Biofouling and corrosion are two of the major challenges that the maritime industry has faced throughout history. Biological fouling is the accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or small animals on surfaces such as ship hulls and submarine hulls where they are not wanted. Water-immersed metal surfaces are prone to corrosion due to biofouling. Self-polishing tributyltin antifouling coatings (TBT-SPC) were the most widely used and most successful antifouling coatings. Due to its high toxicity, TBT-SPC has caused serious ecological and environmental damage to the ocean, and has been banned by the International Maritime Organization since 2008. Typically, marine antifouling is achieved through the release of biocides or foul-release coatings. Antifouling coatings that integrate several antifouling strategies can be beneficial because a single antifouling strategy is limited in its effectiveness. A related idea is to create green marine antifouling coatings from natural ingredients by combining the synergistic effects of both antifoulant release and fouling release. Jipeng Chen et al prepared a new composite coating by compounding natural polymerised tung oil (PTO) and urushiol-based benzoxazine copper polymers (UBCP). In the development of this coating eco-friendly and sustainable natural products were used as main raw materials. This coating has low surface energy. The antifouling performance of the composite coatings was tested with three different bacteria (E. coli, S. aureus and V. alginolyticus) and two microalgae (N. closterium and P. tricornutum), all of which were easily released from the composite coatings.
More information regarding producing eco-friendly and economical antifouling coating can be obtained from following article.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.porgcoat.2023.107411
