Experimental studies on the corrosion of Types 304 and 304L stainless steels (SS) in 0.5M chloride solutions with the presence of sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) and a slime former were conducted. Coupled multielectrode sensors and electrochemical polarization techniques were employed in this study. No significant difference between the repassivation potentials was observed with and without the presence of SRB. The SS electrodes in both the SRB-containing and the SRB-free solutions were coupled to large SS cathodes in a separate aerated cell and their potentials were increased stepwise from -0.26 to -0.04 VSCE. No pitting was observed on the electrodes after three-month exposure. Anodic polarization measurements using a platinum electrode in the SRB-containing solution suggest that the anodic peak observed on the SS electrode was probably due to the oxidation of reducing species and attached to the electrode surface by the SRB. It was concluded that use of the anodic current density to characterize microbially induced corrosion of metals might lead to wrong interpretation.

Subject
Pits, Sensors, Electrochemical cells, Repassivation potentials, Corrosion initiation, Density, Platinum, Anodic current, Galvanic current, Electrodes, Corrosion potential, Concentration cells, Electrode potential
Keywords:
microbiologically influenced corrosion, MIC, sulfate reducing bacteria, SRB, stainless steel, multielectrode sensor, coupled multielectrode sensor
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2004
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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