Phisicochemical and biological characterization of Sea Water in Mamonal zone (Cartagena Bay) for static antifouling paint testing

ECHEVERRÍA, F.; AGUIRRE, N.; CASTAÑO, J.; HERRERA, L.; VALDERRAMA, A.; PEÑA, J.; GIUDICE, C.

Revista Facultad de Ingeniería

Revista Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Antioquia

Lugar: Medellín, Colombia; Año: 2007 p. 7 - 20

0120-6230

The incrustation processes of marine organisms (biofouling) affect several submerged metallic structures, like ship hulls.  Biofouling frequently induces the metal corrosion, reduces the speed of displacement, increases the fuel consumption and increases the frequency of dry-dock operations.  Antifouling paints have been developed in order to mitigate these adverse effects, having the capacity to exclude the marine organisms that put themselves in contact with the painted surface, by means of biocide release.  Static tests of antifouling paints include the immersion of painted panels attached to floating structures and the periodic evaluation of its performance.  Like previous step, it is useful to characterize the environment faced by antifouling coatings by determining the range of values of the most significant sea water variables.  In this study, a complete sea water characterization in the zone of Mamonal (Cartagena Bay) was made, including solar radiation, light availability, dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, redox potential, alkalinity and salinity. In addition, determination and count of the main groups of collected organisms was made. Key words: biofouling, Cartagena Bay, antifouling paints, sea water characterization