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A ballast water system is a type of marine technology. Ballast water is used to control and stabilize the buoyancy of a ship.
Ships, whether they are transporting goods or cargo, need to think of the ecological impact the ballast micro-organisms have on the habitat that the ship passes through.
Considering this has become increasingly important thanks to IMO’s “International Convention for the Control and Management of Ship’s Ballast Water and Sediments”.
It’s a breakthrough convention, really.
What are the Benefits of Ballast Water Systems
Apart from using UV treatment, gas treatment, electrolysis, and magnetic separation, hydrocyclones are also widely used because of the flexibility that they offer. Though, given, discs and screens are used before a hydrocyclone can be used.
A hydrocyclone is the next method if screens and discs are not working. In many specific cases, hydrocyclones provide much better efficiency.
However, even they come with their drawbacks. Smaller organisms cannot be removed from the ballast water using a hydrocyclone.
Many marine species are invasive in nature. This is where ballast water systems come in. Invasive species can imbalance the ecological habitat.
Apart from the aforementioned methods, media filters and chemical disinfection are also pretty effective. Oxidizing and non-oxidizing biocides offer a great value here.
A few examples of oxidizing biocides include:
Chlorination,
Ozonation,
Chlorine dioxide,
Peracetic acid, and
Hydrogen peroxide.
The ballast system type that you need depends on a number of factors, such as the available space, ship size, your budget, and so on.
The point of most ballast systems is to keep out micro-organisms such as sediments, zooplankton, and phytoplankton. These micro-organisms happen to offer a considerable threat to the marine ecosystem, and that’s precisely why ships are supposed to be equipped with cutting-edge ballast water treatment systems.
