물과 폐수처리 제품을 전문으로 하는 기업인 Evoqua Water Technologies는 밸러스트 물 관리 솔루션(ballast water management solutions, BWMS)을 위한 저염분의 물 테스트를 완료한 최초의 기업이 되었다고 발표했다. 미국연안경비대(United States Coast Guard, USCG)의 의정서의 일환으로 BWMS는 수생종의 훼손이나 침해로부터 환경과 경제를 보호하기 위해 만들어졌다.

볼티모어에 위치한 해양환경자원센터(Marine Environmental Resource Center)에서 시스템이 운영될 환경을 재현한 엄격한 조건 아래 BWMS가 완료된 SeaCURE™ 시스템의 테스트가 진행되었다. Evoqua가 미국 정부와 함께 테스트 단계를 완료한 것은 이번이 처음이며, 저염분 시험의 전체 3단계 중 USCG 승인은 첫 번째 단계에 해당한다. 

Today, Evoqua Water Technologies, a specialist in water and wastewater treatment products, announced that it has become the first company to complete low-salinity (brackish) water testing for ballast water management solutions (BWMS). As part of United States Coast Guard (USCG) protocols, BWMS are designed to safely protect the environment and economies from invasive aquatic species damage.

Testing for the SeaCURE™ system for BWMS was completed at the Marine Environmental Resource Center (MERC) in Baltimore, Md., under rigorous conditions that replicate the environment in which the system will be operating. Evoqua is the first to complete this phase of testing with a U.S. Independent Laboratory. The low-salinity trials are the first of three phases required for full USCG approval. The SeaCURE system will now move on to freshwater testing and sea trials planned for later in the year.

The technology has already attained alternate management systems (AMS) acceptance for fresh, brackish and full saline water and was the first electrochlorination system to receive AMS acceptance for all three salinities. AMS approval is a temporary designation granted to a system that has already been approved by an international administration. SeaCURE is believed to be the only side-stream electrochlorination system on the market to be AMS approved for all three types of water. The USCG protocol BWMS testing for the brackish water phase was completed on July 30, 2015.

Designed as a safe, secure system suitable for gas carriers, tankers, bulk carriers, and container vessels, SeaCURE systems for BWMS is suitable for vessels with higher ballast water flow rates ranging from 500 to 4,000 cubic meters per hour. Higher flow rates can be accommodated by using multiple units. SeaCURE systems for BWMS are equally suitable for retrofitting on existing vessels as well as for installation and use on new-build ships.

SeaCURE systems are based on the technology used in Evoqua's Chloropac® system, which, with over 40 years' experience across the maritime industry, has established itself as a marine growth prevention system highly regarded for its performance, safety and reliability. The system is designed for the lifetime of a fleet and can operate continuously either as a marine growth prevention device or, when specified, as a dual-purpose system sharing the same resources for ballast water treatment.

This flexibility in design can provide ship owners with significant maintenance savings and improved return on investment. The SeaCURE system is similarly designed to save energy and reduce operating costs for the ship owner. Variations in demand are taken into account to deliver biocide only at the dosage necessary for successful ballast water treatment.

[출처 = Water World / 2015년 8월 10일]