Research Projects

Biocorrosion or microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) is defined as an electrochemical process where microorganisms initiate, facilitate or accelerate the corrosion reaction. MIC occurs in the paper and pulp industry, sugar industry, dentistry, and shipping industry, amongst others (Beech et al., 1999), but this proposal aims to understand the influence of outer membrane c-Cyts on EET-MIC of marine environment, leading to the development of new non-biodegradable formulations to address this problem. This proposal aims to understand the influence ofc-ctys on EET-MIC bacterial of marine environmental. The objective is to develop an effective, eco-friendly technique to reduce the need for ‘pigging’, the process of cleaning pipelines with water. After identifying the bacterial community responsible for corrosion through EET, research will focus on the role of c-Cyts in EET - MIC and developing non-biodegradable corrosion inhibitors/biocides. Our recent studies (Rajasekar et al., 2014, Narenkumar et al. 2017, Li et al. 2018) clearly show the antimicrobial activity of some selected inhibitor to control the MIC in metals. The role of microbial cell-surface interactions and its relation to biofilm formation is yet to be studied. Hence approach with the systematic quantification of the bacterial metabolisms would be helpful in many applications more than bacterial corrosion. Basic research on the diversity of bacterial species involved in corrosion will be used to develop a new approach for its detection, monitoring and control, including the required concentration of inhibitors.