Bacteria have transient influences on marine corrosion of steel

The contribution of bacteria to the corrosion mass loss and to pitting of mild steel was observed over 2.5 years using parallel streams of unpolluted natural (biotic) and nominally sterilized (abiotic) Pacific Ocean coastal seawater. As also observed by others, in artificial laboratory exposures, corrosion mass loss within the first few days of exposure was much greater in the biotic stream. However, after only about 10 days the difference in mass losses were gradually reduced and were very similar up to about one year of exposure. Thereafter, the corrosion loss in the biotic stream again became more severe. Pitting corrosion in the biotic stream was more severe from the very first exposure throughout the 2.5 years. Corrosion in both seawater streams exhibited three distinct but transient time-dependent phases. Of these only the first and third obviously involve bacteria. Similar longer-term observations in real seawaters have not been described previously but are generally consistent with some long-term field data. The results show that longer-term corrosion behavior and possible microbial influences cannot be predicted from short-term laboratory observations, even if natural seawater is used.