Synergistic inhibition effect of Chlorella sp. and benzotriazole on the corrosion of Q235 carbon steel in alkaline artificial seawater

The interaction of microalgae on the reinforced concrete with corrosion inhibitor is not well understood. Moreover, the inhibition role of microalgae on corrosion has been reported in recent years. In this study, the corrosion inhibition behavior of Q235 carbon steel (CS) due to the presence of Chlorella sp. and benzotriazole (BTA) in alkaline artificial seawater was investigated by means of weight loss, electrochemical measurements including open circuit potential, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and potentiodynamic polarization curves, and surface analysis including scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersion spectrometer, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results of reduced corrosion rates in the algae-BTA system demonstrated that Chlorella sp. could facilitate the corrosion inhibition efficiency of BTA on the CS specimens. Moreover, polarization measurement showed the algae-BTA system had a mixed-type corrosion inhibition effect. The mechanisms of inhibition were proposed to be the precipitation of iron complexes such as Fe-BTA-EPS and Fe-BTA and iron compounds on the steel surface in the presence of the microalgae and BTA–. This study highlights the application of CS corrosion control by combining biological and chemical approaches that can be used for future research and practice, rather than purely chemical approaches.