Paints and Coatings including Marine
Biofilms play a significant role in biocorrosion of both natural and synthetic materials including metals and concrete, contributing to loss of structural integrity over time.
Paints and Coatings including Marine
Biofilms play a significant role in biocorrosion of both natural and synthetic materials including metals and concrete, contributing to loss of structural integrity over time.
This is a world-wide problem with both economic and social consequences. As in other target markets, existing solutions are inefficient and under increasing regulatory scrutiny. There is a substantial market gap for a sustainable corrosion control strategy effective in preventing biofilms2. Owing to their resistant nature, the treatment of established biofilms is often not effective for corrosion control3.
2https://www.nature.com/articles/ismej2014169
3Simões M, Simões LC, Vieira MJ . (2010). A review of current and emergent biofilm control strategies. LWT-Food Sci Technol 43: 573–583
Above the water line, the challenging environment presents ideal conditions for bacteria, fungi and algae to thrive and biofilms to form. The leisure craft market is booming and the requirement for products to ensure clean and hygienic surfaces is growing massively.
Lactams can be utilised in this environment in the same way as with household appliances, using proven spray or mousse formulations to deliver the lactam directly onto the surfaces.
✓ Lactam incorporated into mousse and spray formulation utilising standard Unilever methods
✓ Mousse and spray formulations shown to deliver lactam, durable to rinses, onto surfaces
✓ Strong anti-algae & anti-fungal performance shown at low concentrations
The technology is at TRL 4. Suitable licence partners under review.
Marine Coatings
Below the water line, biofouling is a huge issue for all types of underwater assets; ships hulls, subsea energy structures, aquaculture farms and fishing nets, creating significant economic, ecological and environmental challenges.
The introduction and establishment of Invasive Aquatic Species is one of the greatest threats to the world’s freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems. This has global economic impact through disruption to fisheries, coastal industry, and infrastructure. Current strategies to manage marine fouling are
based on biocides and heavy metals such as copper. There is growing regulatory pressure on antifouling coating manufactures to reduce biocide usage and switch from products containing metals that have negative environmental impact.
Development work has confirmed the viability of the lactam technology to a range of microbial targets such algae. Penrhos Bio is working with Plymouth Marine Laboratories, encapsulation consultants, as well as paint and chemical manufacturers to produce the sustainable and effective solution that the market is demanding.
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✓ Lactam can be incorporated within a coating and delivered to a range of surfaces
✓ Lactam shown to be effective against both fresh and sea-water algal and fungal species
Research and development will continue with PML to further investigate the use of lactams as marine anti-fouling coatings. In parallel, we are working with existing marine anti-fouling coating manufacturers to licence the use of the lactams for use on ship hulls and a range of other submerged marine surfaces and products.
Below the water line, biofouling is a huge issue for all types of underwater assets; ships hulls, subsea energy structures, aquaculture farms and fishing nets, creating significant economic, ecological and environmental challenges.
Cleaning
Built on Unilever’s experience and expertise in producing world leading cleaning solutions, Penrhos Bio has the ability to bring the new technology to benefit sectors including Medical Cleaning as well as Industrial and Institutional Cleaning (Hotels, Schools, Hospitals etc).
These are all areas where harmful biofilms are a significant and growing problem. The power to prevent biofilms in these sectors is highly attractive and we have great commercial traction working with a number of partners in advanced product development. There are many segments from medical wipes through to machine cleaning solutions. The flexibility of the platform technology and range of formulations and applications produce tailored optimised solutions to best match the customer need in each of these areas.
One example is machine cleaning
Washing machines are highly susceptible to biofilm formation. A variety of internal metal, plastic and rubber parts of these appliances harbour growth of mixed bacterial/fungal communities that are protected within the highly resistant biofilm matrix.
Biofilms formed in washing machines and dish washers can contribute to biotransformation of organic matter to generate noticeable malodour.
These biofilms can also lead to dispersion and persistence of bacterial/fungal groups leading to disease pathogenesis. Fungi have been well documented inside washing machines with domestically sourced fungal infections on the rise steadily over the last decades.
Reference taken from; Zupancic et al: PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0148166 February 11, 2016.
Environmental pressure for temperature reduction (e.g. cold cleaning) and removal of harsh, yet effective, antimicrobial ingredients (e.g. bleach) has made the situation even more challenging. Low temperature washing cycles that do not kill the biofilms and bacteria and fungi are quickly reactivated on clothing and textiles such as sheets, post wash resulting in odour and discolouration. Existing products often seek only to mask bad odours with fragrance and the current machine additives market is targeting cleanliness and freshness. Increasingly, consumers are turning to additional products such as bleach to address hygiene concerns.
Our technology offers an environmentally friendly solution against biofilm build up and contamination on surfaces and in units such as industrial washing machines and dryers, thereby addressing the underlying cause, not the symptom.
The technology is at TRL 5. Discussions are ongoing with a number of commercial partners to bring the technology to market in cleaning products for the medical and industrial/institutional markets. Trials are underway incorporating the technology into products for industrial laundry tunnels and dishwashers.
✓ Technology incorporated into mousse and spray formulations and used for field testing
✓ Both shown to deliver the technology, durable to rinses, onto surfaces and inside appliances
✓ Surfaces exhibit marked microbial growth reduction
✓ Field trials underway in areas including industrial laundry machines
Research and development will continue with PML to further investigate the use of lactams as marine anti-fouling coatings. In parallel, we are working with existing marine anti-fouling coating manufacturers to licence the use of the lactams for use on ship hulls and a range of other submerged marine surfaces and products.
The accumulation of marine organisms on hulls over time can increase both hydrodynamic volume and hydrodynamic friction. This leads to increased drag which requires higher fuel consumption, therefore higher costs, to compensate and a consequently negative impact on the environment due to increased CO2 emissions. It also leads to significant opportunity costs as vessels are taken out of the water for cleaning and treatment.
As global shipping traffic increases, so too does the invasion of non-indigenous biofilm bacterial species into new geographical regions creating ecological issues with marine biodiversity.
Marine Coatings
Below the water line, biofouling is a huge issue for all types of underwater assets; ships hulls, subsea energy structures, aquaculture farms and fishing nets, creating significant economic, ecological and environmental challenges.
The marine biofilm community is complex, dynamic and extremely resilient, making it a huge problem for commercial vessels, defence fleet and leisure craft alike. As well as impacting stationary structures such as offshore wind turbines (increasing maintenance costs and reducing lifespan), fouling can slow down a ship by as much as 40%. It has been estimated that this equates to an additional 15-45m tons of fuel per year for global shipping and a consequent extra 45-150m tons of CO2 per year.
The introduction and establishment of Invasive Aquatic Species is one of the greatest threats to the world’s freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems. This has global economic impact through disruption to fisheries, coastal industry, and infrastructure. Current strategies to manage marine fouling are based on biocides and heavy metals such as copper. There is growing regulatory pressure on antifouling coating manufactures to reduce biocide usage and switch from products containing metals that have negative environmental impact.
Development work has confirmed the viability of the lactam technology to a range of microbial targets such algae. Penrhos Bio is working with Plymouth Marine Laboratories, encapsulation consultants, as well as paint and chemical manufacturers to produce the sustainable and effective solution that the market is demanding.
✓ Lactam can be incorporated within a coating and delivered to a range of surfaces
✓ Lactam shown to be effective against both fresh and sea-water algal and fungal species
Research and development will continue with PML to further investigate the use of lactams as marine anti-fouling coatings. In parallel, we are working with existing marine anti-fouling coating manufacturers to licence the use of the lactams for use on ship hulls and a range of other submerged marine surfaces and products.
Development work has confirmed the viability of the lactam technology to a range of microbial targets such as the effect on algae. Laboratory tests have confirmed the inhibition of algal growth in the presence of the lactam technology.
Development work has confirmed the viability of the lactam technology to a range of microbial targets such as the effect on algae. Laboratory tests have confirmed the inhibition of algal growth in the presence of the lactam technology.
✓ Lactam can be incorporated within a coating and delivered to a range of surfaces
✓ Lactam shown to be effective against both fresh and sea-water algal and fungal species
The technology is at TRL4. Research and development will continue with PML to further investigate the use of lactams as marine anti-fouling coatings. In parallel, discussions will take place with existing marine anti-fouling coating manufacturers to licence the use of the bioderived lactams for use on ship hulls and a range of other submerged marine surfaces and products.