Microorganisms associated with corrosion of structural steel in diverse atmospheres

The influence of atmospheric conditions on the corrosion of steel and its associated microbial community was studied. Surface analysis revealed greater localized corrosion in steel exposed to near-ocean atmospheres with high chloride deposition compared to inland and subalpine sites. High-throughput...

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Main Authors: Machuca Suarez, Laura, Jeffrey, R., Melchers, R.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Elsevier 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/52087
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author Machuca Suarez, Laura
Jeffrey, R.
Melchers, R.
author_facet Machuca Suarez, Laura
Jeffrey, R.
Melchers, R.
author_sort Machuca Suarez, Laura
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The influence of atmospheric conditions on the corrosion of steel and its associated microbial community was studied. Surface analysis revealed greater localized corrosion in steel exposed to near-ocean atmospheres with high chloride deposition compared to inland and subalpine sites. High-throughput sequencing analysis of corrosion products showed that dissimilar microbial communities and dominant species were deposited on steel in the different atmospheres. Close to the ocean, Brevundimonas diminuta were predominant whereas Clostridium and Pseudomonas species dominated for inland sites with agricultural or forestry activities. Bacillus and Enterococcus were dominant for sites close to a fertilizer plant and a sewage treatment plant, respectively. Actinobacteria species dominated at sub-alpine conditions. Results from this study indicate that microbial communities on corroding steel exposed to atmospheric conditions are the result of deposition of locally-generated aerosols. Acid-producing activity and exopolysaccharide (EPS) production was widespread and rapidly detected in microbial cultures from all the exposure sites. Sulphate-reducing bacteria were not detected in this study. These results suggest that acid production and EPS synthesis can be important mechanisms for microbial corrosion of steel under atmospheric conditions.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-520872017-09-13T15:38:22Z Microorganisms associated with corrosion of structural steel in diverse atmospheres Machuca Suarez, Laura Jeffrey, R. Melchers, R. The influence of atmospheric conditions on the corrosion of steel and its associated microbial community was studied. Surface analysis revealed greater localized corrosion in steel exposed to near-ocean atmospheres with high chloride deposition compared to inland and subalpine sites. High-throughput sequencing analysis of corrosion products showed that dissimilar microbial communities and dominant species were deposited on steel in the different atmospheres. Close to the ocean, Brevundimonas diminuta were predominant whereas Clostridium and Pseudomonas species dominated for inland sites with agricultural or forestry activities. Bacillus and Enterococcus were dominant for sites close to a fertilizer plant and a sewage treatment plant, respectively. Actinobacteria species dominated at sub-alpine conditions. Results from this study indicate that microbial communities on corroding steel exposed to atmospheric conditions are the result of deposition of locally-generated aerosols. Acid-producing activity and exopolysaccharide (EPS) production was widespread and rapidly detected in microbial cultures from all the exposure sites. Sulphate-reducing bacteria were not detected in this study. These results suggest that acid production and EPS synthesis can be important mechanisms for microbial corrosion of steel under atmospheric conditions. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/52087 10.1016/j.ibiod.2016.06.015 Elsevier restricted
spellingShingle Machuca Suarez, Laura
Jeffrey, R.
Melchers, R.
Microorganisms associated with corrosion of structural steel in diverse atmospheres
title Microorganisms associated with corrosion of structural steel in diverse atmospheres
title_full Microorganisms associated with corrosion of structural steel in diverse atmospheres
title_fullStr Microorganisms associated with corrosion of structural steel in diverse atmospheres
title_full_unstemmed Microorganisms associated with corrosion of structural steel in diverse atmospheres
title_short Microorganisms associated with corrosion of structural steel in diverse atmospheres
title_sort microorganisms associated with corrosion of structural steel in diverse atmospheres
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/52087