Corrosion of the marine infrastructure in polluted seaports

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Corrosion of the marine infrastructure in polluted seaports

Wiener, M.Schorr / Salas, B.Valdez

Corrosion affects both fixed and mobile marine installations and equipment made from two basic engineering materials: steel and reinforced concrete. Typical cases of corrosion appear in the retaining walls of marine ports and in the floating docks of shipyards. This situation has been aggravated in recent decades by the discharge of municipal, industrial, and agricultural effluents which contain and/or produce by biological and chemical decomposition, toxic and highly corrosive components. The corrosive substances include hydrogen sulphide (H2S), oxygen (O2), carbon dioxide (CO2), ammonia (NH3) and heavy metals. In this brief review, contaminated ports are described and typical cases of marine corrosion and methods of corrosion prevention and protection are discussed. Environmental organisations, such as SEMARNAT in Mexico and EPA in the USA, in the collaboration with the port authorities, need to develop and implement regulations covering the prevention, protection and monitoring of corrosion and other modes of deterioration in polluted marine ports.