Antifouling Strategies for Sensors Used in Water Monitoring: Review and Future Perspectives

Abstract

Water monitoring sensors in industrial, municipal and environmental monitoring are advancing our understanding of science, aid developments in process automatization and control and support real-time decisions in emergency situations. Sensors are becoming smaller, smarter, increasingly specialized and diversified and cheaper. Advanced deployment platforms now exist to support various monitoring needs together with state-of-the-art power and communication capabilities. For a large percentage of submersed instrumentation, biofouling is the single biggest factor affecting the operation, maintenance and data quality. This increases the cost of ownership to the extent that it is prohibitive to maintain operational sensor networks and infrastructures. In this context, the paper provides a brief overview of biofouling, including the development and properties of biofilms. The state-of-the-art established and emerging antifouling strategies are reviewed and discussed. A summary of the currently implemented solutions in commercially available sensors is provided and current trends are discussed. Finally, the limitations of the currently used solutions are reviewed, and future research and development directions are highlighted.

Environmental Monitoring of the Littoral Zone of Lake Baikal Using a Network of Automatic Hydro-Meteorological Stations: Development and Trial Run

“…Biofouling contamination is the main cause of a decrease in sensitivity and reliability in the measuring sensor records in limnological research [45]. The contamination occurs when suspended solids, bacteria, microalgae or larges organisms adhere to the surface of sensors.…”

“…At present, many antifouling strategies for sensors are available for use in water monitoring [45], including active systems (wiper/shutter/biocide injection-based systems, or ultrasonic/laser/UV irradiation techniques) or passive ones based on the application of various antifouling coatings, copper tapes, and copper-alloy sensor guards. Despite the wide range of antifouling strategies, to date, there is no effective, one-size-fits-all solution [46].…”

Surface Characteristics Together With Environmental Conditions Shape Marine Biofilm Dynamics in Coastal NW Mediterranean Locations

“…Then, interactions between biofilms and propagules influence macrofouling development (Hadfield, 2011;Salta et al, 2013;Lema et al, 2019), which strengthen the relevance to better decipher biofilm community drivers. Besides, biofilms are also involved in the transport of invasive species by ship hulls (Piola et al, 2009;Sardain et al, 2019), as well as in the degradation of polymers with the recent massive interest in marine plastic pollution (Jacquin et al, 2019;Oberbeckmann and Labrenz, 2020) or marine sensors maintenance (Delgado et al, 2021).…”

Design of magnetic coupling-based anti-biofouling mechanism for underwater optical sensors

“…Stand-alone options are expensive, somewhat bulky as it houses actuators which requires more consideration in the design in terms of power, size, and housing. In designing builtin strategies, manufacturers usually build the sensor around the antifouling system [4]. The current state-of-the-art is a fully integrated central wiper in the sensor that enables cleaning of all probes mounted on the sonde.…”

“…The current state-of-the-art is a fully integrated central wiper in the sensor that enables cleaning of all probes mounted on the sonde. Improvements in antifouling strategies lag rapid advancements in sensor technologies such as in miniaturization, specialization, and costs [4]. Hence, improving built-in designs by decreasing size and complexity will decrease maintenance and overall costs.…”