Making Shipping Greener with Hairy Ships
The “fouling” of boats — when aquatic animals like barnacles and tubeworms attach to hulls — has been a nuisance for as long as we’ve been sailing the seas. Fouling messes up a vessel’s streamlined shape, decreasing its speed, maneuverability, and in modern times, its fuel-efficiency. Fouling spikes the carbon footprint of the shipping industry, already greater than that of most countries.
For centuries, people used copper coatings to prevent fouling. Modern solutions use toxic chemical paints that pollute the water, kill marine life, and contribute to the degradation of our oceans when they wear off.
A new approach is trying to work with nature instead of against it. Taking inspiration from the Salvinia plant, which is covered in tiny hair-like structures that make it basically waterproof, scientists are developing a stick-on silicone coating for ships that prevents animal hitchhikers from getting a foothold.
Ingenious is a new web series from the American Chemical Society about how leading-edge chemistry is taking on the world’s most urgent issues to advance everyone’s quality of life and secure our shared future.
Hosted by Alex Dainis, Ingenious spotlights stories from the front lines of chemistry research and development, where passionate innovators are stepping up to confront problems like pollution, overfishing, sustainability, and personal safety.
Ingenious releases every month.
Ingenious is made with funding and featuring scientists from 3M, Ascend Performance Materials, Baker Hughes, BASF, Dow, DuPont, Procter & Gamble, PPG, Royal DSM, SABIC, Solvay, and W. L. Gore & Associates, none of whom influenced any editorial decisions.
#chemistry #science #cargoships
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