1. Ballast Water Management Engineering Technologies and Opportunities
Spencer Schilling
President
Herbert Engineering Corp.

2. Overview Shipboard Ballast Operations
Typical Ballast System Components
AIS and Ballast Water
Shipboard Ballast Water Management Solutions
Exchange
Treatment
Treatment Technologies : Engineering Challenges

3. Shipboard Ballast Operations
Why is ballast used?
Maintain seaworthy condition when lightly loaded
Draft, trim, stability, bending moment, shear force, slamming, propeller immersion, motions

4. Shipboard Ballast Operations
How is it handled?
Loading condition is assessed and ballast allocated to remain within safe operational limits
Ballast movements coordinated with cargo operations
Impact on Crew
Provides for vessel safety
Controls vessel motion for better comfort
Requires daily management of ballast and maintenance of systems and tanks

5. Typical Ballast System Components
Simple liquid storage/handling system
Tanks, piping, valves, pumps
Vents, overflows, sounding tubes, level indicators
Remotely operated
Sea chests and overboard discharges

11. Ballast System – Design Considerations
Total ballast volume – 6,000 to >100,000 m3
Flow rates – 200 to 5000 m3/hr
Head requirements – up to 30m
In service flexibility (# tks, pipe, valves, …)
Ballast Exchange Options
Partial Ballast Conditions
Control systems

12. What are AIS?
Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) are organisms transported by human activities to a region where they did not occur historically and have established reproducing populations in the wild.
(Ref. Dobroski, ‘Aquatic Invasive Species and Ballast Water Management’)

13. How do we manage AIS?
Prevention – Best line of defense, vector management
Eradication – Costly and often impossible, over $6 million to eradicate Caulerpa (algae) from two small southern CA embayments
Species management once established – restrict local movement, control populations in sensitive habitats if possible
(Ref. Dobroski, ‘Aquatic Invasive Species and Ballast Water Management’)

14. How do they get here?
Many mechanisms (vectors) capable of transporting AIS around the world
Aquaculture, live seafood shipments, bait, pet store trade, intentional release
Commercial ships responsible for up to 80% of introductions in coastal habitats
Includes ballast water and vessel fouling
(Ref. Dobroski, ‘Aquatic Invasive Species and Ballast Water Management’)

15. Ballast Water and AIS
Species are introduced upon ballast water discharge in recipient regions
(Ref. Dobroski, ‘Aquatic Invasive Species and Ballast Water Management’)

16. Ballast Water Management Options in California
Retain all ballast on board the vessel
Ballast water exchange
Discharge to an approved shoreside treatment facility (currently no such facilities in CA)
Use of alternative, environmentally sound CSLC or USCG approved method of treatment
(Ref. Dobroski, ‘Aquatic Invasive Species and Ballast Water Management’)

17. Ballast Water Treatment Standards
Organism Size Class
California1,2
IMO Regulation D-21
Washington
Organisms greater than 50 µm in minimum dimension
No detectable living organisms
< 10 viable organisms per cubic meter
Technology to inactivate or remove:
95% zooplankton
99% bacteria and phytoplankton
Organisms 10 – 50 µm in minimum dimension
< 0.01 living organisms per ml
< 10 viable organisms per ml
Organisms less than 10 µm in minimum dimension
Escherichia coli
Intestinal enterococci
Toxicogenic Vibrio cholerae (01 & 0139)
< 103 bacteria/100 ml
< 104 viruses/100 ml
< 126 cfu3/100 ml
< 33 cfu/100 ml
< 1cfu/100 ml or
< 1cfu/gram wet weight zoological samples
< 250 cfu/100 ml
< 100 cfu/100 ml
< 1 cfu/100 ml or
< 1 cfu/gram wet weight zooplankton samples
[1] See Implementation Schedule (below) for dates by which vessels must meet California Interim Performance Standards and IMO Ballast Water Performance Standard
[2] Final discharge standard for California, beginning January 1, 2020, is zero detectable living organisms for all organism size classes
[3] Colony-forming-unit
Implementation Schedule for Performance Standards
(Ref. Dobroski, ‘Aquatic Invasive Species and Ballast Water Management’)
Ballast Water Capacity of Vessel
Standards apply to new vessels in this size class constructed on or after
Standards apply to all other vessels in this size class beginning in
< 1500 metric tons
2009
2016
< 1500 – 5000 metric tons
2014
> 5000 metric tons
2012

18. Treatment Technology Challenge
Achieve desired kill rate
Work at high flow rates and with large volumes
Work with water of varying salinity, temperature, nutrients, clarity
Do not introduce other personnel/environmental hazards
Provide mechanism/process for testing/monitoring
Do not disrupt ship operations/schedule
Fit in limited space and survive ship conditions (vibration, pitch/roll motions,...)
Use available power
Do not add to ship maintenance
Be economical to buy, install, use and maintain

19. Treatment Technology Solutions
Chemical Biocides (“Active Substances”)
Chlorine (Generated on Board)
Ozone (Generated on Board)
Proprietary Chemicals (some delivered pre-mixed)
Mechanical Separation - Filters
Physical Change to Ballast Water Environment
Irradiate (UV light)
Deoxygenate
Heat

20. Chlorine NaCl + H2O + 2e NaOCl + H2
Generate Chlorine / Sodium Hypochlorate (bleach) with electrolytic cells on board
Add solution when taking on ballast, maintain levels during voyage
Lethal in hours
>80% chance can meet IMO criteria
Systems designed but limited testing to date
High dosage levels can promote steel corrosion
Concern about chemical residuals

21. Ozone Ozone generator on board using high voltage AC current
Applied at uptake or discharge
Lethal in 5-15 hours
Short half life limits corrosion and makes safe at discharge
<60% chance can meet IMO 2004 criteria
Systems designed but limited testing to date

22. Proprietary Chemicals
Pre-Mixed proprietary chemicals introduced at metered dosage rate when taking on ballast
Chemicals degrade over time, designed to be safe at discharge
Lethal in 24 hrs
>80% chance can meet IMO 2004 criteria
Full size testing ongoing
High dosage levels can promote steel corrosion
Concern about chemical residuals
Example
Peracetic Acid
C2H4O3
acetic acid, hydrogen peroxide with sulfuric acid catalyst.
Produced on shore, delivered to ship in chemical tanks

23. Mechanical Separation Filters and Cyclones
Filters for larger organisms
Done at uptake and/or discharge
‘Lethal’ at time of treatment
<80% chance can meet IMO 2004 criteria
Full scale testing on going

24. Filtration with Backflush
Ballast Water Treatment
SNAME Northern California Section Meeting
Filtration with Backflush
50 microns is the practical lower limit
Automatic backflush is required to allow for unattended operation
Backflush process reduces the net flow rate and increases the system pressure drops
External backflushing pump is required
Probably not practical for bulkers and tankers with high flow rates and volumes
. The target particle size for the filter stage, as mentioned earlier, is in the 50 to 100 micron size range. Prototype testing aboard a barge indicated that 50 microns is probably the practical lower limit for shipboard use (Parsons, Harkins 2000).
Testing has also demonstrated the following:
a 5-10mm (3/16” to 3/8”) prescreen upstream of the filter is required to protect the finer screens
automatic backflush capability is required to allow for unattended operation – However, the backflush process can reduce the net flow rate and increase the system pressure drops. Real in-service experience has shown that the reduction in flow rate can be quite different than test-bed values.
a pressure sustaining valve is required downstream of the filters to maintain the pressure differential between the discharge chamber and backflush chamber
backflush timing in service can vary greatly from system test-bed values
filter performance is enhanced if left in “wet lay-up” between ballast operations
handling filter screens by crew for larger units must be addressed

25. Filtration with Backflush
Ballast Water Treatment
SNAME Northern California Section Meeting
Filtration with Backflush
Can remove most of the larger life forms
A 50 micron screen will remove most or all of the zooplankton and some of the phytoplankton and dinoflagellates.
Filters of a practical size are not effective against bacteria and viruses
Useful in reducing turbidity (suspended solids)

26. Ballast Water Treatment SNAME Northern California Section Meeting
Cyclonic Separation
figure

27. Ballast Water Treatment SNAME Northern California Section Meeting
Cyclonic Separation
Can remove solids heavier than the sea water and larger than about 50 microns
About 5% to 10% of the total flow rate is removed in the sludge discharge
Pressure drop is about 0.8 bar plus backpressure valve at 1.2 to 1.5 bar
A few important installation notes regarding shipboard installations of hydrocyclones:
They should be installed as vertical as possible with the inlet at the top. They can be inclined if overhead space limitations exist, but performance may suffer as they approach a horizontal orientation.
A 3/16” to 3/8” screen mesh is recommended at the sea water in intake to remove very large organisms.
Gravity filling of tanks through a hydrocyclone will not work because the gravity head can not push solids overboard.
They are particularly applicable on the ballast intake cycle where the separated particles can be discharged with a small percentage of the pumped water back into the harbor of origin.
They have the advantage of being scalable to even the largest ballast pumping rates found on ships. Either a single very large unit or a bank of smaller hydrocyclones in parallel can be used to achieve the desired throughput. It is also may be possible to arrange units in series and optimize each for a different particle size or density. Note, total throughput to ballast tanks is still limited by pump capacity, increased system pressure, and volume of diverted sludge.

28. Ballast Water Treatment SNAME Northern California Section Meeting
Cyclonic Separation
Effectively remove the large vertebrates and invertebrates
Not effective in reducing zooplankton density, but it does reduce live densities
Not that effective in reducing bacteria, viruses, or phytoplankton

29. Physical Change to Environment Ultraviolet (UV) Light
Ballast Water Treatment
SNAME Northern California Section Meeting
Physical Change to Environment Ultraviolet (UV) Light
Inactivates living organisms by causing DNA mutations
Proven effective against zooplankton, phytoplankton, bacteria and viruses.
Need pretreatment to reduce size of organisms and exposure time
Can be used on intake and discharge
Ultra violet light in wavelengths from 200 to 280 nm can effectively inactivate bacteria, viruses, and other living organisms. The inactivation is caused by DNA mutations induced through absorption of UV light by DNA molecules. For disinfection of water (removal of human pathogens and viruses) the US FDA requires that all parts (each volume element) of the product receive a UV radiant exposure of at least 400 J/m2 (40 mWsec/cm2) at a wavelength of 254 nm. (USFDA 2000). UV irradiation has been the subject of laboratory testing on a range of marine organisms as well and found to be most effective in the wavelengths from 250 to 260 nm.
Used on intake and discharge in case of organism regrowth

30. Ultraviolet (UV) Light
Ballast Water Treatment
SNAME Northern California Section Meeting
Ultraviolet (UV) Light
Can be automatically controlled and monitored
Long history in the marine industry and demonstrated low maintenance requirements
Basic technology is readily available on the market
Turbid materials in the ballast flow attenuate and scatter the UV radiation
Pre-filtration used to reduce attenuation/scatter of UV radiation and therefore improve efficiency of UV

31. Physical Change to Environment Deoxygenate
Inert gas generated on board
When mixed with water, lowers Oxygen and pH
Lethal in 4 to 6 days
>80% chance can meet IMO 2004 criteria
Full scale testing on going, some systems approved by IMO
Reduces corrosion, but can require closed tank vent system to maintain low oxygen atmosphere.

32. Physical Change to Environment Heat Treatment
Heat water to threshold temperature (42 degC)
Lethal in hours to days
Requires large amount of energy and can be difficult to generate heat in port when ME not running
<60% chance can meet IMO 2004 Criteria
Full scale testing on going
Heat promotes corrosion

33. Combined Systems Cyclonic + UV System (courtesy Optimar/Hyde Marine)
Ballast Water Treatment
SNAME Northern California Section Meeting
Combined Systems Cyclonic + UV System (courtesy Optimar/Hyde Marine)

34. 2- Stage Treatment Cyclonic Separator + UV

35. 3 - Stage Treatment Filter + UV + Chemical
50 micron filtration
remove large particles
remove sediments
UV light
inactivate living organisms
reduced efficacy with cloudy water
Catalysts
activated by UV energy producing oxidizing chemicals
increases efficacy of UV in cloudy water

36. Life Cycle Costs Acquisition Installation Operating Maintenance $ ?
250 m3/hr m3/hr
$100k to $400k $400k to $1800k
Installation
$50k to $125k $200k to $800k
Operating
$0.02/m3 to $0.45/m3
7000 m $ $3,150
70,000 m $1, $31,500
Maintenance $ ?

37. Safety Issues
Handling and storage of chemicals, radiation and other equipment meant to kill living organisms
New risks to personnel and the environment
IMO G9 Procedures considering eco-toxicology, human health and ship and crew safety (MEPC.126(53))
Local, State, National water quality regulations

38. Regulatory Compliance and Testing
Organism Size Class
California1,2
Organisms greater than 50 µm in minimum dimension
No detectable living organisms
Organisms 10 – 50 µm in minimum dimension
< 0.01 living organisms per ml
Organisms less than 10 µm in minimum dimension
Escherichia coli
Intestinal enterococci
Toxicogenic Vibrio cholerae (01 & 0139)
< 103 bacteria/100 ml
< 104 viruses/100 ml
< 126 cfu3/100 ml
< 33 cfu/100 ml
< 1cfu/100 ml or
< 1cfu/gram wet weight zoological samples
Stricter standards
Testing is time consuming
Lab results may not scale well to full size
Functional testing and equipment certification “Type Approval”, or
In service testing (“end of pipe”) for continuous monitoring

39. Need for Engineered Solutions
Develop treatment technologies (Entrepreneur stage)
Design testing methods and process for type approval or continuous monitoring
Automatic ballast water analyzers (bug counters)
Ship design adjustments and system integration
Regulatory development/evaluation

40. Ballast Water Management Engineering Technologies and Opportunities
Spencer Schilling
President
Herbert Engineering Corp.