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Microbially mediated metal corrosion

Nature Reviews Microbiology volume 21, pages 705–718 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

A wide diversity of microorganisms, typically growing as biofilms, has been implicated in corrosion, a multi-trillion dollar a year problem. Aerobic microorganisms establish conditions that promote metal corrosion, but most corrosion has been attributed to anaerobes. Microbially produced organic acids, sulfide and extracellular hydrogenases can accelerate metallic iron (Fe0) oxidation coupled to hydrogen (H2) production, as can respiratory anaerobes consuming H2 as an electron donor. Some bacteria and archaea directly accept electrons from Fe0 to support anaerobic respiration, often with c-type cytochromes as the apparent outer-surface electrical contact with the metal. Functional genetic studies are beginning to define corrosion mechanisms more rigorously. Omics studies are revealing which microorganisms are associated with corrosion, but new strategies for recovering corrosive microorganisms in culture are required to evaluate corrosive capabilities and mechanisms. Interdisciplinary studies of the interactions among microorganisms and between microorganisms and metals in corrosive biofilms show promise for developing new technologies to detect and prevent corrosion. In this Review, we explore the role of microorganisms in metal corrosion and discuss potential ways to mitigate it.

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Fig. 1: Examples of microbial corrosion.
Fig. 2: Key reactions and diversity of microorganisms involved in metal corrosion.
Fig. 3: Details of key mechanisms for microbial corrosion of ferrous metals.
Fig. 4: Various methods for disrupting biofilms to prevent or mitigate microbial metal corrosion.

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Acknowledgements

D.X. was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2022YFB3808800) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U2006219) while working on this Review. The authors apologize to all investigators whose excellent work could not be cited due to space constraints.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Electrobiomaterials Institute, Key Laboratory for Anisotropy and Texture of Materials (Ministry of Education), Northeastern University, Shenyang, China

    Dake Xu & Derek R. Lovley

  2. Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Northeastern University, Shenyang, China

    Dake Xu

  3. Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA

    Tingyue Gu

  4. Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA

    Tingyue Gu

  5. Institute for Corrosion and Multiphase Technology, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA

    Tingyue Gu

  6. Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA

    Tingyue Gu

  7. Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA

    Derek R. Lovley

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  1. Dake Xu
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Xu, D., Gu, T. & Lovley, D.R. Microbially mediated metal corrosion. Nat Rev Microbiol 21, 705–718 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-023-00920-3

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