MaterialsEPFLLausanneSwitzerland
  2. 2.Magnel Laboratory for Concrete Research, Department of Structural EngineeringGhent UniversityGhentBelgium

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