Probiotic, biocide-free antifouling coatings based upon sol-gel encapsulated micro-organisms

有趣的是，推测纳尔逊号在特拉法尔加的胜利是由于船体上没有生物污垢（船体由铜制成，一种已知的生物杀灭剂），从而使它们具有上级速度。生物污垢是发生在水下结构上的微生物、藻类等的不希望的积累。生物结垢的影响是相当大的：增加摩擦阻力，导致燃料消耗和相关的CO2、SOx、NOx排放增加;内部管道尺寸的限制导致管道中的流动损失、压力增加和热交换不良，并且通常，生物膜的发展为极端酸性的侵蚀性微气候的发展提供了栖息地，并导致快速腐蚀，结构故障，例如，英国石油公司（BP）Purdoe湾管道失效是由于微生物引起的腐蚀（MIC）。本项目的目的是商业化的非杀菌防腐涂料。该涂层是基于这样的概念，即“保护性细菌”封装在溶胶-凝胶基质中，并施加到表面上，将防止在该表面上形成有害的生物膜。在这种情况下，“保护性细菌”由土壤中自然产生的内生孢子组成，并且是非致病性的。这一概念已在EPSRC项目中得到验证，该项目将于2010年10月结束。我们建议与选定的合作伙伴合作，为使用聚氨酯涂料的主要市场生产涂料。合作伙伴将帮助进行商业性能测试，使我们能够将我们的涂层与目前市售的涂层进行比较。我们将解决在工业条件下应用于大表面积的涂层的要求，以及将我们的涂层应用于现有海洋涂层的可行性，以防止腐蚀。重要的是，我们将解决生产规模扩大的问题，特别是内生孢子生产，这是传统涂料制造商不熟悉的。合作伙伴还将就健康与安全问题提供建议，并就涂料的监管要求提供指导。

It is interesting to speculate that Nelson's victory at Trafalgar was due to an absence of biofouling on the ship's hulls (which were made of copper, a known biocide) allowing them superior speed.Biofouling is the undesirable accumulation of microorganisms, algae etc which occurs on submersed structures. The effects of biofouling are considerable; increased frictional drag, leading to increased fuel consumption and associated CO2, SOx, NOx emissions; restrictions in internal pipe dimensions leading to loss of flow, increased pressure and poor heat exchange in pipelines and commonly, the development of biofilms that provide habitats for the development of aggressive micro climates that are extremely acidic and lead to rapid rates of corrosion and structural failure, e.g., BP Purdoe Bay pipeline failure was due to microbial induced corrosion (MIC).The aim of this project is to commercialise a non-biocidal antifouling coating. The coating is based upon the concept that 'protective bacteria' encapsulated within a sol-gel matrix, and applied to a surface, will prevent harmful biofilms forming on that surface. The 'protective bacteria' in this case consist of endospores that are naturally ocurring in soil and are non-pathogenic. The concept has been proven in an EPSRC project that will end in October 2010.We propose to work with selected partners who manufacture coatings for the key markets that utilise antifouling coatings. The partners will help with commercial performance testing that will allow us to benchmark our coating against current commercially available coatings. We will address the requirement for the coating to be applied under industrial conditions to large surface areas and the feasibility of applying our coating on top of existing marine coatings that are applied to prevent corrosion. Importantly we will address the issue of scale-up of manufacture, particularly that of endospore production, something that traditional coating manufacturers are not familiar with. The partners will also advise on Health & Safety issues and provide guidance on regulatory requirements of the coating.