It can happen every day, and it can happen to almost any manufacturing facility or product in every city, state, town and country around the world. When was the last time you experienced a microbiological contamination issue? Did your product smell, was it gassing, did it change color, produce a drop in pH, or display several of these noticeable changes? The microorganism, the oldest living creature on Earth, is the cause of all these problems. If you were to simply ignore the symptoms of microbial growth in your facility or product, then the diagnosis would be biodeterioration. The rate of biodeterioration will depend on prevailing environmental conditions and the types of microorganisms involved, whether bacteria, yeast and/or mold. There are many control measures that can be taken to prevent and/or correct biodeterioration. These include specific microbiological control methodologies and the use of biocides within a manufacturing facility.
A substantial amount of money is lost every year due to microbiological contamination occurring to aqueous industrial products and in their manufacturing facilities. Since contamination by microorganisms can occur at various points before, during and even after manufacture, early use of an effective biocide is essential. The proper selection of a biocide and knowledge of its interaction with other materials is critical. The key to formulating is to understand the function of an additive and its chemical or physical behavior in the presence of other components in a specific formulation. This is often not easy or simple. Sometimes very minor amounts of the biocide can have major effects on the formulation and final product performance. The complexity of the biocide and what happens at the interfaces of each is of critical importance. The function of an antimicrobial agent added to a formulation can generally be categorized into two main areas: