Ballast water treatment systems including related appratus and methods
First Claim
1. A method of distributing portable water treatment devices around the deck of a ship to process ballast water discharged from the fire hydrant system of the ship, each of said water treatment devices having a known processing rate, said method comprising the steps of:
- determining a number and location of fire hydrant outlets on the deck of a ship;
ascertaining a flow rate of each of said located fire hydrant outlets;
determining an amount of said ship'"'"'s ballast water requiring treatment;
setting a desired duration of time during which the determined amount of ballast water requiring treatment is to be processed;
determining a number of water treatment devices necessary to process the determined amount of ballast water within said desired duration of time; and
distributing said determined number of water treatment devices around said deck of said ship proximate selected fire hydrant outlets to direct ballast water from said fire hydrant outlets into respective water treatment devices for processing.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Ballast water treatment apparatus and methods for preventing foreign aquatic invasive species form entering marine ecological zones by translocation in ship'"'"'s ballast water. The apparatus includes a housing, a filter member, and UV water treatment chambers. Methods include use of a ship'"'"'s fire hydrant system or ballast water discharge port for moving ballast water from the ship'"'"'s ballast tanks into the apparatus for filtration and treatment. In-port service vessels and barges as well as dock-side service vehicles are equipped with the various treatment and filtration apparatus to provided in-port or dock-side ballast water treatment services. Related methods are also provided.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of distributing portable water treatment devices around the deck of a ship to process ballast water discharged from the fire hydrant system of the ship, each of said water treatment devices having a known processing rate, said method comprising the steps of:
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determining a number and location of fire hydrant outlets on the deck of a ship; ascertaining a flow rate of each of said located fire hydrant outlets; determining an amount of said ship'"'"'s ballast water requiring treatment; setting a desired duration of time during which the determined amount of ballast water requiring treatment is to be processed; determining a number of water treatment devices necessary to process the determined amount of ballast water within said desired duration of time; and distributing said determined number of water treatment devices around said deck of said ship proximate selected fire hydrant outlets to direct ballast water from said fire hydrant outlets into respective water treatment devices for processing.
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2. A marine service vessel for treating discharged ballast water from a ship, said vessel comprising:
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a housing tank positioned within a water treatment processing area associated with the marine service vessel, said housing tank having at least one inlet port and one discharge port, said at least one inlet port being adapted to receive ballast water from the fire hydrant system of a respective ship by connecting a fire hose between a fire hydrant on said respective ship and said at least one inlet port of said housing tank; a filter positioned within said housing tank, said filter employed to filter particulate matter from said ballast water received from said respective ship'"'"'s fire hydrant system; and a source of electromagnetic radiation maintained within said housing tank for irradiating said ballast water to thereby deactivate biological organisms contained therein.
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3. A method of treating discharged ballast water from a ship using a service vessel, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing a ballast water treatment apparatus on board said service vessel; positioning said service vessel adjacent a respective ship requiring ballast water treatment; and directing ballast water from a ballast tank of said respective ship into said ballast water treatment apparatus on board said service vessel to thereby treat said respective ship'"'"'s ballast water before discharging said ship'"'"'s ballast water. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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6. A method of deriving financial revenue for services provided for treating discharged ballast water from a ship using a service vessel, said method comprising the steps of:
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positioning said service vessel adjacent a respective ship requiring ballast water treatment; directing ballast water from a ballast tank of a respective ship into a ballast water treatment apparatus maintained on board said service vessel to thereby treat said respective ship'"'"'s ballast water before discharging said ship'"'"'s ballast water into the environment; determining an amount of time required to treat said respective ship'"'"'s ballast water; and calculating a water treatment service fee based at least in part on said amount of time required to treat said respective ship'"'"'s ballast water.
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7. A method of deriving financial revenue for services provided for treating discharged ballast water from a ship using a service vessel, said method comprising the steps of:
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positioning said service vessel adjacent a respective ship requiring ballast water treatment; directing ballast water from a ballast tank of a respective ship into a ballast water treatment apparatus maintained on board said service vessel to thereby treat said respective ship'"'"'s ballast water before .discharging said ship'"'"'s ballast water into the environment; determining a total volume of treated ballast water processed from said respective ship'"'"'s ballast water tanks; and calculating a water treatment service fee based at least in part on said total volume of treated ballast water.
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8. A method of treating discharged ballast water from a ship using a dock-side service vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing a ballast water treatment apparatus in association with said dock-side service vehicle; positioning said ballast water treatment apparatus adjacent a respective ship requiring ballast water treatment; and directing ballast water from a ballast tank of said respective ship into said ballast water treatment apparatus associated with said dock-side service vehicle to thereby treat said respective ship'"'"'s ballast water before discharging said ship'"'"'s ballast water into an open water environment. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
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11. A method of deriving financial revenue for services provided for treating discharged ballast water from a ship using a dock-side service vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:
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positioning said dock-side service vehicle adjacent a respective ship requiring ballast water treatment, directing ballast water from a ballast tank of a respective ship into a ballast water treatment apparatus maintained in association with said dock-side service vehicle to thereby treat said respective ship'"'"'s ballast water before discharging said ship'"'"'s ballast water into an open environment; determining an amount of time required to treat said respective ship'"'"'s ballast water; and calculating a water treatment service fee based at least in part on said amount of time required to treat said respective ship'"'"'s ballast water.
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12. A method of deriving financial revenue for services provided for treating discharged ballast water from a ship using a dock-side service vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:
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positioning said dock-side service vehicle adjacent a respective ship requiring ballast water treatment; directing ballast water from a ballast tank of a respective ship into a ballast water treatment apparatus maintained in association with said dock-side service vehicle to thereby treat said respective ship'"'"'s ballast water before discharging said ship'"'"'s ballast water into an open environment; determining a total volume of treated ballast water processed from said respective ship'"'"'s ballast water tanks; and calculating a water treatment service fee based at least in part on said total volume of treated ballast water.
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13. A method of processing ballast water discharged from a ship, said method comprising:
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accessing ballast water requiring treatment from a ship'"'"'s ballast tank through a fire hydrant system of said ship; directing said ballast water from said fire hydrant system through a filter to thereby remove undesired particulate matter from said ballast water; and allowing discharge of the filtered ballast water into a pre-selected open water environment. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. A method of using the fire hydrant system of a ship to treat ballast water, said method comprising the steps of:
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accessing ballast water requiring treatment from a ship'"'"'s ballast tank through at least one fire hydrant located on a deck of said ship; directing said ballast water from said at least one fire hydrant through a filter to thereby remove undesired particulate matter from said ballast water; and allowing discharge of the filter ballast water into a pre-selected open water environment. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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Specification