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Microplastic and biocide release from antifouling coatings during underwater ultrasonic cleaning
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When boats are cleaned underwater using sound waves to remove buildup, the cleaning process releases tiny plastic particles and toxic chemicals like copper into the water. Even gentle cleaning methods still released these harmful substances, though aggressive cleaning released much more. This matters because these microplastics and chemicals can end up in our food chain through fish and seafood we eat.
Antifouling coatings are essential for controlling biofouling in the shipping industry. To improve fouling control, underwater cleaning is often employed, but this process can alter coating surfaces and release contaminants such as biocides and microplastics. This study investigates the impact of ultrasonic cleaning on an antifouling coating under controlled laboratory conditions. Commercial yacht coating samples were aged under laboratory conditions to form a leached layer and then subjected to ultrasonic cleaning with varying process parameters. Aggressive cleaning (1 cm probe-coating surface distance, 5.4 MPa acoustic pressure) significantly damaged the coating, thereby partially removing the leached layer, increasing surface roughness, and releasing microplastic particles and biocides into seawater. Gentler cleaning (4 cm probe-coating surface distance, 1.5 MPa acoustic pressure) caused no visible damage, yet microplastics and biocides were still released. Depending on cleaning conditions, the copper release ranged from 0.3 to 10 μg/cm2, with similar mass amounts detected for released particles. To effectively mitigate environmental contamination, these findings highlight the importance of selecting appropriate cleaning parameters and capturing effluents during boat cleaning.
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Researchers subjected marine antifouling paint coatings to UV irradiation, freeze-thaw cycling, and their combination over 42 days, finding that both pathways release microplastics and metals into water — UV through oxidative polymer breakdown and freeze-thaw through ice abrasion — with the combined treatment releasing the highest concentrations of copper and zinc, and paint microplastics retaining chemical signatures traceable back to the source coating.
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Researchers conducted a systematic analysis of microplastics and antifouling paint particles found in wastewater from ship hull cleaning operations. They found that both types of particles are released in significant quantities during derusting, with antifouling particles being particularly toxic due to their high metal and biocide content. The study highlights ship maintenance activities as an important but often overlooked source of marine microplastic and toxic particle pollution.
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