Biofouling and corrosion research for marine heat exchangers

Conference · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1989

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/OCEANS.1989.592807· OSTI ID:5792887

Thomas, A; Hillis, D L

Experimental research on biofouling and corrosion of heat-exchange materials in warm and cold seawater was carried out between 1977 and 1987 for the US Department of Energy's Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) program. Major findings include the following: (1) there is negligible biofouling from deep (600 m) seawater; (2) biofouling from warm surface seawater can be controlled by intermittent chlorination at environmentally acceptable levels; (3) the uniform rate of corrosion for aluminum is acceptable in both warm and cold seawater with no pitting observed in warm seawater; (4) some aluminum alloys show good resistance to pitting in cold seawater; and (5) the use of claddings and other protective measures does not now appear to be cost effective. From these and other experiments, we conclude that marine heat exchangers need not be designed for cleaning by mechanical methods, and that aluminum-based materials can be considered for marine applications. 3 refs., 8 figs.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/CE
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 5792887
• Report Number(s): CONF-8909128-4; ON: DE90001432
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
140800* -- Solar Energy-- Ocean Energy Systems
ALUMINIUM
BIOLOGICAL FOULING
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CONVERSION
CORROSION
ELEMENTS
ENERGY CONVERSION
FOULING
HEAT EXCHANGERS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
METALS
OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION
OCEAN THERMAL POWER PLANTS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POWER PLANTS
SEAWATER
SOLAR ENERGY CONVERSION
SOLAR POWER PLANTS
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
WATER