Microbiologically influenced corrosion inhibition of carbon steel via biomineralization induced by Shewanella putrefaciens

Abstract

Microbiologically influenced corrosion inhibition (MICI) of Q235 carbon steel by biomineralization was investigated via a combination of surface analysis, electrochemistry, and scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM). The results showed that Shewanella putrefaciens used the cell walls as the nucleation sites to induce the formation of a protective biomineralized layers which contained calcite and extracellular polymeric substances on the steel surface. The potentiodynamic polarization results demonstrated that the corrosion current density (i_corr value) of the biomineralized steel surface was 0.38 μA cm⁻², which was less than one-tenth that of the blank steel in a sterile medium (4.86 μA cm⁻²) after 14 days. The biomineralized layers presented wear resistance and could self-repair after undergoing mechanical damage under microbial conditions as verified by morphological and SECM observations. This work reveals that microbial-induced carbonate biomineralization, as a MICI approach, may be considered as a reliable, low-cost, environmentally friendly corrosion inhibition strategy.