Research and development
Research and development are a crucial branch of our activities. Perhaps the most important one, since innovation is the only way to ensure sustainability and prosperity for our partners.
In cooperation with leading Institutes, Universities and Science Centers, BFP carries out cutting-edge research in various international and EU-funded projects. In some of them as the sole coordinator of the partnership scheme. Below, the most noteworthy projects are summarized:
1) The RAINCOAT Project
The RAINCOAT (Robust Antisoiling Coatings) project is the industrial research for the development of robust, easy-to-clean nanocoatings for metal, plastic, mineral and composite surfaces in an industrial environment. The project’s objectives include, prototype manufacture, the development of a trial production line, dissemination of results, the international protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) and the conduction of a thorough feasibility study, in order to assess the viability of technology at a techno-economic level.
The targeted breakthrough of the RAINCOAT project refers to the establishment of a new sustainable methodology for the development of nano-coatings with pioneering properties, especially with regards to ease of application, stability and strength in a wide range of conditions, and eco-friendly character. Direct benefits are:
• Convenient technology integration by the industry.
• Improvement of the end consumer’s daily life.
• Development of a large variety of high-added value products.
• Protection of the environment.
Overall budget: 200,000 Euros.
Coordinator: BFP Advanced Technologies
Start date: 08/05/2018
End date: 07/11/2022.
Website: raincoatproject.com
Co-financed by the European Union and Greek national funds, through the Operational Program Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, under the call “RESEARCH – CREATE – INNOVATE” (Project code: T1EDK-04949).
2) The DRAstiC Project
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AIM-GOALS
The DRAstiC (Drag Reduction Antifouling Coatings) project aims to the acquisition of advanced knowledge and skills for the efficient development of innovative low drag coatings for the hulls of ships, vessels and speed crafts in an industrial environment. The goal is to produce light-weight and biocide-free hull paints coatings with enhanced strength, cruising and antifouling attributes.
The project provides a high degree of excellence. The methodology and technology applied for the coating’s development are unique, thus rendering DRAstiC state of the art. The hull paints possess pioneering properties (high specific strength, low drag) and enhanced antifouling capacity, both in static and dynamic conditions, due to the innovative conception of a composite nanostructure, which drastically suppress the effects of increased hull roughness. The benefits of the project’s successful completion are:
• Energy savings with a reduced environmental footprint.
• Dissemination of technology and possible integration by different industry sectors.
• Elaboration of the economic and technical criteria for the viability of the method.
• New knowledge acquisition for the production of relevant coatings.
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RESULTS
The results have been published in numerous scientific articles of prestigious peer-reviewed journals. Intellectual property rights are protected by four international patents.
Efficacy and Specs
1. Reduction of hydrodynamic resistance under simulated cruising conditions.
2. Reduction of static accumulation of underwater bacterial colonies by at least 15%.
3. Photocatalytic activity: Reduction of methylene blue concentration by more than 70%, under UV radiation.
4. Over 30% increase of tensile strength normal to the coating’s surface.
5. Electrical anisotropy: recorded difference in conductivity normal to and parallel to the coating’s surface of at least 50%.
6. Alignment of magnetic nanostructures by a weak field (mT).
7. Reduction of algae growth rate in the presence of sodium phosphate nutrients.
Publications in peer-reviewed Journals and Conferences
1. “Microstructure and Performance of Antibiofouling Coatings on High-Strength Steel Substrates Immersed in the Marine Environment”, P. Falara, N.D. Papadopoulos and P. Vourna, Micro, 2, 2, 2022.
2.“Morphology and Magnetic Properties of Rapidly Quenched Fe-B Alloys”, N. Konstantinidis, A. Fos, P. Svec, N.D. Papadopoulos, P. Vourna, E. Hristoforou, Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, 564, 1, 2022.
3. “A Modern Approach Towards Efficient Antifouling Coating Technologies”, N.D. Papadopoulos et.al., Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials Science, 6, 2, 2023.
4. “Temperature effects on grain growth phenomena and magnetic properties of silicon steels used in marine applications”, P. Vourna, N.D. Papadopoulos, N. Stefanakis, S. Xafakis and E. Hristoforou, Annals of Marine Science, 7, 1, 2023.
5. “Low drag antifouling coatings with enhanced protection against corrosion”, P. Vourna, P. Falara and N.D. Papadopoulos, Athens Conference on Advances in Chemistry, 2022.
6. “Fur-like Phenomena Triggered by Anisotropic Magnetic Moieties of Multifunctional Antifouling Coatings”, P. Vourna, N.D. Papadopoulos, P. Falara and E. Hristoforou, XII European Magnetic Sensors and Actuators Conference (EMSA 2022).
7. “Annealing phenomena in Marine Engineering Steels”, P. Vourna, N.D. Papadopoulos, P. Falara, E. Hristoforou, submitted to Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials.
8. “Magnetic Evaluation of Bauschinger Effect in Marine Engineering Steels” P. Vourna, N.D. Papadopoulos, K. Argyris, P. Falara, E. Hristoforou, submitted to NDT and E International.
9. “Corrosion and fouling study of a new biocide- free antifouling coating on marine engineering alloy”, P. Vourna, N.D. Papadopoulos, P. Falara, E. Hristoforou, submitted to Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance.
10. “Fur-like phenomena triggered by anisotropic magnetic moieties of multifunctional antifouling coatings”, P. Vourna, N.D. Papadopoulos, P. Falara, E. Hristoforou, submitted to Journal of Materials Science.
11. “Evaluation of magnetic anisotropy in a coated marine engineering alloy”, P. Vourna, N.D. Papadopoulos, P. Falara, E. Hristoforou, submitted to NDT and E International.
PATENTS
PCT/GR023/000025: ELECTRICALLY ANISOTROPIC ANTIFOULING COATINGS
EP23386038.6: ANTIFOULING AND ANTISTATIC COATINGS THROUGH AUTOMATED APPLICATION
OBI 20230100291
OBI 20230100358
Overall budget: 598,775 Euros.
Public Expenditure: 522,015 Euros.
Coordinator: BFP Advanced Technologies
Partners:
Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (INN) of the NCSR “Demokritos”
Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (ICCS) of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)
Start date: 16/06/2020
End date: 15/07/2023.
Status: Completed.
Website: drasticproject.com
Co-financed by the European Union and Greek national funds, through the Operational Program Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, under the call “RESEARCH – CREATE – INNOVATE” (Project code: T2EDK-00868).
3) The ARMED Project
Τhe aim of the ARMED (Aluminum Recovery from Red Mud) project is the recovery of aluminum from the red mud, the most important environmental problem of the global aluminum industry. The proposed technology will increase aluminum production by 7.5% in industrial bauxite plants, produce new materials, promote industrial co-existence, and protect the environment.
The research will significantly improve BFP’s founder patented red mud treatment process (https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2010079369A1/en). An additional objective of the project is the development of an alumina trial production line in order to yield a universal methodology, able to be widely used for the management of metallurgical waste. It should be noted that the project coordinator already develops innovative materials from raw materials similar to those contained in red mud waste, therefore perspectives are rather promising.
The project presents significant excellence. The advantages of technology will rank it internationally in the state-of-the-art category because, unlike the management practices so far, ARMED will fully exploit red sludge for the recovery of aluminum content and the production of marketable secondary products. This approach is expected to be easily adopted by the aluminum industry due to the direct increment of the produced aluminum, thus contributing to its profitability. At the same time, the problem of disposal / management of hazardous waste can, at last, be efficiently confronted, while the environment is protected.
Overall budget: 494,265 Euros.
Coordinator: BFP Advanced Technologies
Start date: 18/02/2020
End date: 17/08/2022.
4) The Nano4CSP Transnational Project
The Nano4CSP (Nanomaterials For reduced maintenance costs in Concentrated Solar Power Plants) is a transnational project funded within the SOLAR-ERA.NET Cofund framework. The project’s objective is to reduce the operational and maintenance (O&M) costs and water consumption while increasing the efficiency of a CSP solar collector field. The overall aim of the project is to contribute towards the global decarbonization of the energy sector by reducing the cost of solar-thermal systems for renewable and sustainable energy production.
This will be achieved by tuning the properties of self-cleaning surfaces to the specifications of CSP applications, by suitable treatments and coatings. The development focuses on coatings that are applied at the mirror manufacturing stage, as well as on coatings that can be applied on an already deployed installation. Parallel activities aim to increase the efficiency of the solar field by maintaining high mirror reflectivity, and to reduce the plant water consumption by reducing the water needed for mirror cleaning.
Overall budget: 772,649 Euros.
Coordinator: NCSR-Demokritos
Partners:
BFP Advanced Technologies
The Cyprus Institute
Montanuniversität Leoben
Call: ERANETs 2019b
Project Code: Τ11ΕΡΑ4-00024
Start date: 01/12/2019
End date: 31/07/2023.
Website: https://nano4csp.cyi.ac.cy/
Project Nano4CSP is supported under the umbrella of SOLAR-ERA.NET Cofund 2 by GSRT – General Secretariat for Research and Development (Greece), RIF – Research and Innovation Foundation (Cyprus) and FFG – Austrian Research Promotion Agency. SOLAR-ERA.NET is supported by the European Commission within the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation HORIZON 2020 (Cofund ERA-NET Action, N° 786483).
5) The RACkET Project
The RACkET (Robust Antifouling CompositE Technology) project aimed at developing a novel conductive composite with enhanced photocatalytic activity for the formulation of highly effective and robust ecofriendly coatings for ships’ hulls. These were found to possess a dual function, acting as antifoulants in static conditions and as both antifouling and foul-release coatings during ship’s movement.
The project’s scientific results are exploited by BFP in order to develop composites that can be directly mixed with commercially available paints, thus providing eco-friendly alternatives to existing toxic antifoulants. At the same time, fundamentals aspects of the technology are transferred to additional relative fields, i.e. for the fabrication of antimicrobial surface coatings.
Overall budget: ~120,000 Euros.
Coordinator: Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (INN) of the NCSR “Demokritos”
Partners: BFP Advanced Technologies
Start date: 03/07/2017
End date: 02/07/2020.
https://industrial-fellowships.demokritos.gr/meet-the-companies/
Promotional video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktevFPk42sg
The project was co-financed by Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).
6) The HELENIC-REF Project
The approximaely 2,6 million Euro project HELENIC-REF (Hybrid Electric Energy Integrated Cluster concerning Renewable Fuels) project referred to the establishment of a new sustainable methodology for the water thermolysis at temperatures below 300 oC and the immediate corresponding production of energy or fuels. It was based on the Dr. Papadopoulos’s (the BFP’s founder) patent entitled “Direct Hydrogen Production from Water”- Pat. No. 20100100699. The method was based on preliminary experimental evidence of water thermolysis at 286 oC in the presence of Fe3O4 nanoporous catalytic thick films, with the sustainable maintenance of the catalyst due to a new reduction method based on Lorentz force electrons generated by a magnetic field in the vicinity of the electric current heating the semiconducting catalyst.
This method can be used for the production of hydrogen and oxygen, as well as of fuels in the presence of CO2 in order to reduce CO2 to CO or even to hydrocarbons, (like Synthetic Natural Gas – SNG) via methanation.
