ABSTRACT
This study highlights the need for offshore structures to consider the choice of material used in seawater applications to minimize microbial-associated and corrosion problems. Corrosion is a major problem in offshore environments due to extreme operating conditions and the presence of aggressive corrosive elements in a wide range of offshore structures. This study evaluated four different ceramic coatings were made of incorporating active ceramic particles against biofouling as copper, silver, zinc and titanium. These antifouling coatings were exposed for one year in shallow marine environments. Results were no significant differences in the biofouling attached to ceramic coatings. Instead, there were significantly higher biofouling attached to antifouling paints. Biofouling adhesion resistance was greatest when a coating thickness of 100 gm was used and when the substrate surface roughness was 0.04 gm. The results indicated up to more 30% total area covered by biofouling in paint coatings than ceramic coatings.
