Abstract
Cooling systems remove heat from components and
industrial equipment. Water cooling, employing natural
waters, is typically used for cooling large industrial
facilities, such as power plants, factories or
refineries. Due to moderate temperatures, cooling water
cycles are susceptible to biofouling, inorganic fouling
and scaling, which may reduce heat transfer and enhance
corrosion. Hypochlorite treatment or antifouling coatings
are used to prevent biological fouling in these systems.
In this research, we examine biofouling and materials'
degradation in a brackish seawater environment using a
range of test materials, both uncoated and coated. The
fouling and corrosion resistance of titanium alloy
(Ti-6Al-4V), super austenitic stainless steel (254SMO)
and epoxy-coated carbon steel (Intershield Inerta160)
were studied in the absence and presence of hypochlorite.
Our results demonstrate that biological fouling is
intensive in cooling systems using brackish seawater in
sub-arctic areas. The microfouling comprised a vast
diversity of bacteria, archaea, fungi, algae and
protozoa. Chlorination was effective against biological
fouling: up to a 10-1000-fold decrease in bacterial and
archaeal numbers was detected. Chlorination also changed
the diversity of the biofilm-forming community.
Nevertheless, our results also suggest that chlorination
enhances cracking of the epoxy coating.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 475 |
Journal | Materials |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2016 |
MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Keywords
- biofouling
- microbial influenced corrosion
- Baltic Sea
- biofilm
- materials science