Biofouling of seawater intake grilles - causes and mitigation Strategies

Gulf seawaters are characterized as warm and tropical. In tropical water there are a large range of marine organisms such as corals, which can and do attach to any surface that is immersed in water. For ships this is a major problem. However this is also a major problem for seawater intakes for desalination and seawater cooling plants in the Gas sector. Also the Oil industry abstracts large quantities of seawater for reservoir injection purposes. The intake has a grille to prevent ingress of large marine animals and divers. These grilles rapidly become blocked by marine growth, requiring frequent cleaning. In this paper we look at the competing technologies for mitigation of this issue as well as look at the unintended consequences, such as increased rates of corrosion often observed downstream.