Feature 4 | WATER TREATMENT


to modify.” Many states are still awaiting updates on how to proceed, while some, most notably New York and California, have implemented their own state-specific stringent requirements in accordance with the US Clean Water Act. Tis separatist process has led to some


rather curious developments. Schneider explains:


“The interim standard for


California specifies that, treating large vessels with ballast water capacities of 5000tonnes and up, BWT systems must be 1000 x IMO standard.” He sees this as a cause for concern: “Some


of these states are backing themselves into corners. Some vendors are now saying to owners, ‘1000 x IMO? Sure, we can provide that – trust us’. However, the EPA Science Advisory Board published a report in July 2011, in which it found that no current BWT system can meet 100 x IMO, let alone 1000 x IMO standard. To reach 100 x IMO standard would require a wholly new type of technology. It is simply not measurable, nor achievable.”


Stream of offerings Thankfully, not all product claims are as extravagant, and BWT system manufacturers continue to negotiate their ways through their respective approval processes, with new systems appearing on the international market. In January 2012, Imtech Marine’s


Venteville division announced that it is supplying Siemens Water Technologies’ SiCure BWT system, particularly aimed at the deep sea and offshore market, which utilises filtration and the chemical hypochlorite – a substance produced from sea water – to purify the ballast water of organisms. Michiel Veen, general manager of Venteville, claims: “With SiCure, it has become possible to purify ballast water from 600m3


per hour.


Te system is undergoing final extensive tests and we expect to have the official quality mark mid-2012.” In the same month, manufacturer OceanSaver was awarded Det Norske Veritas (DNV) type approval for its Mark II range of BWT units, which grant ballast water flows at a rate of 6000m3


per hour, and


incorporates an improved filtration unit and disinfection unit, only operated during ballast water intake, over the previous Mark I model.


28 Meanwhile, while most manufacturers’


products have tended to vary between either chemical treatment or UV systems, Hamworthy Ballast Water Systems’ Aquarius range, which was formally launched at Marintec in December 2011, aims to provide owners with a range of options, in different sizes and configurations, for both the newbuild and retrofit markets. Users can opt for either the self-explanatory Aquarius-UV or Aquarius-EC model, the latter utilising side stream electro-chlorination to generate an active substance for water disinfection. The system uses sodium bisulfite at


the de-ballasting stage to ensure that any active substances remaining in the water are properly neutralised. Intending to achieve IMO type approval for the Aquarius range later this year, Dr Joe Tomas, managing director, Hamworthy Ballast Water Systems,


tells Offshore


Marine Technology that the range will be able to accommodate offshore vessels of most sizes.


In order to bolster its share of the UV


treatment business, in January 2012, Hamworthy entered into a partnership with UV technology manufacturer Hanrovia, and will be incorporating the latter group’s Medium Pressure UV application into subsequent BWT system designs. Bypassing both UV and active


substances as a means of eliminating organisms from ballast water, Norway’s Ulmatec has developed an interesting alternative, not to say simple, method of purifying ballast water. Utilising waste heat from the vessel’s own engine exhaust and cooling systems, Ulmatec’s solution is to raise the temperature of the water in the ballast tank to 100°C, to effectively kill off any aquatic species within. On paper, this approach could eliminate the need for extra financial investment in regular chemical top-ups, or in the energy and space required to integrate sometimes heſty UV lamps into the onboard BWT system arrangements. A full interview with Ulmatec will feature in Ship & Boat International March / April 2012. OMT


Severn scoops Korea drillship order


Severn Trent De Nora has won a contract to supply eight of its Omnipure Series 55 marine sewage treatment systems to four new 229m ultra-deepwater drillships, currently under construction at Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Korean yard, for Noble Corporation. Each of the vessels will incorporate two units, serving an onboard crew capacity of 210, to treat grey and black water. The Omnipure Series 55 family was developed especially for long-term use on offshore oil and gas installations, and utilises electrolytic treatment technology, in conjunction with electrocoagulation techniques, to deal with the wastewater. The first set of the systems was delivered to Hyundai Heavy Industries in December 2011, with subsequent shipments to follow in April and November this year, before the final delivery in April 2013.


Hyundai has ordered eight Omnipure Series 55 units for grey and black water treatment.


Offshore Marine Technology 1st Quarter 2012


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