25 Environmental and Economic Impacts of Biofouling on Marine …
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coastal heat exchangers. The research study was performed as part
of the joint project between the Chalmers University of Technology,
JOIN Business & Technology AB, Electrical Pipe for Fluid Transport AB
(EPFF), and Alfa Laval Corporate AB. The study consisted of a literature review
and interviews with different stakeholders in the project. Quantitative assessments
of the environmental and economic impacts were not included in the study.
The material for the literature study was gathered by using databases like Scopus,
Science Direct, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. The literature mainly consists
of papers from both journals and conferences. There was no specific year limit used in
the selection process. For a quick determination of whether a paper is relevant for the
study or not, title, abstract, introduction, and conclusion were studied. To find more
interesting publications, references of references were tracked. All the quantitative
information provided in the report has been gathered from various articles used in
the literature study.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with heat exchanger product experts.
The interviews helped to understand the problems associated with biofouling prevention from an economic perspective as well as from an environmental perspective. A
qualitative analysis of the information gathered from both the literature study and
the interviews were done to identify the main issues associated with biofouling in
marine and coastal heat exchangers.
25.3 Results
From the literature study and the interviews conducted, the major environmental
and economic impacts due to biofouling in marine and coastal heat exchangers were
identified. The environmental impacts are presented in Sect. 3.1 and the economic
impacts in Sect. 3.2.
25.3.1 Environmental Impacts
This section describes the main environmental impacts due to biofouling in marine
and coastal heat exchangers. The impacts are classified into three categories. A
cumulative model of environmental impacts is presented in Fig. 25.1.
Category 1: Biofouling and the subsequent rise in global warming potential
A major issue associated with heat exchangers due to marine biofouling is the reduced
heat transfer efficiency (Hansen 2018; Trueba et al. 2015). The fouling matter sticks
on to the heat exchanger surface and reduces the efficiency of the heat exchanger
to either transmit or absorb heat (Trueba et al. 2015). Considerable energy loss
occurs due to reduced heat transfer at the heat exchanger surface (Kronholm 2018;
Bertilsson 2018). The case study article ‘The Heat Transfer Resistance of Various
387
coastal heat exchangers. The research study was performed as part
of the joint project between the Chalmers University of Technology,
JOIN Business & Technology AB, Electrical Pipe for Fluid Transport AB
(EPFF), and Alfa Laval Corporate AB. The study consisted of a literature review
and interviews with different stakeholders in the project. Quantitative assessments
of the environmental and economic impacts were not included in the study.
The material for the literature study was gathered by using databases like Scopus,
Science Direct, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. The literature mainly consists
of papers from both journals and conferences. There was no specific year limit used in
the selection process. For a quick determination of whether a paper is relevant for the
study or not, title, abstract, introduction, and conclusion were studied. To find more
interesting publications, references of references were tracked. All the quantitative
information provided in the report has been gathered from various articles used in
the literature study.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with heat exchanger product experts.
The interviews helped to understand the problems associated with biofouling prevention from an economic perspective as well as from an environmental perspective. A
qualitative analysis of the information gathered from both the literature study and
the interviews were done to identify the main issues associated with biofouling in
marine and coastal heat exchangers.
25.3 Results
From the literature study and the interviews conducted, the major environmental
and economic impacts due to biofouling in marine and coastal heat exchangers were
identified. The environmental impacts are presented in Sect. 3.1 and the economic
impacts in Sect. 3.2.
25.3.1 Environmental Impacts
This section describes the main environmental impacts due to biofouling in marine
and coastal heat exchangers. The impacts are classified into three categories. A
cumulative model of environmental impacts is presented in Fig. 25.1.
Category 1: Biofouling and the subsequent rise in global warming potential
A major issue associated with heat exchangers due to marine biofouling is the reduced
heat transfer efficiency (Hansen 2018; Trueba et al. 2015). The fouling matter sticks
on to the heat exchanger surface and reduces the efficiency of the heat exchanger
to either transmit or absorb heat (Trueba et al. 2015). Considerable energy loss
occurs due to reduced heat transfer at the heat exchanger surface (Kronholm 2018;
Bertilsson 2018). The case study article ‘The Heat Transfer Resistance of Various