Corrosion of metal infrastructure due to microbial activity has been widely reported in many sectors and has been frequently studied under mesophilic conditions (<50°C). However, less is known about this degradation process at thermophilic (>50°C) temperatures that characterize many oil- and gas-producing operations. We used a thermophilic sulfate-reducing consortium (TSRM) enriched from offshore-produced water fluids to determine microbial corrosion of mild carbon steel at 60°C in the presence or absence of an organic electron donor (lactate or volatile fatty acids) and in the presence of riboflavin, a redox mediator previously reported to enhance microbial corrosion by pure isolates. Incubations of the TSRM consortium showed the highest corrosion rate in the absence of an organic electron donor, suggesting that the carbon steel itself served as an electron donor. Higher corrosion rates corresponded to increased numbers of localized pits formed. Scanning electron micrographs showed microbial cells with elongated filaments incubations when Fe0 served as an electron donor, potentially contributing to the direct uptake of electrons from iron. The addition of 20 ppm riboflavin did not enhance corrosion rates by the mixed TSRM consortium under the tested conditions. Microbial community analysis showed the TSRM culture to contain diverse anaerobic taxa and substantially distinct planktonic and coupon surface-attached communities. Overall, this study showed that thermophilic microbial communities containing sulfate-reducers can contribute to the corrosion of metal infrastructure operated or maintained at higher temperatures even in the absence of organic substrates, provided sulfate is present.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
1 January 2025
Research Article|
December 13 2024
Corrosion of Carbon Steel by a Thermophilic Sulfate-Reducing Consortium Enriched from Oilfield-Produced Waters
Gloria Ngozi Okpala;
Gloria Ngozi Okpala
*Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 1N4.
Search for other works by this author on:
Gerrit Voordouw;
Gerrit Voordouw
*Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 1N4.
Search for other works by this author on:
Lisa M. Gieg
Lisa M. Gieg
‡
*Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 1N4.
‡Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected].
Search for other works by this author on:
CORROSION (2025) 81 (1): 27–38.
Citation
Gloria Ngozi Okpala, Gerrit Voordouw, Lisa M. Gieg; Corrosion of Carbon Steel by a Thermophilic Sulfate-Reducing Consortium Enriched from Oilfield-Produced Waters. CORROSION 1 January 2025; 81 (1): 27–38. doi: https://doi.org/10.5006/4667
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.
Sign in via your Institution
Sign in via your InstitutionCiting articles via
The elimination of intergranular stress-corrosion cracking (IGSCC) in the corrosion of Cu-Mn alloys
Guojun Yan, Qi Xue, Xinmin Xu, Bailing Jiang
Oxide Scale Formation Behavior of Stainless Steels Exposed to the Oxidative High Concentration Alkaline Solutions
Yian Gao, Hongling Zhang, Peng Zhou, Qin Shang, Hongbin Xu
Exfoliation corrosion susceptibility of variously treated high-strength 7068 and 5059 alloys
Ankur Kumar, Arushi Garg, Gajanan P. Chaudhari
Algorithm for the Quantitative Characterization of Galvanic Corrosion Morphology from Optical Micrographs
Vangelina Osteguin, Luis Perdomo-Hurtado, Haya Abdelaziz, James Dante, Brendy C. Rincon Troconis
Stress Corrosion Cracking of 316L Stainless Steel in Concentrated Ammonium Chloride Solution with Very Low Dissolved Oxygen Levels
Jonas da Silva de Sa, Nicholas Laycock, Monir Aljaradli, Alexander Saul, Roger Newman, Guruprasad Sundararajan, Amine Haboub, Dana Abdeen, Hanan Farhat