Abstract
This chapter deals with biofouling and its prevention. Biofouling is a natural phenomenon affecting a wide range of industries. Conventional preventive strategies are chemical-based but recent new understanding of biofouling mechanisms has shown that biotechnological approaches involving the utilization of microorganisms or their metabolites might provide effective alternatives to using chemicals. The chapter mentions that one current drawback is the dominance of chemical approaches to biofouling control. It describes corrosion of metals, which is driven by either or both electrochemistrical and microbiological processes in the environment. The chapter discusses the biodeterioration of polymeric materials. It concludes that new techniques have enabled the early detection of polymer failure, providing strong evidence that the control of corrosion might be complicated because of the complexity of polymer processing. Plasticizers have been found to be significant chemicals that affect the environment as endocrine-disrupting chemicals and also as nutrients promoting the growth of microorganisms that form biofilms on surfaces.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Handbook of Environmental Degradation of Materials |
| Publisher | Elsevier Inc. |
| Pages | 179-206 |
| Number of pages | 28 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780815517498 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780815515005 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 31 Dec 2005 |
| Externally published | Yes |