Nippon Paint has released a long-term R& D project aimed at developing a new antifouling paint that would eliminate the release of microplastics from ocean-going ships while increasing energy efficiency by more than 8%.
Antifouling paint prevents barnacles and other marine life from growing on the base of ships beneath the water line, reducing their speed and damaging the hull. Products currently in use gradually dissolve in to the water, releasing resins categorized as micro-plastics.
Nippon Paint hopes to start tests the new paint on ships in 2028 and introduce it to the market within 2030.
Aquaterras, according to the pr release,
may be the world’s first biocide free self-polishing antifouling paint with a marine-environment-friendly formulation, free of heavy biocidal pigments, active ingredients and silicone. Additionally , this product can reduce the entire resistance on the hull by up to 10%, thereby contributing to ship’s fuel efficiency improvement and CO2 exhausts reduction. This innovative technology has been rated highly worldwide for the ability to realize each efficient and environmentally responsible vessel procedures.
Additionally, it eliminates concerns produced by the Biocidal Product Directive from the European Union. The directive – as observed by Jim Brownish, marketing development manager at International Paint, in an interview along with Coatings World – requires the particular evaluation and acceptance of biocides used in antifouling paints before they can be legally marketed.
The development of Aquaterras was part of the next-generation marine atmosphere technology project brought by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Facilities, Transport and Tourism. Running from 2013 to 2016, the project also integrated Imabari Shipbuilding, Japan’s largest shipbuilder.
In addition , the project received support from ClassNK (Nippon Kaiji Kyokai), a Japanese ship classification society that defines by itself as “a non-profitable non-governmental organization focused on ensure the security of life and property at ocean, and the prevention of pollution of the sea environment. ”
In January 2021, Nippon Paint Marine Coatings introduced FASTAR, “a self-polishing antifouling coating that includes for the first time a hydrophilic and hydrophobic nanodomain structure using a special nanotechnology. ”
According to the pr release,
By controlling the botanical structure of the typical hydrolysis antifouling technologies and using nano-domain technology, Nippon Paint Sea Coatings succeeded within adding a new antifouling function that can dissipate and maintain antifouling components in the resin structure on the surface of the covering film. As a result, elution of antifouling agencies is over 50% lower than in conventional items. In addition , FASTAR incorporates Nippon Paint Marine Coatings’ unique water trap technology, that was inspired by the pores and skin of tuna, to reduce water flow opposition. This technology reduces the fuel usage of vessels by approximately 8%.
Ship paint was your original product associated with Nippon Paint, the precursor of which opened in 1881. This is a small part of the company’s business now, but of increasing importance in the fight against ocean pollution and global warming.
Nippon Paint Marine Coatings faces competition through Chugoku Marine Paints and Kansai Paint Marine of The japanese, Jotun of Norwegian, International Paint (the UK subsidiary of AkzoNobel of the Netherlands), Hempel of Denmark, PPG of the UnitedStates, China National Chemical Marine and others.
Chugoku Marine Paints, the market leader within Japan, ranks 2nd worldwide with a market share of about 20% in the own estimation. Jotun ranks first, International Paint ranks third.
Nippon Paint Marine ranks 2nd in Japan, but despite its highly regarded technology, its global market share is single-digit. The company’s new R& D project is aimed at increasing that number.
Microplastics became the focus of interest in Japan within June, 2019, when the G20 Ministerial Meeting on Energy Transitions and Global Environment for Sustainable Growth was held in the Japan mountain resort Karuizawa. The G20 leaders than adopted the Osaka Blue Sea Vision at their Osaka summit meeting later in the 30 days.
Before that will, in July 2017, the Hamburg peak meeting adopted the G20 Action Plan on Marine Litter. The United Nations Environment Set up has also adopted resolutions to deal with the problem of marine plastic litter and microplastics.
The Osaka Glowing blue Ocean Vision: G20 Implementation Framework for Actions on Marine Plastic Litter seeks to cut new sea pollution to absolutely no by 2050.
Japan’s own National Action Plan for Marine Plastic Litter seeks to reach this goal through the prevention associated with unintentional leakage associated with waste into the seas, the development and introduction of choice materials, and other procedures.
Nippon Paint has been working on more environmentally friendly paints for several years. Its subsidiary, Nippon Paint Marine Coatings, introduced a fuel-saving antifouling paint within 2008. An improved version followed in 2013. In 2017, it launched Aquaterras, a biocide-free antifouling color.
On the planet Day, April 22, 2021, it was declared that, due to the success associated with Aquaterras, Nippon Color Marine Coatings got won the GREEN4SEA Technology Award pertaining to “Making a Major Factor to Environmental Defense Through the Provision associated with World’s First Biocide Free Hull Paint Technology. ”
GREEN4SEA awards are hosted by SAFETY4SEA, an European non-profit organization that encourages marine environmental recognition.
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