Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) are gaining momentum as biotechnological alternatives for self-powered wastewater treatment and the recovery of valuable products from waste. However, there is a strong need to reduce system costs and therefore some types of stainless steel (SS) electrodes have been proposed as an alternative to carbonaceous electrode materials, but their corrosion remains a strong concern. We hereby demonstrate that a facile SS modification results in up to 45.367 mA cm(-3) current production at room temperature - the highest volumetric current density reported to date for BES bioanodes-but that this benefit comes at a high risk of corrosion, which compromises the applicability of SS-based Microbial Fuel Cells. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.