Calcium carbonate is the enemy of the pipelines used in oil extraction. When there is a buildup of too much calcite (the cubes in the image above), the only option is to replace the pipes. Researchers are experimenting with inhibitory chemicals as a way to reduce the deposition rate and modulate the shape of the crystals. In this case, the treatment led to the formation of aragonite (the green rods), which can be removed with cleaning. The image won in the electron microscopy category of the XXII MetMat Prize, awarded by the Polytechnic School at the University of São Paulo (Poli-USP).
Image submitted by biologist Fabio Dossi of the Technology and Research Institute (ITP) in Aracaju, Sergipe
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