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Spencer Schilling
President
Herbert Engineering Corp.
Overview
 Shipboard Ballast Operations
 Typical Ballast System Components
 AIS and Ballast Water
 Shipboard Ballast Water Management Solutions
 Exchange
 Treatment
 Treatment Technologies : Engineering Challenges
Shipboard Ballast Operations
 Why is ballast used?
 Maintain seaworthy
condition when lightly
loaded
 Draft, trim, stability,
bending moment, shear
force, slamming,
propeller immersion,
motions
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
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
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, …)
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Ballast Exchange Options
Partial Ballast Conditions
 Control systems
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’)
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’)
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’)
Ballast Water and AIS
 Species are introduced upon ballast water discharge in
recipient regions
(Ref. Dobroski, ‘Aquatic Invasive Species and Ballast Water Management’)
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’)
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
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
< 103 bacteria/100 ml
< 104 viruses/100 ml
Technology to
inactivate or
remove:
95% zooplankton
99% bacteria and
phytoplankton
Escherichia coli
Intestinal enterococci
Toxicogenic Vibrio cholerae (01
& 0139)
< 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
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
2009
2014
> 5000 metric tons
2012
2016
(Ref. Dobroski, ‘Aquatic Invasive Species and Ballast Water Management’)
Treatment Technology Challenge
 Achieve desired kill rate
 Work at high flow rates and with large volumes
 Work with water of varying salinity, temperature,
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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
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
Chlorine
NaCl + H2O + 2e
NaOCl + H2
 Generate Chlorine / Sodium Hypochlorate (bleach) with
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electrolytic cells on board
Add solution when taking on ballast, maintain levels
during voyage
Lethal in hours
>80% chance can meet IMO 2004
criteria
Systems designed but limited
testing to date
High dosage levels can promote
steel corrosion
Concern about chemical residuals
Ozone
 Ozone generator on board using high
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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
Proprietary Chemicals
 Pre-Mixed proprietary chemicals
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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
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
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
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)
Cyclonic Separation
 figure
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
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
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
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
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.
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
Combined Systems
Cyclonic + UV System
(courtesy Optimar/Hyde Marine)
2- Stage Treatment
Cyclonic Separator + UV
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
Life Cycle Costs
 Acquisition
250 m3/hr
$100k to $400k
5000 m3/hr
$400k to $1800k
 Installation
$50k to $125k
$200k to $800k
 Operating
$0.02/m3 to $0.45/m3
7000 m3
$140
$3,150
70,000 m3
$1,400
$31,500
 Maintenance $ ?
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
Regulatory Compliance and Testing
 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
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
< 103 bacteria/100 ml
< 104 viruses/100 ml
Escherichia coli
Intestinal enterococci
Toxicogenic Vibrio cholerae
(01 & 0139)
< 126 cfu3/100 ml
< 33 cfu/100 ml
< 1cfu/100 ml or
< 1cfu/gram wet
weight
zoological
samples
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
Spencer Schilling
President
Herbert Engineering Corp.