ELFT HÍRADÓ

[Szeminárium koordinátor <sem-admin AT wigner.hun-ren.hu>]

SZFI SeminarKnisz, JuditLudovika University of Public Service (host: Péter, 
László)Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion in Drinking Water Distribution 
SystemsTuesday, 9 June 2026, 10:00, KFKI Campus, Bldg. 1, 2nd floor, 
Conference RoomMicrobiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) presents growing 
challenges across industrial sectors such as oil and gas, cooling water 
systems, and utilities. Defined as corrosion influenced by microbial presence 
or activity, MIC is a complex, interdisciplinary phenomenon, including also 
elements of solid-state science. Despite advances in understanding microbial 
mechanisms and contributing factors, the field remains fragmented, and the 
translation of laboratory findings to real-world systems is limited due to 
the artificial nature of many experimental setups.This presentation will 
describe a laboratory experiment designed to investigate MIC using carbon 
steel coupons exposed to drinking water and corrosion products from a 
distribution system affected by severe corrosion. Molecular microbiological 
methods (ATP biomass measurement and shotgun metagenomics) and chemical 
analyses (redox potential, dissolved oxygen, pH, iron, manganese, and other 
parameters) were combined with SEM-EDX and 3D optical microscopy, the latter 
ones performed in the Wigner RCP.The results show that while the addition of 
culture media seems to accelerate corrosion, the underlying mechanisms differ 
significantly from those observed under field-relevant conditions. Notably, a 
high relative abundance of an iron-reducing bacterium—previously unreported 
in drinking water corrosion—was detected in nutrient-free conditions. This 
finding expands our understanding of the microbial diversity potentially 
involved in drinking water-related MIC and highlights the need for further 
investigation. Minden érdeklődőt szívesen látunk! - Everyone is welcome 
to attend.Tamás Pusztaisem-admin AT wigner.hun-ren.hu