One of the many companies making presentations at CERAWeek by S&P Global was Corrolytics, which has developed a test kit to detect and monitor microbial corrosion for industrial assets.

Corrosion is an expensive problem in the oil and gas industry, and it has multiple causes. Oxidation is one, when metal gets involved in a chemical reaction. Microbial corrosion, when microorganisms affect lines, is another. Corrolytics, based in Cleveland, intends to digitize and revolutionize how corrosion is detected and monitored for industrial assets, CEO and founder Anwar Sadek said at CERAWeek.

“Imagine your pipeline just like a human body,” he said. “You have bacteria and viruses growing in your body, and that’s infecting and damaging the body.”

Microbial corrosion is a $2.5 trillion problem worldwide, Corrolytics says, and a significant environmental problem as well when one considers the emissions connected to steel replacements and chemical treatments. The tools and techniques used to find and fight microbes are “very old, slow and inaccurate,” Sadek said.

“Our patented, one-of-kind electrochemical technology is like an advanced medical diagnostic tool that can detect the problem even before it’s a problem,” Sadek said. “We are the only company in the world that can detect microbial corrosion rate on site and in near-real time.”

Anwar Sadek Corrolytics
Corrolytics CEO and Founder Anwar Sadek. (Source: Corrolytics)

Corrolytics uses a dual-chamber unit to detect microbes. The chambers are physically separated and electrically connected, using a fluid sample from inside the pipeline that enables the assessment.

The company has three offerings:

  • In-lab testing of samples sent in by clients;
  • A portable, handheld test kit that can be taken to sites; and
  • Another kit that is attached to assets to provide real-time assessments.

The real-time assessment allows asset owners to place kits across the infrastructure and map out corrosion rates for an entire system. These kits can also measure the effectiveness of the agents they introduce to fight the microbes.

The technology helps companies on three levels, Sadek said. They can reduce the amount of chemicals they use and the failures and stoppages caused by corrosion, and they can extend the life of their assets.

Corrolytics has two pilot projects planned, one in Houston and one in Brazil. The company is also raising a seed grant of $3 million to complete development of its hardware and software, finish the pilot projects and get ready to take the test kit to market.

The company was also named the People’s Choice Startup of the Year at the 2024 Houston Innovations Awards in December.

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