Marine Paints are much more challenging than typical wall paint because they must protect ship?s hulls below the waterline against fouling by seaweed, barnacles, and other organisms. They serve the dual purpose of protecting the structure from deterioration and keeping the ships looking good. Paint formulators use Biocide in their paints to prevent growth of micro-organism on ship hulls. Biocides are chemical substances that can deter or kill the microorganisms responsible for biofouling. The rapid expansion of the aquaculture industry is having a significant impact on the marine ecosystems. As the industry expands, it requires the use of more anti-foulant compounds (biocides) to eliminate the microorganisms in the aquaculture facilities.
The biggest problem with Biocides in marine paint coatings is they need to work and be non-toxic to water bodies, so that water body organisms are not affected. Biocides in marine paints will help ship?s hull to slow the marine growth on the underwater area which can affect the vessels performance and durability. In addition to preventing marine growth, the hull coating can also act as a barrier against hull corrosion that will degrade and weaken the metal. It also improves the flow of water passing the hull of a fishing vessel or high-performance racing yacht.
Kumar Organic?s Kopthione Cu is one of the favourite biocode of most of the paint formulators. Chemical name of Kopthione Cu is Copper Pyrithione. It is micronized light green colour powder, which is 95% pure. Kopthione Cu is added to paints which are applied in marine industries like ships, docks, marine harbours, fishing traps etc. Kopthione Cu is intended to be used as a co-biocide (booster biocide) by both professional and non-professional users in antifouling products in combination with Cuprous oxide and Copper Thiocyanate against marine fouling species. A booster biocide is not the main biocide in the paint, but is meant to be effective against soft-fouling organisms, so its function is to increase the efficacy of the product in order to remove the most problematic fouling organisms, for example the common algae e.g. Enteromorpha spp. and Amphora spp which are tolerant of copper.
One has to be very careful in selecting biocides used for marine application, as a little hazardous biocide will affect marine environment. Hence, we suggest use of co-biocide like Kopthione Cu along with Cuprous oxide or Copper thiocyanate as a best combination of biocide in marine paint application