Advanced Antifouling Coatings: Enhancing Marine Equipment Protection

Advanced antifouling coatings using Cu2O, biochar, and styrene-acrylic, modified with sodium chloride, show enhanced marine protection. These coatings, tested in photobioreactors, significantly reduce microalgae adhesion, offering a safer and more effective alternative to traditional methods while minimizing environmental impact.

April 27, 2024

1–2 minutes

Yu, et al (2024) Cu₂O/Biochar-Styrene acrylic double layer composite coatings modified by NaCl: Special surface and antifouling performance. *Chemical Engineering Science.* https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2024.120134

Innovative antifouling coatings featuring a double-layer of cuprous oxide (Cu2O), biocharBiochar is a carbon-rich material created from biomass decomposition in low-oxygen conditions. It has important applications in environmental remediation, soil improvement, agriculture, carbon sequestration, energy storage, and sustainable materials, promoting efficiency and reducing waste in various contexts while addressing climate change challenges. More (BC), and styrene-acrylic (SA) have shown significant promise in marine equipment protection. These Cu2O/BC/SA-SA coatings, modified with sodium chloride (NaCl), provide effective and controlled release of copper ions (Cu2+), crucial for combating biofouling in marine environments.

The research focused on a dual-layer coating strategy to prevent direct metal substrate contact with the external environment, thereby enhancing the antifouling properties. The outer layer, or functional layer, contains dispersed NaCl which acts as a pore-forming agent. This modification enhances the exposure of the Cu2O/BC composite to the environment, facilitating a faster and more controlled release of Cu2+.

Testing was conducted using a large-capacity photobioreactor, which assessed the coating’s effectiveness against marine microalgae like Nannochloropsis oceanica and freshwater species such as Chlorella vulgaris. The results were promising: the coating modified with 3 wt% NaCl outperformed the unmodified version by 63.7% and was 92.8% more effective than the pure SA membrane.

This antifouling approach is not only more efficient but also environmentally safer compared to past methods, such as tributyltin-based coatings, which were banned due to their ecological damage. The sodium chloride modification provides a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to enhance coating properties, making these double-layer composite coatings a viable solution for protecting marine and freshwater-based equipment from biofouling, thus potentially reducing maintenance costs and increasing the lifespan of marine equipment.