Thesis Abstract:

The deterioration of pipeline capacity has been attributed, in many cases, to the growth of attached microbial slimes. The most commonly used slimicide, chlorine, is presumed to kill bacteria and to destroy the slime. These investigations show that other mechanisms operate.

Chlorine treatment inhibits metabolic processes of slime bacteria, but the most significant affect upon pipe friction is due to the formation and discharge of capsular polymers from the slime.

Additional experiments with a non-viable slime, previously treated with mercuric chloride, indicate that the hypochlorite does not function primarily as a bactericide.

The effect of hypochlorite on microbial slimes, Thesis Defense by William Characklis, Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, 1970