Microbial corrosion

Microbial corrosion, also called bacterial corrosion,

bio-corrosion, microbiologically inuenced corrosion, or microbially induced corrosion (MIC), is
corrosion caused or promoted by microorganisms, usually chemoautotrophs. It can apply to both metals and
non-metallic materials.

metal suldes and hydrogen sulde smell. On cast iron,

a graphitic corrosion selective leaching may be the result, with iron being consumed by the bacteria, leaving
graphite matrix with low mechanical strength in place.
Various corrosion inhibitors can be used to combat microbial corrosion. Formulae based on benzalkonium
chloride are common in oileld industry.
Microbial corrosion can also apply to plastics, concrete,
and many other materials. Two examples are Nyloneating bacteria and Plastic-eating bacteria.

Bacteria

Some sulfate-reducing bacteria produce hydrogen sulde,

which can cause sulde stress cracking. Acidithiobacillus
bacteria produce sulfuric acid; Acidothiobacillus thiooxidans frequently damages sewer pipes. Ferrobacillus ferrooxidans directly oxidizes iron to iron oxides and iron
hydroxides; the rusticles forming on RMS Titanic wreck
are caused by bacterial activity. Other bacteria produce
various acids, both organic and mineral, or ammonia.

2 Aviation fuel
Hydrocarbon utilizing microorganisms,
mostly
Cladosporium resinae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa,
colloquially known as HUM bugs, are commonly
present in jet fuel. They live in the water-fuel interface
of the water droplets, form dark black/brown/green,
gel-like mats, and cause microbial corrosion to plastic
and rubber parts of the aircraft fuel system by consuming
them, and to the metal parts by the means of their acidic
metabolic products. They are also incorrectly called
algae due to their appearance. FSII, which is added to
the fuel, acts as a growth retardant for them. There are
about 250 kinds of bacteria that can live in jet fuel, but
fewer than a dozen are meaningfully harmful.[2]

In presence of oxygen, aerobic bacteria like

Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans, Thiobacillus thioparus, and
Thiobacillus concretivorus, all three widely present in the
environment, are the common corrosion-causing factors
resulting in biogenic sulde corrosion.

Without presence of oxygen, anaerobic bacteria, especially Desulfovibrio and Desulfotomaculum, are common.
Desulfovibrio salixigens requires at least 2.5% concentration of sodium chloride, but D. vulgaris and D. desulfuricans can grow in both fresh and salt water. D.
africanus is another common corrosion-causing microorganism. The Desulfotomaculum genus comprises sulfate- 3 Nuclear waste
reducing spore-forming bacteria; Dtm. orientis and Dtm.
nigricans are involved in corrosion processes. Sulfate- Microorgamisms can aect negatively radioelements
reducers require reducing environment; an electrode po- connement in nuclear waste.
tential lower than 100 mV is required for them to thrive.
However, even a small amount of produced hydrogen sulde can achieve this shift, so the growth, once started, 4 Recent events
tends to accelerate.

Layers of anaerobic bacteria can exist in the inner parts of In response to increased awareness of the nature and
the corrosion deposits, while the outer parts are inhabited danger of microbial corrosion, a two-day international
by aerobic bacteria.
symposium was held in Perth, Western Australia in
Some bacteria are able to utilize hydrogen formed during February 2007. The symposium, originally proposed by
Dr. Reza Javaherdashti, was sponsored by EXTRIN Concathodic corrosion processes.
sultants and Curtin University of Technology, as well as
Bacterial colonies and deposits can form concentration other local industries. It attracted speakers and attendees
cells, causing and enhancing galvanic corrosion. .
from as far as Argentina, Brazil, New Zealand, the UK
Bacterial corrosion may appear in form of pitting cor- and the United States in addition to Australian represenrosion, for example in pipelines of the oil and gas tatives. The symposium primarily focussed on the idenindustry.[1] Anaerobic corrosion is evident as layers of tication of Microbial Corrosion in marine, mining and
1

8 FURTHER READING

industrial environments and the best course of action to D. Weismann, M. Lohse (Hrsg.):
Suldremove and prevent further attacks.
Praxishandbuch der Abwassertechnik; Geruch, Gefahr,
Korrosion verhindern und Kosten beherrschen!" 1.
Auage, VULKAN-Verlag, 2007, ISBN 978-3-80272845-7.
5 See also
J. F. Parisot (editor), Corrosion and alteration of nuclear
Microbiologically Inuenced Corrosion (MIC) and materials, CEA Saclay, Paris, 2010, p 147-150
Other Forms of Corrosion
Biogenic sulde corrosion
Corrosion
Rusticle

References

[1] Schwermer, C. U., G. Lavik, R. M. M. Abed, B. Dunsmore, T. G. Ferdelman, P. Stoodley, A. Gieseke, and
D. de Beer. 2008. Impact of nitrate on the structure
and function of bacterial biolm communities in pipelines
used for injection of seawater into oil elds. Applied
and Environmental Microbiology 74:2841-2851. http:
//aem.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/74/9/2841
[2] J. E. Sheridan; Jan Nelson; Y. L. Tan. STUDIES
ON THE KEROSENE FUNGUS CLADOSPORIUM
RESINAE (LINDAU) DE VRIES PART I. THE
PROBLEM OF MICROBIAL CONTAMINATION OF
AVIATION FUELS. Tuatara: 29.

External links
Dialog to odor and biogenic corrosion in sewage,
exhaust air arrangements and fermentation gas arrangements

Further reading

Kobrin, G., A Practical Manual on Microbiologically

Inuenced Corrosion, NACE, Houston, Texas, USA,
1993.
Heitz,E., Flemming HC., Sand, W., Microbially Inuenced Corrosion of Materials, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 1996.
Videla, H., Manual of Biocorrosion, CRC Press, 1996.
Javaherdashti, R., Microbiologically Inuenced
Corrosion-An Engineering Insight, Springer, UK, 2008.
Tomei FA, Mitchell R (1986) Development of an Alternative Method for Studying the Role of H2-Consuming
Bacteria in the Anaerobic Oxidation of Iron. In: Dexter
SC (ed) Proceedings of the International Conference on
Biologically Induced Corrosion. National Association of
Corrosion Engineers, Houston, Texas, 8:309320

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