Biopelículas y Biocorrosión: Una Revisión Integral de su Naturaleza y de las Técnicas de Microscopía y Electroquímica para su Estudio.

The damage caused by corrosion in metallic materials is a problem that produces substantial economic and environmental costs. According to the World Bank, the global annual GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in corrosion costs was approximately 96.1 trillion US dollars for 2021, about 20% are due to the corrosion produced by the presence of bacteria, however there are no statistics related to environmental damages produced by this problem [1]. Microbial corrosion activity on metallic surfaces, cannot be classified as a corrosion type, but a process or mechanisms that can influence, accelerate and even initiate it, regardless the type of corrosion generated. The only necessary condition to initiate or accelerate the microbial corrosion on a metallic surface is the growth of biofilms. Biofilms are very complex systems, due to the large amount and types of microorganisms that can grow in it, the metabolic activities that can be developed, and the chemical products, which can attack the metallic materials, causing great deterioration. Due to the complex nature of these processes, specifics norms, procedures and methodologies of operation, patented or established to study, evaluate or fight the action of biofilms are scarce [2,3]. However, some industrial methods have being reported to mitigate their effects [4-7]. In this work it is presented an information review compiled by bibliographic search related to some relevant aspects about biofilms and microbial corrosion, electrochemistry, microscopic studies and preventive actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]