Green Ocean Coatings from Advanced Marine Coatings are an environmentally
friendly way to make transport by sea more cost-efficient.
The Norwegian company Advanced Marine Coatings based in Gamle Fredrikstad
specializes in the development of environmentally compatible, heavy-duty anti-corrosion
coatings for sea-going vessels. The "Green Ocean Coating Heavy Duty"
coatings are formulated with Baytubes® carbon nanotubes (CNT) from Bayer
MaterialScience, which gives them very high abrasion resistance. The coatings
also reduce the flow resistance between the ship's hull and the water, thereby
enabling a significant reduction in fuel consumption.
The Green Ocean Coating Heavy Duty systems are two-component epoxy mastic resins
coatings with extremely high resistance to water, making them particularly suitable
for marine coatings and in particular for the part of the hull below the surface
of the water. Thanks to the addition of Baytubes® carbon nanotubes, these
have a very smooth surface and thus help to save fuel and reduce carbon dioxide
emissions.
"According to our knowledge, this is the first application of Baytubes®
carbon nanotubes in marine coatings", says Dr. Raul Pires, head of Global
Activities for Nanotubes and Nanotechnology Products at Bayer MaterialScience.
The coatings are suitable for both new vessels and for subsequent repair and
maintenance coatings.
Another major advantage is the reduction of maintenance costs. The ban on organic
tin compounds for use as antifouling agents to prevent organic growth has necessitated
relative frequent cleaning of the coating surface on the ship's hull to ensure
cost-effective transport. "We hope that the smoothness and greater hardness
of the coating will provide better durability and will allow us to extend the
cleaning cycle. Thanks to the use of Baytubes®, the systems represent both
the most ecological and the most economic solution," says Stein Dietrichson,
Managing Director of Advanced Marine Coatings.
The first ship to be coated with this system was the Berge Arzew, an LNG (liquified
natural gas) tanker with a capacity of 138,000 cubic meters. Extensive test
coatings of a Green Ocean Coating were successfully applied to a surface area
of 700 square meters. The VOC-free system (VOC stands for volatile organic compounds)
was applied in film thicknesses of up to 400 micrometers. "The results
so far are highly promising. The nanotubes evidently make for a very smooth,
pore-free surface," says Dietrichson. With 2008 sales of EUR 9.7 billion,
Bayer MaterialScience is among the world’s largest polymer companies.
Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials
and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas
of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, electrical and electronics,
construction and the sports and leisure industries. At the end of 2008, Bayer
MaterialScience had 30 production sites and employed approximately 15,100 people
around the globe. Bayer MaterialScience is a Bayer Group company.
Posted November 23rd, 2009
