luritek report080106

April, 2007

Eco-Clad^® Coating Excels in
Baltic Sea Fouling Test

Panels Submerged for Four Months in The Helgoland Harbor
During 2006, test panels coated with Eco-Clad coating were immersed for testing in the Baltic Sea. These plates were mounted on larger carrier boards and installed at sites on the island of Helgoland (plate testing site of the German Federal Office of Defense Technology and Procurement, BWB) and at the Hohe Düne naval base near Warnemünde, Germany. The plastic surfaces between the small mounted test plates served as controls. The panels were left submerged for four months. Helgoland harbor has conditions typical for an open North Sea harbor.

Four Month Test Results: No Fouling on Nontoxic Eco-Clad Panel
The photo (Figure 2) was taken after 4 months of immersion. Both the copper plate and the test plate were free from macro organisms. Red and green algae, barnacles and hydroid polyps had colonized the neutral control surface between the plates. The mucilaginous entities are colony-forming tunicates (primarily star sea-squirt, Botryllus schlosseri). A red alga filament is visible on the test plate. However this was growing on the neutral surface just above the test plate and not on the test plate itself. It is also apparent that a biofilm (micro organisms) had become established on the test panel on top in the photo.

Conslusions:
After one growing season the Eco-Clad panel was free from macro organisms, indicating that Eco-Clad Stenoprophiluric Coating is an effective nontoxic antifouling agent. The panels have been left submerged for extended testing.