Prevention and control of biocorrosion

Microbial colonization of metals and alloys of industrial usage takes place through the formation of biofilms made of bacteria, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and mainly water. These biological deposits can drastically modify the corrosion behavior of structural metals and alloys enhancing localized alterations in the type and concentrations of ions, pH, and oxygen levels. However, biofilms also facilitate the formation of diffusional barriers to the exchange of chemical species from and towards the metal/solution interface. Problems due to biocorrosion and biofouling of industrial systems range from heavy microbiological contamination with consequent energy and efficiency losses to structural failures owing to corrosion. The use of appropriate monitoring strategies complemented with field and laboratory microbiological techniques is necessary to reach a proper understanding of the effects derived from microbiological activity and the role of biofilms in the corrosion reaction to later implement effective control and preventive countermeasures. It must be emphasized that this assessment should be made for each industrial system, considering its previous history, present operational conditions, physicochemical composition of the intake water and the number and identity of microbial contaminants. Cleaning procedures, most relevant biocides and other methods for prevention and control of biocorrosion like coatings, and cathodic protection are successively described. Updated information about monitoring strategies is also included in the final part of the paper.