Chapter 25
Environmental and Economic Impacts
of Biofouling on Marine and Coastal
Heat Exchangers
Ninan Theradapuzha Mathew, Johan Kronholm, Klas Bertilsson,
Mélanie Despeisse, and Björn Johansson
Abstract Biofouling is a major problem that affects the heat transfer efficiency of
marine and coastal heat exchangers. The reduced heat exchanger efficiency results
in energy loss and thereby affects the overall energy efficiency in the marine industry
segment. Additional energy is required to compensate for the energy loss leading
to increased fuel consumption which in turn contributes to global environmental
issues like climate change. The current industrial methods of biofouling mitigation
or removal from heat exchanger surfaces increase both operational and maintenance
expenditure causing further environmental damages. This paper presents two models
to provide an overview of the major environmental and economic impacts due to
biofouling in marine heat exchangers. The study results suggest the need for sustainable biofouling prevention techniques to improve the energy and resource efficiency
of marine heat exchangers.
Keywords Biofouling · Heat exchanger · Energy efficiency · Resource efficiency ·
Environmental impacts
25.1 Introduction
In the twenty-first century, society faces a lot of environmental issues. Of particular
concern is the climate-related issues which are predominantly caused by industrialization. Industrial development has made our lives more comfortable, but it has
also caused a huge demand in the energy requirement. For the past century, this
energy demand has been mainly satisfied through the combustion of fossil fuels,
N. T. Mathew (B) · M. Despeisse · B. Johansson
Department of Industrial and Materials Science, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg,
Sweden
e-mail: ninant@chalmers.se
J. Kronholm
JOIN Business & Technology AB, Lund, Sweden
K. Bertilsson
Alfa Laval Corporate AB, Lund, Sweden
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
Y. Kishita et al. (eds.), EcoDesign and Sustainability II, Sustainable Production, Life
Cycle Engineering and Management, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6775-9_25
385
Environmental and Economic Impacts
of Biofouling on Marine and Coastal
Heat Exchangers
Ninan Theradapuzha Mathew, Johan Kronholm, Klas Bertilsson,
Mélanie Despeisse, and Björn Johansson
Abstract Biofouling is a major problem that affects the heat transfer efficiency of
marine and coastal heat exchangers. The reduced heat exchanger efficiency results
in energy loss and thereby affects the overall energy efficiency in the marine industry
segment. Additional energy is required to compensate for the energy loss leading
to increased fuel consumption which in turn contributes to global environmental
issues like climate change. The current industrial methods of biofouling mitigation
or removal from heat exchanger surfaces increase both operational and maintenance
expenditure causing further environmental damages. This paper presents two models
to provide an overview of the major environmental and economic impacts due to
biofouling in marine heat exchangers. The study results suggest the need for sustainable biofouling prevention techniques to improve the energy and resource efficiency
of marine heat exchangers.
Keywords Biofouling · Heat exchanger · Energy efficiency · Resource efficiency ·
Environmental impacts
25.1 Introduction
In the twenty-first century, society faces a lot of environmental issues. Of particular
concern is the climate-related issues which are predominantly caused by industrialization. Industrial development has made our lives more comfortable, but it has
also caused a huge demand in the energy requirement. For the past century, this
energy demand has been mainly satisfied through the combustion of fossil fuels,
N. T. Mathew (B) · M. Despeisse · B. Johansson
Department of Industrial and Materials Science, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg,
Sweden
e-mail: ninant@chalmers.se
J. Kronholm
JOIN Business & Technology AB, Lund, Sweden
K. Bertilsson
Alfa Laval Corporate AB, Lund, Sweden
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
Y. Kishita et al. (eds.), EcoDesign and Sustainability II, Sustainable Production, Life
Cycle Engineering and Management, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6775-9_25
385