Influence of iron bacteria on the corrosion behavior of carbon steel: SEM study

Abstract

In this work, the iron bacteria were cultured and inoculated into the cooling water before immersion, and low carbon steel coupons were immersed for one month. Then, microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) of carbon steel in the presence of these bacteria was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD) and weight loss methods. SEM results showed that large amounts of corrosion products and heterogeneous biofilm layer were formed on the coupon surface. SEM also revealed the uniform-pitting corrosion on the steel surface due to bacteria colonization. XRD results show that the main constituents present in corrosion product are composed of iron oxides and iron hydroxides. © 2013 Penerbit UTM Press. All rights reserved.