De Nora BWTS Concludes USCG Testing
De Nora announced that it has completed shipboard testing for its BALPURE ballast water treatment system (BWTS), and intends to make its submission for United States Coast Guard (USCG) Type Approval by the end of 2017.
The shipboard testing of De Nora BALPURE was conducted on a US-flagged Aframax tanker operating in the west coast of the United States in the regulated waters of California and Alaska. The tanker is in normal trading and has been ballasting and deballasting with BALPURE system on a regular basis.
The end of shipboard testing represents the conclusion of De Nora’s USCG testing, having already completed the land-based testing, engineering design and environmental testing elements of the submission. The results, documentation and final drawings associated with De Nora BALPURE are now with the Independent Laboratory for verification and submission to the USCG.
Don Stephen, Managing Director, BALPURE at De Nora Water Technologies commented: “De Nora has over 90 years’ expertise in electrolytic disinfection and BALPURE has been previously identified by the US EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) as one of three systems that demonstrated the ability to meet a standard 10 times more stringent than the IMO D-2 standard, so we’ve been confident throughout the testing process. However, it is still very satisfying to be finally ready to submit our USCG Type Approval application.
“The BWTS market has faced a challenging few months since MEPC 71, but this type approval submission demonstrates our long-term commitment to the maritime industry and to the dozens of ships already actively ballasting and deballasting with De Nora BALPURE® technology. We look forward to the addition of BALPURE to that still-short list of USCG Type Approved BWTS and enabling compliance across the industry as we work together towards the entry into force of the Ballast Water Management Convention.”
Already certified under the USCG Alternative Management System (AMS), De Nora is the originator and patent holder of electrochlorination disinfection of ballast water through the slipstream method. This method means that only a 0.5% to 1% of the water entering the ballast line needs to be channelled into the treatment system.
The hypochlorite used to treat the water is created in the slipstream and is then introduced to the full volume of ballast water, offering an effective solution for ships with large ballast tanks and high pumping rates. The De Nora BALPURE system is assembled from several sub-assemblies designed to fit through most hatch doors, allowing quick and easy retrofit installations.
