ABSTRACT
Seawater is an unlimited resource used in the cooling of marine equipment. However, the use of seawater water brings with it an undesirable phenomenon known as biofouling. This adheres to the interior of the heat exchangers, reducing their efficiency and generating production losses due to unplanned shutdowns. This paper proposes a statistical method to predict the growth of biofouling. The inside of the tubes of a heat exchanger cooled by seawater was monitored by statistical techniques, while the growth of the biofouling inside the tubes was allowed. The results showed that the statistical method, prematurely detected the biological adhesion in the heat exchanger, before it reduced its efficiency below the optimal operating conditions. Knowing in advance the evolution of the biofouling growth process will help in the choice and at the moment when a specific antifouling treatment is used and will reduce operation and maintenance costs due to unplanned shutdowns.
