Corrosion-enhancing potential of Shewanella putrefaciens isolated from industrial cooling waters

Abstract

Microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) is catalysed by a series of metabolic activities of selected micro-organisms, notably by oxidation of cathodic hydrogen by hydrogenase, by hydrogen sulphide and by reduction of ferric iron. The sulphate-reducing bacteria are considered to be the most common catalyst of MIC, whereas the role of other bacteria has been neglected. This study examined the corrosive potential of the facultative sulphide producer, Shewanella putrefaciens, isolated from an industrial cooling water system. Shewanella putrefaciens was shown to reduce ferric iron and sulphite under anaerobic conditions and with ferric iron being the preferred electron acceptor. The isolate could utilize cathodic hydrogen as an energy source, especially when using sulphite as a terminal electron acceptor. In pure culture corrosion experiments, the highest mass loss of mild steel was observed in the presence of sulphite as sole electron acceptor, although mass loss was also detected where ferric iron was the sole electron acceptor. Our data indicate that S. putrefaciens plays a role in MIC as it was able to catalyse a variety of corrosion-promoting reactions and to corrode mild steel under pure culture conditions.