Role of Bacterial Plasmid on Biofilm Formation and Its Influence on Corrosion of Engineering Materials

Abstract

Bacterial plasmids are involved in biofilm formation, degradation of hydrocarbons and biosynthesis of antibiotics in extreme environments. A number of intercalating compounds have been reported to be used for curing the plasmids in various bacterial species, since they act as inhibitors during plasmid replication by selectively binding to the plasmid DNA. In this research, we investigated the influence of bacterial plasmid on biofilm formation on metal surface and corrosion of engineering metals, such as mild steel (MS), stainless steel (SS) and brass (BS). The biocorrosion behaviour of Bacillus thuringiensis EN2 wild and cured strain was studied using immersion tests based on the weight loss method, electrochemical analysis and surface analysis techniques (FTIR spectroscopy). The plasmid cured strain EN2 was unable to form biofilm, showing significantly less corrosion over all the tested metal surfaces. On the contrary, the presence of plasmid led to higher corrosion rate (0.18, 10.3 and 91.5 mm/year) and surface hydrophobicity for MS, SS and BS. Overall, it can be concluded that the plasmid gene was found to be responsible for the biofilm formation, which determines the corrosion rate of metals.

Role of calcium-depositing bacteria Agrobacterium tumefaciens and its influence on corrosion of different engineering metals used in cooling water system

“…The coupons were allowed to surface sterilize with 70% ethanol. Finally, the coupons were dried and stored in a desiccator for further experiment (Narenkumar et al 2016). Agrobacterium tumefaciens EN13 was selected for biocorrosion studies.…”

“…At the end of the WL experiment (15th day), the coupons were removed from the respective systems and the collected corrosion products were analyzed by FTIR and XRD (system controlled XRD, Bruker-8030) among 10°to 85°-2h (Narenkumar et al 2016). For weight loss study, the coupons were pickled with respective pickling solution of 1 liter HCl containing 20 g of antimony trioxide and 50 g of stannous chloride at room temperature for 25 min (Rajasekar et al 2007).…”

“…Electrochemical studies such as impedance and polarization were performed through a three electrode system (CH Instrument Inc., USA model CHI-608E): Ag/AgCl as reference electrode, Metal (BS, Cu, SS and MS) coupons as working electrode, and platinum wire as counter electrode. Impedance and Tafel polarization measurements procedures were adopted from our earlier studies (Rajasekar et al 2017;Narenkumar et al 2016).…”

Biofilm formation on copper and its control by inhibitor/biocide in cooling water environment

“…For instance, Ecsom who provides almost 90% of power requirement for the natives of South Africa reported detection on MIC of copper steel in virtually all of the cooling water systems in their power plant ( Beech et al, 1999 , Lide, 2004 ). And the costs incurred due to the maintenance and down time of the plant can be accounted to millions of dollars every year ( Vu et al, 2009 , Narenkumar et al, 2016 ). It is important to note that the phenomenon of metallic corrosion not solely leads to substantial economic losses in power plant but the oil and gas industry as well.…”

Impact and Role of Bacterial Communities on Biocorrosion of Metals Used in the Processing Industry

“…20 Currently, mild steel (MS) and brass (BR) are used extensively as metals in CWSs due to their excellent insulation properties, easy construction properties, and low cost. 21,22 The rate of metal corrosion is impacted by the deposition of gaseous compounds, relative humidity (RH), temperature, moisture, and biological aerosols on the metal surface. 23−26…”