A novel XRF method to measure environmental release of copper and zinc from antifouling paints.
The release of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) from vessels and leisure crafts coated with antifouling paints can pose a threat to water quality in semi-enclosed areas such as harbors and marinas as well as to coastal archipelagos. However, no reliable, practical and low-cost method exists to measure the direct release of metals from antifouling paints. Therefore, the paint industry and regulatory authorities are obliged to use release rate measurements derived from either mathematical models or from laboratory studies. To bridge this gap, we have developed a novel method using a handheld X-Ray Fluorescence spectrometer (XRF) to determine the cumulative release of Cu and Zn from antifouling paints. The results showed a strong linear relationship between XRF Kαnet intensities and metal concentrations, as determined by ICP-MS. The release of Cu and Zn were determined for coated panels exposed in harbors located in the Baltic Sea and in Kattegat. The field study showed salinity to have a strong impact on the release of Cu, i.e. the release increased with salinity. Contrary, the effect of salinity on Zn was not as evident. As exemplified in this work, the XRF method also makes it possible to identify the governing parameters to the release of Cu and Zn, e.g. salinity and type of paint formulation. Thus, the XRF method can be used to measure environmentally relevant releases of metallic compounds to design more efficient and optimized antifouling coatings.
Department of Shipping and Marine Technology, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden. Electronic address: erik.ytreberg@chalmers.se.
Erik
E
Ytreberg
Department of Shipping and Marine Technology, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden; Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
Maria
M
Lagerström
Unit for Chemistry, Materials and Surfaces, SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, SE-50115 Borås, Sweden.
Albin
A
Holmqvist
Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
Britta
B
Eklund
Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, SE-40530 Gothenburg, Sweden.
Hans
H
Elwing
Unit for Chemistry, Materials and Surfaces, SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, SE-50115 Borås, Sweden.
Magnus
M
Dahlström
Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, SE-40530 Gothenburg, Sweden.
Peter
P
Dahl
Unit for Chemistry, Materials and Surfaces, SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, SE-50115 Borås, Sweden.
Mia
M
Dahlström
D003300:Copper / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D004777:Environment; D008670:Metals / Q000032:analysis; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010150:Paint; D054712:Salinity; D012767:Ships; D013052:Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D014965:X-Rays; D015032:Zinc / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry
D008670:Metals; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D003300:Copper; D015032:Zinc