Incorporation of Natural Surfactants in Natural Resin-based Coatings and Analysis of Rheological Behaviour to Obtain Natural Antifouling Agents

Abstract

Biofouling develops on the submerged surfaces of different structures, causing economic losses to local facilities. Marine-type biofouling causes problems such as reduced speed and increased fuel in vessels, as well as maintenance costs in submerged installations such as heat exchanger pipelines in thermoelectric plants. Anti-fouling coatings based on synthetic chemicals is the primary strategy for combating fouling in the marine industry. TBT-containing biocides (tributyltin) are effective in reducing scale but are vetoed for being harmful to other beings in the marine ecosystem in addition to target organisms. The development of new antifouling coatings relative to the marine environment is indeed crucial but requires certain characteristics to be designated as antifouling in marine environments, with the ability of slow erosion, low viscosity, high adhesion and maintenance of the coating over some important parameters. The objective of the present work was to evaluate some of the parameters of the area of paints and coatings of two biodegradable and erodible coatings, formulated with a natural resin containing natural surfactants to prevent biofouling. The evaluation of the quality of the formulated antifouling was done by tests of solids content by mass, visual aspect analysis and tack free touching. Since the formulation does not actually become an ink, adaptations of the protocols of the standards have been made. The solids content of the formulations was verified according to the methodology adapted from the Petrobras standard N 1367 (2008) and expressed in percentage by mass. Regarding the other tests, the visual aspect analysis was based on the Petrobras standard N 2630 (2011) and the tack-free touch-drying test, adapted from ASTM D 1640 (2014). The tests were performed in triplicate. The results obtained evidenced the interest in mixing these natural surfactants to obtain a promising coating with lower toxicity than traditional systems.