Effect of biofilm on naval steel corrosion in natural seawater

Abstract

The behaviour of steel in natural environments is not only dependent on material properties and environmental aggressiveness, but also on micro-organisms which can exist within it. The electrochemical evolution of the interface formed on BV-grade A naval steel exposed to natural seawater in the presence and absence of marine micro-organisms has been studied over 30 days. The results obtained by electrochemical techniques including linear polarisation and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy revealed that a heterogeneous layer formed by a mixture of corrosion products and biofilm grew on the material surface in natural seawater, producing an increase of the corrosion rate and then a decrease in the corrosion resistance under diffusion process. In this case, the protective layer formed by the corrosion products can be subject to the localised breakdown. In sterile seawater, the formation of two layers at the metal surface generated by organic and/or inorganic compounds deposits (outer layer) and corrosion products (inner layer) is concluded. Using our experimental data, electrical models are proposed. They describe the impedance distribution for carbon steel exposed to both environments. Scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry analysis and optic microscope reproductions were obtained. They allowed an interpretation of the effect of the marine biofilm on the behaviour of the carbon steel in seawater.