PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF BIOFOULING GROWTH AND ADHESION - A FIELD STUDY OF OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION FACILITY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31436/cnrej.v8i2.112Keywords:
Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) biofouling environmental scienceAbstract
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is a renewable energy technology that exploits temperature differences between warm surface ocean waters and cold deep ocean water to generate energy based on the principle of thermodynamic heat engine systems. Due to the system's direct contact with seawater, it has a high potential for becoming potential sites of unwanted accumulation and growth of biofouling such as microorganisms, plants, algae, or turnips on wet surfaces. Based on the future location of OTEC facility in Port Dickson, Malaysia, no specific study has been done to evaluate potential biofouling, particularly its minimum period for growth stages in this site. Therefore, this study focuses on conducting preliminary assessments of biofouling growth profile on the coastal area where OTEC facility could be deployed. These proposed research activities involved direct field work where two cages containing a set of coupons for biofouling growing sites were immersed in the coastal area in Port Dickson beach. The collected samples were collected periodically within six weeks and analyzed accumulated weight of sample and area covered by visible macrofouling on the immersed coupons. The results biofouling formation particularly visible macrofouling samples could occur after a minimum of three weeks. It was proven with clear and visible presence of macrofouling samples, likely to be perna viridas (green mussels) and balanus glandula (acorne barnacles). In addition, a drastic increase in the accumulated weight of sample was recorded between 21st day to 41st day (during the fourth visit) for almost 25% and the covered area was recorded for more than 50%. Although there is no clear quantitative and consistent data of biofouling growth profile from the accumulated and covered area sample, this preliminary assessment provides a good basis for the next biofouling study as it provides input for the minimum period for biofouling assessment.
Downloads
References
M. Z. Z. Abidin, M. N. M. Rodhi, F. Hamzah, and N. A. Ghazali, “Assessing biofouling in Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) power plant – A review,” in Journal of Physics: Conference Series, IOP Publishing Ltd, Oct. 2021. doi: 10.1088/1742-6596/2053/1/012011.
M. Z. Z. Abidin, M. N. M. Rodhi, F. Hamzah, and N. A. Ghazali, “Assessing biofouling in Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) power plant – A review,” in Journal of Physics: Conference Series, IOP Publishing Ltd, Oct. 2021. doi: 10.1088/1742-6596/2053/1/012011.
C. Chen, Y. Yang, K. H. Choo, H. Y. Ng, S. Takizawa, and L. A. Hou, “Cracking the code of seasonal seawater biofouling: enhanced biofouling control with quorum sensing inhibitor-functionalized membranes,” NPJ Clean Water, vol. 7, no. 1, Dec. 2024, doi: 10.1038/s41545-024-00305-w.
S. Dobretsov and D. Rittschof, “Biofouling and Antifouling: Interactions between Microbes and Larvae of Invertebrates,” Apr. 01, 2023, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI). doi: 10.3390/ijms24076531.
O. Solomon Ogunola and O. Ahmed Onada, “Anti-Biofouling Defence Mechanism of Basibionts (A Chemical Warfare) - A Critical Review,” J Environ Anal Toxicol, vol. 6, no. 4, 2016, doi: 10.4172/2161-0525.1000380.
A. Pereira and L. F. Melo, “Online biofilm monitoring is missing in technical systems: how to build stronger case-studies?,” Dec. 01, 2023, Nature Research. doi: 10.1038/s41545-023-00249-7.
J.-D. Gu, “BIOFOULING AND PREVENTION: CORROSION, BIODETERIORATION AND BIODEGRADATION OF MATERIALS.”
P. Nikolaos D, V. Polyxeni, X. Sotirios, S. Nikos, and V. Paraskevi, “Marine fouling: Factors affecting biofouling and future perspectives,” International Journal of Nanomaterials, Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 010–014, Jul. 2023, doi: 10.17352/2455-3492.000052.
E. Tamburini et al., “Impacts of Anthropogenic Pollutants on Benthic Prokaryotic Communities in Mediterranean Touristic Ports,” Front Microbiol, vol. 11, Jun. 2020, doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.01234.
“Guide for the evaluation of biofouling formation in the marine environment,” 2014. [Online]. Available: www.azti.es
L. C. Gansel, N. Bloecher, O. Floerl, and J. Guenther, “Quantification of biofouling on nets: a comparison of wet weight measurements and optical (image analysis) methods,” Aquaculture International, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 679–692, Apr. 2017, doi: 10.1007/s10499-016-0062-5.
M. T. Nishizaki and E. Carrington, “Temperature and water flow influence feeding behavior and success in the barnacle Balanus glandula,” Mar Ecol Prog Ser, vol. 507, pp. 207–218, Jul. 2014, doi: 10.3354/meps10848.
* R Seed and C. A. Richardson, “Evolutionary traits in Perna viridis (Linnaeus) and Septifer virgatus (Wiegmann) (Bivalvia: Mytilidae),” 1999.
F. Kerckhof, I. De Mesel, and S. Degraer, “First European record of the invasive barnacle Balanus glandula Darwin, 1854,” Bioinvasions Rec, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 21–31, Mar. 2018, doi: 10.3391/bir.2018.7.1.04.
“Biofouling Prevention Demonstration on Seawater Cooling System Final Report Acknowledgements,” 2022.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyrights of all materials published in Biological and Natural Resources Engineering Journal are held exclusively by the Journal and their respective author/s. Any reproduction of material from the journal without proper acknowledgment or prior permission will result in the infringement of intellectual property laws. If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included, the Author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article.
