Quick or Rapid Check Tests

Most of the time, what is required is to determine whether or not MIC and particularly SRB are part of the problem In these conditions, one needs a pronpt answer although It may not be very accurate, at least it will give an idea about the presence or absence of SRB. However, one must be very cautious when using this terminology as it may also be misleading, as it will be discussed below. 

These methods can be classified as absence/presence tests , in terms of microbiological tests. The tests of this kind that are most frequently used in the field are an acid test and a lead acetate test . In an acid test, a few droplets of diluted hydrochloric acid are added on the corrosion products. If there is a smell of rotten egg - characteristic of hydrogen sulphide gas - then the corrosion products do contain sulphides. The lead acetate test is basically using moist lead acetate [Pb(C2H302)2-3H20] papers. In contact with sulphides, these papers turn black. 

As a result, bearing in mind the limitations of both of these rapid test methods, they may become very handy to help build a story for a corrosion case where there is no immediate access to laboratory facilities. 

Therefore, if the detection test is not sophisticated, in terms of both the testing techniques and the means, it can be done on site and requires no background science of either microbiology or corrosion, we call these tests rapid check tests . In this regard, a majority of the tests called rapid check tests by some experts [14, 36] will need to be re-assigned. To give an idea of what these so-called quick check tests are, here is a list of the test types  

Both the APS-reductase and hydrogenase tests work on the basis of tracing enzymes one tracks down APS-reductase and the other tracks down hydrogenase. However, it must be noted that while the hydrogenase test can only be done on SRB that have this enzyme only, APS-reductase-based tests are applicable to all SRB. The main drawback is, of course, it can only detect SRB. Besides, although the commercial kits are user-friendly, a certain level of hands-on experience is needed for carrying out the tests more confidently. 

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