Biocidal Coatings: New Solutions for Preventing Marine Organism Biofouling

The attachment, anchoring, and growth of organisms such as bacteria, algae, barnacles, and blue mussels or, in fresh water, zebra mussels can significantly degrade the performance of water-based facilities and vessels. Biofouling has degraded the performance of hydroelectric power plants by clogging pipes involved in cooling water intake systems and compromising the performance of heat exchangers and condensers. For vessels, biofouling creates unnecessary drag and, therefore increases the fuel consumption and decreases the speed of large vessels.

SRI's team is developing a technology for surface coatings that will prevent marine fouling by

• Repelling marine organisms by a biorepellant approach
• Providing a controlled release of biotoxins to decrease the environmental impact
• Inhibiting adhesion by preparing minimally adhesive surfaces
• Preventing anchoring to allow easy removal of biofouling with either water pressure or ultrasound treatment

This technology is a direct result of SRI's work in microencapsulation, bioprocessing, biocatalysis, polymer design, and synthesis activities.

Advantage
SRI's environmentally benign antifouling technology will replace current, highly toxic methods. Traditional approaches involve paints that contain environmentally hazardous agents, such as cupric oxide and triorganotin, as well as toxic compounds including chlorine, molluscicides, and organometallic toxicants.

Our coatings also have benefits for reducing contamination and virus adhesion within the medical device and instrumentation markets.

Opportunity
With its biofouling research in early-stage development, SRI welcomes the opportunity to work with an R&D partner to explore commercial applications.

Technical Contact:

Dr. Mark Petrie
650-859-3444 

mark.petrie@sri.com

Contact Us

For more information about SRI's Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory, contact:

Robert Wilson
650-859-5954
e-mail: robert.b.wilson@sri.com