Antifouling Ballast Water Filter System with Electrolytic TRO Reinjection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current ballast water treatment systems face fouling issues due to the growth of marine organisms on filter screens during shutdown, leading to clogging, as there is no fully automatic online antifouling method to prevent this problem.
Innovation Solution
An online antifouling ship ballast water treatment system that includes a dehydrogenation tank and electrolytic unit to produce a TRO solution containing sodium hypochlorite, which is reintroduced into the filter after ballasting, inhibiting the growth of marine organisms and preventing clogging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If filtration is used to remove organisms from ballast water, then the ballast water treatment effectiveness is improved, but the filter screen becomes clogged with adhered organisms during shutdown periods
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary disinfection action by injecting chlorine-containing substances into the ballast water before filtration. This pre-treatment kills or inactivates organisms that would otherwise adhere to and clog the filter screen during shutdown periods, preventing the harmful fouling effect while maintaining effective filtration
Solution Approach 2:
Chlorine-containing substances serve as an intermediary agent between the ballast water and the filter screen. This chemical mediator disinfects the water and creates a protective effect on the filter by preventing organism adhesion, thus resolving the contradiction between effective filtration and filter clogging
2Productivity
If the ballast water treatment system operates intermittently during loading and discharging, then the system is used only when necessary, but organisms adhered to the filter screen multiply during shutdown and clog the filter
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies preliminary disinfection treatment to the ballast water before it reaches the filter during operational periods. This advance action ensures that organisms are inactivated before they can adhere to the filter screen, preventing subsequent multiplication during shutdown periods while maintaining efficient intermittent operation
Solution Approach 2:
The system converts the intermittent operation pattern, which initially causes harm through organism multiplication during shutdown, into a benefit by using the operational periods to apply disinfection treatment. The harmful shutdown period becomes beneficial as it allows the disinfectant to remain effective on the filter screen without dilution from continuous water flow
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively prevents filter clogging by maintaining the sodium hypochlorite solution in the filter between ballasting operations, ensuring continuous functionality without manual cleaning for up to two years.
Implementation Method 1
an electrolytic unit (3) ... which electrolyzes seawater to produce a mixture of TRO solution containing sodium hypochlorite and hydrogen gas
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
An online antifouling ship ballast water treatment system comprises a ballast water main pipeline (11), a ballast water branch pipeline (18), a chemicals feeding pipeline (13), a filter (2) located on the ballast water main pipeline (11), an electrolysis unit (3) located on the ballast water branch pipeline (18), and a chemicals feeding pump (12) located on the chemicals feeding pipeline (13). Part of seawater introduced into the ship ballast water treatment system is filtered by the filter (2), then flows to the ballast water branch pipeline (18) and the electrolysis unit (3), the part of the seawater electrolyzed by the electrolysis unit (3) is reinjected to the filter (2) through the chemicals feeding pump (12) and the chemicals feeding pipeline (13) after a ballast process is completed, and the part of the seawater is kept in the filter (2) for a certain time. After the ballast process is completed, a TRO solution obtained by electrolysis treatment of the seawater is reinjected to the filter (2) and is kept in the filter (2) until a next ballast process is started, so that the growth and propagation of marine organisms in the filter (2) can be inhibited by sodium hypochlorite contained in the TRO solution when a ballast pump (1) stops working. Also disclosed is an online antifouling ship ballast water treatment method.