Perspective on “Diagnosing Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion: A State-of-the-Art Review,” B.J. Little, J.S. Lee, and R.I. Ray, <i>Corrosion</i> 62, 11 (2006): p. 1006-1017

Abstract: Central to all diagnostic strategies for microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) is the identification and enumeration of microorganisms, particularly bacteria. The shift from culture-based techniques to molecular microbiological methods for these procedures has increased the list of microbial species (including archaea) to which MIC is attributed but has not provided unambiguous data correlating corrosiveness to the size and/or composition of microbial populations. The following provides a state-of-the-art review of MIC diagnostics, including the possibility of correlating corrosiveness with specific extracellular metabolites. Microbiological testing requires informed sample collection, preservation and data interpretation. Currently, no single diagnostic test is conclusive for MIC; all diagnoses require multiple layers of supporting data besides microbiological data. Key Words: carbon, carbon steel, hydrogen, microbiologically influenced corrosion, oil and gas, x-ray diffraction Editor’s Note: This article is part of the series, “Perspectives on Classic Articles,” featuring CORROSION journal articles with historical significance accompanied by perspectives describing the impact of the article and the evolution of the field.