MATERIAL DEGRADATION PROBLEMS WITH METALLIC ELECTRODES IN MICROBIAL ELECTROCHEMICAL TECHNOLOGIES

摘要

The 3d nickel foam was used as the anode and tested as therncorrosion specimen in both abiotic and biotic tests. The preliminaryrnresults indicates that the porous metal is prone to corrosion in typicalrnMFC configuration. Further, the rates of nickel dissolution seem tornincrease in the presence of microbes. A series of electrochemical andrnmicroscopic tests indicate that the typical microbial population in thernMFCs are capable of aggravating metallic corrosion. The microbialrncorrosion rates of nickel were eight times higher than that in itsrnabiotic counterpart. Further, the biotic MFCs indicated three distinctrnregions for active, passive and transpassive zones, all of whichrnsuggest that the biofilm could transiently behave as a protectionrnlayer. However, the subsequent dislodgement of biofilm can result inrnthe pitting corrosion.