Anaerobic corrosion of steel wire by under alkaline autotrophic conditions.

Microbially induced corrosion (MIC), caused by iron-cycling microorganisms that directly uptake electrons from metallic iron, is a serious economic and environmental problem. Iron corrosion is inhibited at pH above 9.0 in the presence of carbonate by the formation of a passivating film, but the possibility of direct oxidation of metallic iron by anaerobic alkaliphiles has not been thoroughly investigated.