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Airborne bacteria associated with corrosion of mild steel 1010 and aluminum alloy 1100

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Abstract

A novel approach to measure the contribution of airborne bacteria on corrosion effects of mild steel (MS) and aluminum alloy (AA) as a function of their exposure period, and the atmospheric chemical composition was investigated at an urban industrial coastal site, Singapore. The 16S rRNA and phylogenetic analyses showed that Firmicutes are the predominant bacteria detected in AA and MS samples. The dominant bacterial groups identified were Bacillaceae, Staphylococcaceae, and Paenibacillaceae. The growth and proliferation of these bacteria could be due to the presence of humidity and chemical pollutants in the atmosphere, leading to corrosion. Weight loss showed stronger corrosion resistance of AA (1.37 mg/cm2) than MS (26.13 mg/cm2) over the exposure period of 150 days. The higher corrosion rate could be a result of simultaneous action of pollutants and bacterial exopolysaccharides on the metal surfaces. This study demonstrates the significant involvement of airborne bacteria on atmospheric corrosion of engineering materials.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the two anonymous reviewers for improving the earlier version of our manuscript.

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Author notes

  1. Aruliah Rajasekar, Punniyakotti Parthipan & Punniyakotti Elumalai

    Present address: Environmental Molecular Microbiology Research Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Thiruvalluvar University, Serkkadu, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, 632 115, India

  2. Manivannan Sethuraman

    Present address: Biofouling and Biofilm Processing Section, Water and Steam Chemistry Division, BARC Facilities, Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, 603 102, India

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering & Minerals, Metals and Materials Technology Centre (M3TC), Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore, Block EA, 9 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore, 117576, Singapore

    Aruliah Rajasekar, Wang Xiao & Manivannan Sethuraman

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  1. Aruliah Rajasekar
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Correspondence to Aruliah Rajasekar.

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Responsible editor: Diane Purchase

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Rajasekar, A., Xiao, W., Sethuraman, M. et al. Airborne bacteria associated with corrosion of mild steel 1010 and aluminum alloy 1100. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 8120–8136 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8501-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8501-z

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