Corrosion at the carbon steel-clay borehole water interface under anoxic alkaline and fluctuating temperature conditions

Abstract Coupons of carbon steel were corroded in situ in anoxic clay porewater under slightly alkaline conditions. Sample damage was less than 1 μm for 9 months at 85 °C only, and corrosion interfaces were covered by a thin, protective layer of Fe-silicate. The damage was more significant for samples exposed to room temperature transients (up to 38 μm for two years), and the long-term surface differentiated in cathodic (Fe-silicate covered) areas and anodic crevices filled with siderite, chukanovite, β-Fe 2 (OH) 3 Cl, and covered by tubercles. Sulfide compounds were detected, and were related to the metabolism of sulfate-reducing prokaryotes detected by microbiological techniques.