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Published online 26 October 2006 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news061023-12

News

Mud battery stops marine rust

Electricity from microbes could shield ships and rigs.

Ships, buoys, oil rigs and other ocean-bound steel objects can be protected from rust by plugging them into the seabed, says a team of Argentinian researchers.

The scientists have turned marine mud into a battery that can suppress corrosion by charging up stainless steel.

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