Levels Of Biofouling Research Articles

Mechanism of Corrosion of Cast Aluminum-Silicon Alloys in Seawater. Part 2: Characterization and Field Testing of Sol-Gel-Coated Alloys in the Adriatic Sea

Two hybrid sol-gel coatings, one acrylate-based and the other epoxy-based, were synthesized and deposited on two cast aluminum-silicon alloys, Al-Si9-Cu3 and Al-Si7-Mg0.3. Field immersion testing was performed in the Adriatic Sea and lasted 8 months. Coatings were characterized before and after immersion in terms of morphology, structure, composition, and electrochemical properties in artificial seawater. The level of biofouling was documented, and sonication was used as a procedure for simulating vessels in motion or gentle cleaning. Although biofouling was formed during immersion, as analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, it was removed by sonication in a large proportion. X-ray photoelectron and glow discharge optical emission spectroscopies confirmed that the coatings preserved their structure and that no significant dissolution occurred. Both coatings showed better barrier properties when deposited on Al-Si7-Mg0.3 alloy and also exhibited the highest ability of biofouling release, making them good candidates for further development.

The cleanability of laser etched surfaces with repeated fouling using Staphylococcus aureus and milk

Biofouling is a serious problem in the food industry, and one way to control biofouling is using topographically patterned surfaces. This in vitro study used a laser surface texturing process to produce six differently patterned topographies which were analysed for their topography and wettability with repeated fouling and cleaning. The surfaces were spray-inoculated with Staphylococcus aureus suspended in either sterile distilled water or whole milk, then spray-cleaned using a chlorinated, alkaline cleaner. The surfaces were cleaned up to 20 times and analysed for changes in their surface properties and biofouling. Analysis of Variance was used to assess the effect of the main factors and two-way interactions. Principal component analysis was used to discern underlying relationships. There were no significant differences (T-Tests) in the overall level of biofouling between the different rippled sub-textures. The spiked surfaces showed no overall increase in biofouling and the number of cleans but were predominantly influenced by the texture sub-type. The less regular spiked surfaces within the medium range showed the lowest levels of biofouling, even with repeated cleaning. This study demonstrated that the use of such surfaces in in vitro studies may reduce biofouling, but particular attention needs to be given to the surface design.

Experimental investigation on the hydrodynamic performance of plane nets fouled by hydroids in waves

Biofouling of netting adversely impacts aquaculture operations and the structural safety of fish cages. In this study, the effects of the hydroids on the hydrodynamic performance of a plane net in waves were determined experimentally. A series of plane nets with various levels of biofouling was obtained via field sampling from a fish farm. The hydrodynamic force and motion response of both clean and biofouled nettings in waves were measured in a wave-current tank. The corresponding drag and inertia coefficients of the nettings were then calculated. In the studied waves, the wave force acting on the biofouled netting was as high as 3.88 times that acting on the clean netting. The maximum amplitude of the horizontal motion for the most severely biofouled netting was 3.84 times that for the clean netting. For various wave conditions, the biofouled netting drag coefficients and inertia coefficients were 3.30–7.72 and 5.04–10.83, respectively. The results indicated that netting biofouling by hydroids increases the drag force more substantially than it increases the inertial force.

Hydrodynamic effect on biofouling of milli-labyrinth channel and bacterial communities in drip irrigation systems fed with reclaimed wastewater

The clogging of drippers due to the development of biofilms reduces the benefits and is an obstacle to the implementation of drip irrigation technology in a reclaimed water context. The narrow section and labyrinth geometry of the dripper channel results the development of a heterogeneous flow behaviours with the vortex zones which it enhance the fouling mechanisms. The objective of this study was to analyse the influence of the three dripper types, defined by their geometric and hydraulic parameters, fed with reclaimed wastewater, on the biofouling kinetics and the bacterial communities. Using optical coherence tomography, we demonstrated that the inlet of the drippers (mainly the first baffle) and vortex zones are the most sensitive area for biofouling. Drippers with the lowest Reynolds number and average cross-section velocity v (1 l·h−1) were the most sensible to biofouling, even if detachment events seemed more frequent in this dripper type. Therefore, dripper flow path with larger v should be consider to improve the anti-clogging performance. In addition, the dripper type and the geometry of the flow path influenced the structure of the bacterial communities from dripper biofilms. Relative abundancy of filamentous bacteria belonging to Chloroflexi phylum was higher in 1 l·h−1 drippers, which presented a higher level of biofouling. However, further research on the role of this phylum in dripper biofouling is required.

Hydrodynamic effect of biofouling in fish cage aquaculture netting

This paper presents a numerical study to assess the hydrodynamic effects of different levels of biofouling in fish cage aquaculture netting. The methodology adopted includes high resolution Large Eddy Simulation (LES) coupled to a regional model implemented within the framework of the Coastal and Regional Ocean Community Model (CROCO). The physical coherence of this approach has been previously verified and published by the authors. Three levels of biofouling were considered to describe a clean fish cage netting with no biofouling, medium biofouling and high biofouling growth levels. Clean and biofouled fish cage netting were described using a porous media model and the porous media coefficients were taken from the literature. A salmon farm located in the Estero Elefantes Channel in Patagonia (45°39′16.50 S 73°35′59.40 W) was used as study case. A change in the biofouling level in aquaculture fish cages netting can lead to drastic changes in the local velocity field. The high biofouling level produces the largest change in velocity direction and magnitude not only locally in near-cage areas, but also changing features in the overall fjord circulation. Velocity reduction in the shadow zone of fish cages reached values between 30% and 10% of the incident current for null and high biofouling levels, respectively. Simulations also showed dramatic effects of biofouling on flushing time. The predicted water availability of the salmon farm shows decreases of 27% and 36% considering medium and high levels of biofouling. This decrease in the available water is also related to a reduction in the amount of available oxygen and accumulation of waste products, affecting not only the health of farmed fish but also the environment. These and other environmental and productive implications are discussed.

Mapping the Historical Shipwreck Figaro in the High Arctic Using Underwater Sensor-Carrying Robots

In 2007, a possible wreck site was discovered in Trygghamna, Isfjorden, Svalbard by the Norwegian Hydrographic Service. Using (1) a REMUS 100 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) equipped with a sidescan sonar (SSS) and (2) a Seabotix LBV 200 mini-remotely operated vehicle (ROV) with a high-definition (HD) camera, the wreck was in 2015 identified as the Figaro: a floating whalery that sank in 1908. The Figaro is to our knowledge currently the northernmost wreck in the world to be investigated by archaeologists. As the wreck is protected by law as an underwater cultural heritage (UCH) site, only non-intrusive methods could be used during surveys. In this study, we demonstrate how using multiple complementary remote sensing techniques can be advantageous with respect to acquiring a holistic overview of a recently discovered wreck site. In January 2016, the wreck was revisited, and a full photogrammetric survey of the site was conducted with a Sperre Subfighter 7500 medium class ROV. In addition to stereo camera images, HD-video and underwater hyperspectral imagery was also obtained from the wreck site. In terms of data analysis and interpretation, the emphasis was in the current study put on the photogrammetric 3D model and the underwater hyperspectral imagery. The former provided an excellent general overview of the Figaro wreck site, whereas the latter supplied detailed information from a 14.65-m2 sub-area situated on the top of the wreck. By analyzing classified underwater hyperspectral imagery in context with supplementary information from the 3D model, the levels of biofouling associated with different marine archaeological substrate types were assessed. Our findings suggest that strongly protruding archaeological objects support significantly higher levels of biofouling than their surroundings, and consequently that high-density biological assemblages could serve as proxies for identifying human-made artifacts on the seafloor.

The detection and quantification of food components on stainless steel surfaces following use in an operational bakery

Food preparation areas in commercial bakeries present surfaces for continual organic fouling. The detection of retained food components and microorganisms on stainless steel surfaces situated for one month in the weighing in area, pastry and confectionary production areas of a bakery were investigated using different methods. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated the morphology of the material on the surfaces from all three areas, with the weighing in area demonstrating a more even coverage of material. Differential staining assays demonstrated a high percentage coverage of organic material heterogeneously distributed across the surfaces. Differential staining also demonstrated that the amount of organic material on the surface from the confectionary area was significantly greater than from both the pastry and weighing in areas. Although, UV at 353nm did not detect residual surface fouling, performance of the UV detection was optimised and demonstrated that the residual organic material on the weighing in area and the pastry samples was best illuminated at 510–560nm, and from the confectionary area of the bakery at 590–650nm. ATP bioluminescence revealed the confectionary production area contained the highest level of biofouling. Contact plates determined that only low microbial counts (≤2CFU/cm2) were recovered from the surfaces. Changes in the physicochemistry (increased hydrophobicity) demonstrated that all the surfaces were fouled (ΔGiwi −26.8mJ/m2 to −45.4mJ/m2). Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy (FTIR) demonstrated that all the surfaces had retained fats, carbohydrates and proteins. This work suggests that a range of methods may be needed to fully detect organic and microbial fouling.

A comparison of the antifouling performance of air plasma spray (APS) ceramic and high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) coatings for use in marine hydraulic applications

Maritime hydraulic components are often exposed to harsh environmental conditions which can lead to accelerated deterioration, reduced function, equipment failure and costly repair. Two leading causes of maritime hydraulic failure are biofouling accumulation and corrosion. This study examined the antifouling performance of three candidate replacement high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) coatings relative to the performance of the current baseline air plasma spray (APS) ceramic coating for protection of hydraulic actuators. Following 20 weeks immersion at tropical and temperate field exposure sites, the control APS ceramic accumulated significantly greater levels of biofouling compared to the HVOF coatings. More specifically, the magnitude of growth of real-world nuisance hard fouling observed on in-service hydraulic components (eg calcareous tubeworms and encrusting bryozoans) was significantly greater on the APS ceramic relative to HVOF coatings. Possible explanations for the observed patterns include differences in surface topography and roughness, the electrochemical potential of the surfaces and the colour/brightness of the coatings.

Drag on and flow through the hydroid-fouled nets in currents

Biofouling is an inevitable problem in marine aquaculture and it is prone to cause many negative effects on the hydrodynamic behavior of the aquaculture facility. In this study, the dominant biofouling on the netting of fish farms in the Yellow Sea of China was determined by field sampling. Plane nets with various levels of biofouling were obtained by submerging nets at different depths and for different durations. Drag acting on the biofouled nets in currents were investigated using laboratory experiment. The results indicate that drag acting on the net increases with increasing level of biofouling. Compared to the clean net, the accumulation of biofouling can lead to over 10 times more hydrodynamic load on nets. Flow fields around the biofouled nets were simulated using a porous-media fluid model which was validated by corresponding laboratory experiment. As the level of biofouling increases, the flow velocity downstream from the net decreases continuously. The net with the greatest level of biofouling produces the most serious shielding effect with 21.4% reduction in flow velocity. Using the proposed empirical equations, both the drag on and flow velocity downstream from a hydroid-fouled net can be predicted.

Numerical study on wave attenuation inside and around a square array of biofouled net cages

In this study, waves propagating through a square array of 16 net cages with different levels of biofouling are numerically studied using a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. A porous-media fluid model is adopted to simulate both clean and biofouled netting of a cage array in waves. A numerical wave tank is built, and the oscillating-boundary method is adopted to generate waves. The flow motion is solved by the Navier-Stokes equations, and the free water surface is captured using the volume of fluid (VOF) method. The numerical model is validated by comparing the numerical data with corresponding experimental measurements of a net-cage model with clean netting. To analyze wave attenuation, a numerical analysis of wave elevation both inside and around the cage arrays is presented, which considers the effect of biofouling. Based on the results of the present study, the effect of biofouling on wave elevation is noticeable; the damping effect of the cage array increases with increasing level of biofouling. Furthermore, the incident angle of waves has a noticeable effect on the wave field inside and around the cage array.

Breaking the ice: the introduction of biofouling organisms to Antarctica on vessel hulls

Abstract Few reports exist that describe marine non‐native species in the Southern Ocean and near‐shore waters around the Antarctic continent. Nevertheless, Antarctica's isolated marine communities, which show high levels of endemism, may be vulnerable to invasion by anthropogenically introduced species from outside Antarctica via vessel hull biofouling. Hull surveys of the British Antarctic Survey's RRS James Clark Ross were undertaken between 2007 and 2014 at Rothera Research Station on the Antarctic Peninsula (Lat. 67°34'S; Long. 68°07'W) to investigate levels of biofouling. In each case, following transit through scouring sea‐ice, over 99% of the vessel hull was free of macroscopic fouling communities. However, in some surveys microbial/algal biofilms, balanomorph barnacles and live individuals of the cosmopolitan pelagic barnacle, Conchoderma auritum were found in the vicinity of intake ports, demonstrating the potential for non‐native species to be transported to Antarctica on vessel hulls. Increasing ship traffic volumes and declining duration of sea ice in waters to the north and west of the Antarctic Peninsula mean the region may be at increased risk of non‐native species introductions. Locations at particular risk may include the waters around popular visitor sites, such as Goudier Island, Neko Harbour, Whalers Bay, Cuverville Island and Half Moon Island, and around northern peninsula research stations. Simple and cost‐effective mitigation measures, such as intentionally moving transiting ships briefly through available offshore sea ice to scour off accessible biofouling communities, may substantially reduce hull‐borne propagule pressure to the region. Better quantification of the risk of marine non‐native species introductions posed by vessel hulls to both Arctic and Antarctic environments, as sea ice patterns and shipping traffic volumes change, will inform the development of appropriate regional and international management responses. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Numerical study on the hydrodynamic characteristics of biofouled full-scale net cage

The effect of biofouling on the hydrodynamic characteristics of the net cage is of particular interest as biofouled nettings can significantly reduce flow of well-oxygenated water reaching the stocked fish. For computational efficiency, the porous-media fluid model is proposed to simulate flow through the biofouled plane net and full-scale net cage. The porous coefficients of the porous-media fluid model can be determined from the quadratic-function relationship between the hydrodynamic forces on a plane net and the flow velocity using the least squares method. In this study, drag forces on and flow fields around five plane nets with different levels of biofouling are calculated by use of the proposed model. The numerical results are compared with the experimental data of Swift et al. (2006) and the effectiveness of the numerical model is presented. On that basis, flow through full-scale net cages with the same level of biofouling as the tested plane nets are modeled. The flow fields inside and around biofouled net cages are analyzed and the drag force acting on a net cage is estimated by a control volume analysis method. According to the numerical results, empirical formulas of reduction in flow velocity and load on a net cage are derived as function of drag coefficient of the corresponding biofouled netting.

Classic paradigms in a novel environment: inserting food web and productivity lessons from rocky shores and saltmarshes into biogenic reef restoration

Summary Gradients in competition and predation that regulate communities should guide biogenic habitat restoration, while restoration ecology provides opportunities to address fundamental questions regarding food web dynamics via large‐scale field manipulations. We restored oyster reefs across an aerial exposure gradient (shallow‐subtidal‐to‐mid‐intertidal) to explore how vertical gradients in natural settlement, growth and interspecific interactions affected the trajectory of man‐made shellfish reefs. We recorded nearly an order‐of‐magnitude higher oyster settlement on the deepest (subtidal) reefs, but within a year abundance patterns reversed, and oyster densities were ultimately highest on the shallowest (intertidal) reefs by over an order‐of‐magnitude. This reversal was due to (i) significantly elevated survivorship on intertidal reefs and (ii) larger surviving oysters on intertidal reefs. These patterns are likely to have developed from greater levels of biofouling and predator abundance (e.g. stone crabs, gastropods) on deeper reefs where aerial exposure was <5% of the monthly tidal cycle. Synthesis and applications. The success of restoration initiatives involving habitat‐forming species can be enhanced by accounting for the biotic interactions that regulate population fitness. In littoral systems, vertical gradients in predation, competition and disturbance can be exploited to guide restoration of vegetated (e.g. mangrove, seagrass) or biogenic reef habitats. In particular, our results demonstrate that paradigms of vertical zonation learned from the rocky intertidal and saltmarshes also describe the fate of restored shellfish reefs. As with rocky shores, the lower vertical limit of adult oyster distribution in our study system was most likely driven by predatory and competitive (i.e. smothering) interactions, with a threshold depth at c. 5% daily aerial exposure. Below this depth, experimentally restored reefs failed completely. As with Spartina saltmarsh, accumulation of oyster biomass was greatest at an intermediate vertical position relative to mean sea level (i.e. mid‐to‐low intertidal). Our developing model proscribes a vertical ‘hot spot’ for restoration efforts to maximize biogenic reef fitness and production.

Tracing biofouling to the structure of the microbial community and its metabolic products: A study of the three-stage MBR process

The biofouling characteristics of a sequential anoxic/aerobic-membrane bioreactor (A/O MBR) were analyzed during the three-stage process (fast-slow-fast transmembrane pressure (TMP) increasing). The results indicated: during the stage 1 (before day 1), the microbial communities in the activated sludge (AS), cake sludge (CS) and biofilm (BF) were similar to each other, and the adsorption of microbes and the metabolic products was the main factor that led to TMP increase; during the stage 2 (between day 1 and day 7), the cake layer begun to form and the TMP continued to rise gradually at a reduced rate compared to stage 1, at this point a characteristic microbial community colonized the CS with microorganisms such as Saprospiraceae and Comamonadaceae thriving on the membrane surface (BF) probably due to greater nutrient availability, and the predominance of these species in the microbial population led to the accumulation of biofouling metabolic products in the CS, which resulted in membrane fouling and the associated rise in TMP; during the final stage (after day 7), the biofilm had matured, and the activity of anaerobes stimulated cake compaction. The statistical analysis showed a correlation between the TMP changing rate and the carbonhydrates of soluble microbial products (SMPc) content in the CS. When the SMPc concentration rose slowly there was a low level of biofouling. However, when the SMPc accumulating rate was greater, it resulted in the more severe biofouling associated with the TMP jump. Furthermore, the correlation coefficient for the TMP increase and protein concentrations of extracellular polymeric substances (EPSp) in the CS was highly significant. The cluster analysis suggested that the AS microbial community remained stable during the three TMP change stages, while the CS and BF community were changed accompanied with the TMP change. The interaction between the microbial communities and the metabolic products lead to the significant correlation between them. The EPSp in conjunction with the SMPc were the main factors that accelerate the membrane fouling. The rapid rise of SMPc triggered a sudden increase in the TMP, while the accumulation of EPSp caused the sustained rise in TMP.

Bioinspired synthetic macroalgae: Examples from nature for antifouling applications

The demand to develop a novel, environmentally friendly antifouling (AF) material is ever increasing. An attractive option in developing such a material is biomimicry—learning from nature's own designs and solutions and transferring them to solve problems that affect human day-to-day living. In order to achieve this goal the actual mechanisms and strategies that evolution has produced need to be elucidated from the subject species. The work presented herein investigated the role of surface topography and chemistry combined in a single material – a property that naturally exists in some common macroalgae. Saccharina latissima (sugar kelp) and Fucus guiryi (Guiry's wrack) were selected as a platform for “bioinspiration.” Here, the surfaces of the samples were characterised and then replicated using simple polymeric reproduction methods. Furthermore, a pre-extracted brominated furanone was doped into this matrix (0.05 μg ml−1). The replicated macroalgae samples containing the brominated furanone compound were compared in a 7-day marine study to investigate the effects of biofouling. The bioinspired samples directly demonstrated that combinatory approaches (using topography and chemistry) exhibited lower levels of biofouling. Here it is reported that both chemistry and topography demonstrated 40% less biofouling when compared to blanks in all of the pre-designed biochemical biofouling assays. This represents an attractive nontoxic alternative to the current state of the art.

Bacterial Growth on Chitosan-Coated Polypropylene Textile

Biofouling is a problem common in all systems where microorganisms and aqueous environment meet. Prevention of biofouling is therefore important in many industrial processes. The aim of this study was to develop a method to evaluate the ability of material coating to inhibit biofilm formation. Chitosan-coated polypropylene nonwoven textile was prepared using dielectric barrier discharge plasma activation. Resistance of the textile to biofouling was then tested. First, the textile was submerged into a growth medium inoculated with green fluorescein protein labelled Pseudomonas aeruginosa. After overnight incubation at 33°C, the textile was observed using confocal laser scanning microscopy for bacterial enumeration and biofilm structure characterisation. In the second stage, the textile was used as a filter medium for prefiltered river water, and the pressure development on the in-flow side was measured to quantify the overall level of biofouling. In both cases, nontreated textile samples were used as a control. The results indicate that the chitosan coating exhibits antibacterial properties. The developed method is applicable for the evaluation of the ability to inhibit biofilm formation.

Removing vessels from the water for biofouling treatment has the potential to introduce mobile non-indigenous marine species

Vessels found contaminated with biofouling non-indigenous marine species are predominantly removed from the water and treated in vessel maintenance facilities (i.e., slipways, travel lifts and dry-docks). Using pre-fouled settlement plates to simulate a vessel’s removal from the water for treatment, we demonstrate that a range of mobile organisms (including non-indigenous marine species) may be lost to the marine environment as a consequence of this process. We also determined that different levels of biofouling (primary, secondary and tertiary) and emersion durations (0.5, 5 and 15min) affected the abundance and composition of mobile taxa lost to the marine environment. Primary biofouling plates lost 3.2% of total animals, secondary plates lost 19.8% and tertiary plates lost 8.2%, while hanging duration had only minor effects. The results suggest that removing vessels contaminated with biofouling non-indigenous marine species from the water for treatment may not be as biosecure as is currently recognised.

Period four metal nanoparticles on the inhibition of biofouling

Biofilms present operational problems to a variety of industrial areas including but not limited to, medicine, water treatment, sensor sensitivity and shipping. Bacterial adhesion resides as a tiny monolayer and builds-up over time with the production of protective slimes known as extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) forming the ‘biofilm’. Infection, inefficiency and diminution of quality are caused by biofilms, which have the potential to be prohibitively expensive to repair. The value of an effective coating that prevents the adhesion of bacteria and subsequent fouling is paramount in preserving sensitivity and longevity of a subjected operational substrate. Polymer and sol–gel (SG) based coatings tender a matrix for the introduction of biocides and antimicrobial agents that offer this prevention. They present a relatively cheap and optically clear platform that can then be doped with the antimicrobial agent. This proves useful in transferring across a range of industries that may require a transparent function to the coating. Nanoparticles offer a means of new line research in combating biofouling and biocorrosion with interest stemming from silver metal nanoparticles (MNPs) that already offer antimicrobial property. The aim of this work is to investigate period four metal nanoparticles for any antimicrobial potential they offer, in the prevention of fouling in the early stages. The research presented herein uses a range of period four MNPs synthesised through an adapted polyol reduction, which have then been doped into SG coatings and tested for their efficacy in preventing levels of biofouling. After a 7-day freshwater study results showed that MNPs prevent levels of biofouling upto 125% compared to the SG blank. The work uses bacterial enumeration, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), surface characterisation and slime and biomass analysis to complete a range of studies in assessing the level of fouling observed on the test substrates.