Effect of Multispecies Microbial Consortia on Microbially Influenced Corrosion of Carbon Steel

Abstract

Microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) is responsible for significant damage to major marine infrastructure worldwide. While the microbes responsible for MIC typically exist in the environment in a synergistic combination of different species, the vast majority of laboratory-based MIC experiments are performed with single microbial pure cultures. In this work, marine grade steel was exposed to a single sulfate reducing bacterium (SRB, Desulfovibrio desulfuricans) and various combinations of bacteria (both pure cultures and mixed communities), and the steel corrosion studied. Differences in the microbial biofilm composition and succession, steel weight loss and pitting attack were observed for the various test configurations studied. The sulfate reduction phenotype was successfully shown in half-strength marine broth for both single and mixed communities. The highest corrosion according to steel weight loss and pitting, was recorded in the tests with D. desulfuricans alone when incubated in a nominally aerobic environment. The multispecies microbial consortia yielded lower general corrosion rates compared to D. desulfuricans or for the uninoculated control.

Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion of Copper and Its Alloys in Anaerobic Aqueous Environments: A Review

“…The authors of this review suggest that future laboratory studies on marine MIC should examine the synergistic/antagonistic effect of multi-species biofilms on copper corrosion behavior ( Batmanghelich et al, 2017 ; Phan et al, 2021 ). The use of genomics analyses on natural marine biofilm should also be considered as a powerful complementary addition to laboratory experiments.…”

Inhibition of corrosion causing Pseudomonas aeruginosa using plasma-activated water

“…Metal corrosion can be significantly accelerated by the presence and activity of micro‐organisms, a process that is also known as biocorrosion or Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MIC) (Phan et al, 2021) and is responsible for 20% of metal corrosion damages (Flemming, 1996). The cost of corrosion in industrialized countries was estimated to be 3.4% of the global GDP in 2013, and if corrosion protection and design were properly applied, a 15%–35% loss reduction could be achieved (Koch et al, 2016).…”

Role of Indigenous Bacteria in Corrosion of Two Types of Carbon Steel

“…In natural and human-made environments, metal and alloy corrosion ensue due to chemical or electrochemical interactions between the metal and its environment [1][2][3]. Microbially influenced corrosion (MIC), also known as biocorrosion, is a type of corrosion in which the deterioration of metal is initiated by the presence of microorganisms such as bacteria and the products of their metabolic activities [4][5][6][7][8]. Many bacteria tend to attach to metal surfaces and form biofilms, which create conditions that can initiate and accelerate metal corrosion and cause severe damage to the metal [9][10][11].…”

“…Biofilms have exceptional abilities to adapt and survive under extreme values of temperature, salinity, pH, redox potential, pressure, and radiation [7,12]. Bacteria and the products of their metabolic activities (e.g., exopolymers, enzymes, organic and/or inorganic acids, volatile compounds) can affect the anodic and cathodic reactions at metal surfaces, thus altering the electrochemical processes at the biofilm and metal interface [7,8,10,13].…”

“…The biocorrosion of carbon steel is a serious issue in many countries due to enormous economic damage and costs associated with the repair and replacement of the affected metallic materials. While the bacteria responsible for MIC usually exist in the environment in synergistic communities of different species, most laboratory-based MIC experiments have been performed with single bacterial pure cultures [8]. This study aimed to investigate the presence of both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in a water sample collected from a nuclear power plant and to establish if the indigenous bacteria or the products of their metabolic activities could initiate the corrosion of two different types of carbon steel, A570 and 1045 (ASTM-AISI).…”