Marine bio-fouling of different alloys exposed to continuous flowing fresh seawater by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

Abstract

The petroleum industry and desalination plants suffer from marine bio-fouling problems that have a major role in the stimulation of the corrosion process. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the micro and the macro-organisms, on the corrosion behavior of different alloys used in Kuwait’s industries. The alloys used in this study were; sanicro 28, stainless steel 316L, Cu–Ni 70–30, and titanium. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used in this study in order to determine the corrosion susceptibility of different alloys exposed to continuous fresh seawater. This was achieved by calculating the charge transfer resistance of the metal surface and the resistance of the solution. The total exposure time of the tests was about 180 days. The visual inspection of the tested samples, showed a bio-film formation on the surface of these samples. Also, it was observed that the stainless steel 316, sanicro 28, Cu–Ni 70–30, and titanium alloys exhibited good corrosion resistance.

Keywords

• Marine bio-fouling
• Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy
• Seawater
• Corrosion resistance