This web site provides public information about the BioFoulControl project. The project was initiated by the coordinator, Normex AS (Norway) and funded by EU’s FP7 – Research for SMEs..
Official start date of the project was September 1st, 2009. The duration of the project is 24 months.
Project Description
The objective of the BioFoulControl project is to develop an ozone based bio-fouling prevention system for heat exchangers in maritime seawater coolers. The system will be cost-effective, user-friendly, safe to handle, environmentally acceptable and flexible compared to existing methods. Laboratory studies have shown that ozonation technology has very promising potential for control of bio-fouling in seawater cooling systems of vessels.
Project Results
Validation of the pilot plant
Installation of the pilot plant was completed and validation of BioFoulControl started in mid-May 2011 on board the offshore supply vessel “Far Seeker”.
Pilot plant
After completing the laboratory investigations, detailed planning has been carried out for installation of a pilot plant on board a vessel for validation of the technology in sea environment. A supply boat that sails between the west coast of Norway and oil installations in the North Sea has been selected for trials of the BioFoulControl system.
Technological achievements
Development of the ozone feeding and dispersion system is completed, and development of the process control unit involving prototyping of the hardware and validation of the software is in its final stage. The integrated BioFoulControl system will be installed and verified on board a vessel in the next reporting period.