This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is in the general area of analytical and surface chemistry and in the subfield of electrochemistry. The goal of this research effort is to establish the feasibility of using electrochemical impedance pattern recognition for the detection of microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) occurring at metal surfaces. The approach is directed towards development of pattern recognition schemes based upon the on-line acquisition of electrochemical impedance spectra using fast Fourier transform electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (FFTEIS) instrumentation at the suspect corrosion site. This will be followed by treatment of the electrochemical impedance spectral data using the principal components analysis (PCA) technique. The resulting PCA transformed data will then be subjected to analysis by software based pattern recognition techniques to classify the MIC corrosion site. Because all aspects of the proposed approach can be handled by portable computer driven hardware and software, the ultimate goal of the planned multi-Phase SBIR activity is the development of portable diagnostic instrumentation for the on-line determination of MIC. %%% This Phase I project brings together disparate technologies of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in the fast Fourier transform implementation, principal components analysis, and pattern recognition for the purpose of identifying microbially induced corrosion in contrast with abiotic corrosion. The proof of concept plan set forth for Phase I should determine the feasibility of this approach to diagnosing problems of enormous economic importance.
