Biofouling on mortar mixed with steel slags in a laboratory biofilm reactor

The slag produced as by-product in steel-making processes is utilized for various purpose due to its special qualities. Bacteria or other microorganisms generally form the biofilm. They are formed at the interface between materials and water environment by the action of bacteria. Biofilm can cause various problems. Therefore, the control of biofilm formation is needed. In this study, we focused on the application of slag to marine environments and carried out a research on biofouling of mortars mixed with various iron/steel slags through marine immersion and laboratory scale experiments. In this research, we dealt with various mortars. In some cases, iron/steel slags were mixed into mortars. In the laboratory scale research, we observed biofilm formation at the surfaces of sample specimens. As for marine immersion, we carried out the field experiments in summer and winter. Both results were compared. As for laboratory scale experiment, the tap water and artificial sea-water were used. And after the immersion, the specimens were measured and observed by a low vacuum SEM-EDX and the anti-fouling properties were analyzed and discussed. From these results, we confirmed that the biofouling became remarkable with the dissolved iron. Therefore, biofilm formation can be controlled by the concentration of iron/steel slags.