Abstract

Grooming may be an effective technique to control marine biofouling without damaging the coating or discharging active ingredients into the environment. This study assessed the grooming performance of three experimental biocide-free siloxane polyurethane (SiPU) fouling-release coatings. Coatings were statically immersed in Port Canaveral, Florida, and groomed every two weeks for five months using three different brush types. The ungroomed panels became heavily fouled with biofilm, tubeworms, barnacles, and bryozoans. Two of the brushes were able to control the fouling with a coverage of <5%. The commercial silicone elastomer coating was damaged from grooming procedures, while the SiPU coatings were not. Laboratory biological assays were carried out and mirrored the grooming results. Through surface characterization techniques, it was concluded that the coatings were unaffected by the grooming procedures. This study shows that marine fouling on durable SiPU fouling-release coatings can be controlled via grooming without damage or changing the surface properties.

摘要

修饰可能是一种控制海洋生物污损的有效技术，不会损坏涂层或将活性成分排放到环境中。本研究评估了三种实验性无杀菌剂硅氧烷聚氨酯 (SiPU) 污垢释放涂料的修饰性能。将涂料静态浸入佛罗里达州卡纳维拉尔港，并使用三种不同类型的刷子每两周梳理一次，持续五个月。未修饰的面板被生物膜、管虫、藤壶和苔藓虫严重污染。其中两个刷子能够以 <5% 的覆盖率控制污垢。商业有机硅弹性体涂层因修饰程序而受损，而 SiPU 涂层则没有。进行了实验室生物测定并反映了修饰结果。通过表面表征技术，得出的结论是涂层不受修饰程序的影响。该研究表明，耐用的 SiPU 污垢释放涂层上的海洋污垢是可以控制的通过修饰而不损坏或改变表面特性。