In the dairy industry mild steel is used as the construction material for the effluent treatment plants, pipelines, reinforcement in concrete structures etc. The steel exposed to the dairy effluent faces corrosion due to the microbes. In the present study the role of microbes in dairy effluent on the corrosion of mild steel has been investigated.
Pseudomonas
sp.,
Streptococcus
sp.,
Micrococcus
sp.,
Bacillus
sp.,
Neisseria
sp. and
Lactobacillus
sp. were identified in dairy effluent. Corrosion rate has been estimated by weight loss measurements and polarization technique. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD) studies were found helpful in investigating the chemical pathway leading to the formation of corrosion products on the mild steel during fermentation. Initiation of pitting corrosion was noticed on steel specimens by scanning electron microscope (SEM). A mechanism has been proposed for microbiologically influenced corrosion in dairy effluent.
