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Mitigation of hydrogen permeation into steel by bacteria: a new research proposal

  • Chemistry
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Abstract

A new research proposal was introduced aiming at solving the fundamental theory for reducing the risk of hydrogen embrittlement (HE) in high-strength steels by utilizing hydrogen-consuming microorganisms. The superior performance of high-strength steel can meet the material strength requirements for remote deep-sea marine engineering development. Due to the heavy corrosive marine environment, steel structures must be protected by cathodic protection. However, high-strength steel is sensitive to stress corrosion cracking and HE, and cathodic protection can promote hydrogen permeation into steel. Hydrogen-consuming microorganisms are widespread in the natural environment and they utilize the energy of hydrogen oxidation to survive. If we could make use of the hydrogen-consuming function of microorganisms to consume the hydrogen generated during the cathodic protection process, then the potential for cathodic protection can be reasonably lowered, ideally protecting the steel and simultaneously reducing the possibility of HE.

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Data Availability Statement

The datasets analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Corrosion and Bio-fouling, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Yanliang Huang

  2. Open Studio for Marine Corrosion and Protection, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266237, China

    Yanliang Huang

  3. Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Yanliang Huang

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Correspondence to Yanliang Huang.

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Supported by the Joint Fund for Iron and Steel Research of National Natural Science Foundation of China and China Baowu Steel Group Corporation Ltd. (No. U1660112)

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Huang, Y. Mitigation of hydrogen permeation into steel by bacteria: a new research proposal. J. Ocean. Limnol. 39, 1901–1909 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-020-0274-4

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