New test bed to develop agents against marine microfouling

Fouling on ships and other structures is costly for both the wallet and the environment. Therefore, it is of great importance to find sustainable and effective control methods. At the Kristineberg center in Fiskebäckskil, Sweden, they hope to find new solutions to the problem, and a test bed for microfouling has been set up.

- "Fouling on structures in the sea increases friction, fuel consumption, destroys rust protection and clogs filters," says Mattias Berglin, a researcher at RISE, who has been involved in setting up the test bed as part of the Collaborative Platform for Biomedical Industries project.

Mimicking nature

Microfouling is a thin biofilm that grows as soon as a structure comes into contact with seawater. It consists of proteins, polysaccharides and bacteria and is a precursor to the growth of larger organisms such as algae and barnacles called macrofouling.

- Microfouling has long been overlooked, but is also a major problem in, for example, desalination plants, heat exchangers and for biocorrosion.

The aim of the microfouling test bed is to investigate how biofilm grows under different conditions in the sea and to test different materials, methods and active substances that prevent biofilm from developing. Marine organisms have often developed their own defense systems against fouling and the idea is to use the active substances they produce to develop more sustainable antifouling products.

- For example, we have tested a protein from a sea anemone. We found an active part of the protein that was extracted and then applied in a desalination plant, which resulted in reduced biofilm," says Mattias Berglin.

Global problem

Fouling problems are global, not only for shipping, but also for aquaculture, renewable energy installations (wave, wind and tidal), desalination plants and sensory systems. To prevent fouling, environmentally harmful paints based on heavy metals (copper, zinc and tin) and/or broad-spectrum organic biocides are mainly used today.