Using advanced grey water treatment technology for the treatment of ballast water on board ships

IPStar is carrying out a feasibility study on the technical and economical parameters to apply advanced grey water treatment technology developed by MELiSSA for the treatment of ballast water on board ships. The objective is to develop a prototype and license the technology to an industrial partner. Annually an estimated 12 billion tons of ballast water is transported around the world by sea-going vessels. This ballast water is loaded in ports, rivers and seas and discharged elsewhere in the world. With the ballast water, sediment and a large variety of organisms are taken in and discharged in places outside their natural environments. This includes flora, fauna, bacteria and infectious organisms. These organisms can cause great damage to the environment, health and economy, and ballast water is seen as one of the greatest environmental challenges of maritime shipping. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) developed regulation in 2004 to address this issue, requiring all ships to purify ballast water before discharging it. A water treatment unit developed by the MELiSSA consortium could help solving this issue. MELiSSA expertise The water treatment unit is based on MELiSSA's compartments I and III technology: grey and black water treatment units. SCK-CEN and the Univesity of Ghent have specific know-how in membrane technology, the mechanical systems used in water purification and required chemicals.