Ballast Water Sterilizing Agent Supply Unit
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ballast water treatment systems face challenges in accurately adjusting the concentration of sterilizing agents due to varying seawater temperatures and qualities, leading to issues like excessive or insufficient sterilization, and potential corrosion and toxicity from undissolved agents.
Innovation Solution
A ballast water treatment apparatus with a sterilizing agent supply unit that includes containers with a controlled release mechanism, a flow rate detector, and a concentration detector, allowing for precise adjustment of sterilizing agent dosage based on flow rate and concentration, ensuring a uniform and effective concentration of sterilizing agents in the ballast water.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a sterilizing agent is placed in advance in a bypass pipe to sterilize ballast water, then the sterilizing function is provided, but the concentration of the sterilizing component becomes unstable due to varying seawater temperature and quality
Solution Approach 1:
The sterilizing agent is placed in advance in the bypass pipe before ballast water flows through it, allowing the agent to dissolve into the seawater during the filling process. This preliminary placement ensures the sterilizing function is provided while the dissolution process naturally adjusts to varying water conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system accepts and adapts to parameter changes in seawater temperature and quality by allowing the sterilizing agent to dissolve directly into the flowing ballast water. The dissolution rate naturally adjusts to environmental conditions, providing flexible concentration control without requiring active regulation mechanisms.
2Manufacturing precision
If the drawing rate of seawater is increased to suppress excessive concentration of sterilizing component, then the concentration control is improved, but the time required for sterilizing agent dissolution is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The sterilizing agent dissolves continuously into the ballast water throughout the entire filling process. By maintaining continuous dissolution action during the complete water replacement cycle, the system ensures adequate dissolution time without requiring separate pre-dissolution steps, thus avoiding time loss while achieving concentration control.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a small amount of sterilizing agent is used to avoid excessive concentration, then the risk of corrosion and toxicity is reduced, but the sterilization effect becomes insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system monitors the concentration of the sterilizing component in the ballast water and uses this feedback information to control the supply of sterilizing agent. When concentration reaches the desired level, the supply is automatically adjusted or stopped, ensuring adequate sterilization while preventing excessive concentration that would cause corrosion and toxicity.
4Ease of operation
If the sterilizing agent supply device is removed from bypass pipe after filling completion, then the device can be reused, but undissolved sterilizing agent remains in contact with ballast water causing continued dissolution and concentration increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sterilizing agent supply device is extracted or removed from the bypass pipe after the ballast water filling is completed. This extraction prevents continued contact between the undissolved sterilizing agent and the ballast water, stopping further dissolution and concentration increase. The device can then be prepared for reuse in the next filling cycle.
5Reliability
If a large amount of sterilizing agent is placed in advance to ensure sufficient sterilization, then the sterilization effect is improved, but the risk of excessive concentration and corrosion increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system monitors the concentration of the sterilizing component in real-time and uses this feedback to control the supply rate of the sterilizing agent. This feedback control ensures that sufficient sterilization is achieved by maintaining appropriate concentration levels while preventing excessive concentration that would lead to corrosion and toxicity hazards.
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
This solution enables easy adjustment of sterilizing agent concentration within a desired range, preventing excessive or insufficient sterilization, reducing corrosion risks, and minimizing the formation of toxic byproducts, thereby effectively managing microorganisms and ensuring safe operation of the treatment apparatus.
Implementation Method 1
the sterilizing agent having been placed in the bypass pipe in advance dissolves into the raw water flowing in the bypass pipe to thereby obtain a sterilizing agent solution
Implementation Method 2
a part of raw water flowing in the main pipe is caused to flow into the bypass pipe
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A ballast water treatment apparatus 1 comprises a ballast pipe 11 which guides ballast water to a ballast tank 60 and a sterilizing agent supply unit 30 which supplies a constant amount of a sterilizing agent per unit time to the ballast pipe 11 in accordance with a flow rate of ballast water flowing in the ballast pipe 11. A ballast water treatment method using the ballast water treatment apparatus 1 comprises steps of supplying ballast water to a ballast tank 60 via a ballast pipe 11 and supplying a constant amount of a sterilizing agent 33 per unit time to the ballast pipe 11 in accordance with a flow rate of the ballast water flowing in the ballast pipe 11.