System and method of ballast water treatment with continuous biofouling control
First Claim
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1. A ballast water treatment system suitable for ballasting and de-ballasting water on a ship or sea-going vessel, the system comprising:
- a primary filtration system adapted to remove particles from a ballast water;
at least one biofouling control (BFC) unit;
at least one ultraviolet (UV) disinfection chamber;
wherein the at least one BFC unit comprises a power supply, a generator configured to generate a plurality of electromagnetic waves, and a propagation apparatus configured to propagate the plurality of electromagnetic waves, wherein the at least one BFC unit is adapted to generate and propagate through the ballast water the plurality of electromagnetic waves during a ballasting process for receiving the ballast water into a ballast tank on the ship or sea-going vessel and a de-ballasting process for discharging the ballast water from the ballast tank,wherein the at least one UV disinfection chamber comprises at least one ultraviolet (UV) lamp adapted to irradiate filtered ballast water exiting the primary filtration system during the ballasting process and the de-ballasting process, wherein the at least one UV disinfection chamber is adapted to be inactivated during a re-circulation process taking place in an absence of both the ballasting process and the de-ballasting process;
a first pipe which fluidly connects the primary filtration system and the at least one UV disinfection chamber; and
a second pipe which fluidly connects the at least one UV disinfection chamber and the ballast tank;
wherein the at least one BFC unit is disposed at at least one of the first pipe and the second pipe,wherein the ballast water treatment system is adapted such that, during the re-circulation process, holding water in ballast water pipes, including the first and the second pipe, is re-circulated intermittently or continuously through the primary filtration system and the at least one BFC unit, andwherein the at least one BFC unit is adapted to at least intermittently generate and propagate through the ballast water the plurality of electromagnetic waves having pulsed peak-to-peak voltage, in a range of 12V to 200V, and at least one desired time-varying frequency range, which is within 50 Hz to 2,000,000 Hz, during the re-circulation process to continuously control multiplication of marine organisms in the ballast water and on a plurality of surfaces in contact with the ballast water, wherein the plurality of electromagnetic waves are adapted to produce an avalanche current in the ballast water to kill the marine organisms without requiring an active substance or chemical.
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Abstract
Embodiments of the invention relate to a ballast water treatment system and method onboard ships or sea-going vessels. The system includes a filtration system, a UV disinfection system and a biofouling control system, which is adapted to provide continuous control of multiplication of marine organisms even during an absence of a ballasting and a de-ballasting process.
8 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A ballast water treatment system suitable for ballasting and de-ballasting water on a ship or sea-going vessel, the system comprising:
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a primary filtration system adapted to remove particles from a ballast water; at least one biofouling control (BFC) unit; at least one ultraviolet (UV) disinfection chamber; wherein the at least one BFC unit comprises a power supply, a generator configured to generate a plurality of electromagnetic waves, and a propagation apparatus configured to propagate the plurality of electromagnetic waves, wherein the at least one BFC unit is adapted to generate and propagate through the ballast water the plurality of electromagnetic waves during a ballasting process for receiving the ballast water into a ballast tank on the ship or sea-going vessel and a de-ballasting process for discharging the ballast water from the ballast tank, wherein the at least one UV disinfection chamber comprises at least one ultraviolet (UV) lamp adapted to irradiate filtered ballast water exiting the primary filtration system during the ballasting process and the de-ballasting process, wherein the at least one UV disinfection chamber is adapted to be inactivated during a re-circulation process taking place in an absence of both the ballasting process and the de-ballasting process; a first pipe which fluidly connects the primary filtration system and the at least one UV disinfection chamber; and a second pipe which fluidly connects the at least one UV disinfection chamber and the ballast tank; wherein the at least one BFC unit is disposed at at least one of the first pipe and the second pipe, wherein the ballast water treatment system is adapted such that, during the re-circulation process, holding water in ballast water pipes, including the first and the second pipe, is re-circulated intermittently or continuously through the primary filtration system and the at least one BFC unit, and wherein the at least one BFC unit is adapted to at least intermittently generate and propagate through the ballast water the plurality of electromagnetic waves having pulsed peak-to-peak voltage, in a range of 12V to 200V, and at least one desired time-varying frequency range, which is within 50 Hz to 2,000,000 Hz, during the re-circulation process to continuously control multiplication of marine organisms in the ballast water and on a plurality of surfaces in contact with the ballast water, wherein the plurality of electromagnetic waves are adapted to produce an avalanche current in the ballast water to kill the marine organisms without requiring an active substance or chemical. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of treating a ballast water onboard a ship or sea-going vessel, the method comprising:
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passing the ballast water through a primary filtration system to remove particles from the ballast water; during a ballasting process for receiving the ballast water into a ballast tank on the ship or sea-going vessel and a de-ballasting process for discharging the ballast water from the ballast tank, disinfecting filtered ballast water by a combination of ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation in a UV disinfection chamber and biofouling control which is provided by at least one biofouling control (BFC) unit generating and propagating a plurality of electromagnetic waves through the ballast water; during the ballasting process, receiving disinfected ballast water into the ballast tank; and during a re-circulation process taking place in an absence of the ballasting and the de-ballasting process, the ballast water in ballast water pipes, having a first and a second pipe, is re-circulated intermittently or continuously through the primary filtration system and the at least one BFC unit; during the re-circulation process, inactivating UV light irradiation in the UV disinfection chamber, at least intermittently generating and propagating, by the at least one BFC unit, the plurality of electromagnetic waves having pulsed peak-to-peak voltage, in a range of 12V to 200V, and at least one desired time-varying frequency range, which is within 50 Hz to 2,000,000 Hz, through the ballast water to continuously control multiplication of marine organisms in the ballast water and on a plurality of surfaces in contact with the ballast water, wherein the at least one BFC unit is disposed at at least one of the first pipe which fluidly connects the primary filtration system and the UV disinfection chamber, and the second pipe which fluidly connects to or from the UV disinfection chamber and the ballast tank, the at least one BFC unit comprising a power supply, a generator configured to generate the plurality of electromagnetic waves, and a propagation apparatus configured to propagate the plurality of electromagnetic waves, and producing, by the plurality of electromagnetic waves, an avalanche current in the ballast water and killing the marine organisms using the avalanche current without requiring an active substance or chemical. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification