Chelsea Technologies Group is working to stop ocean stowaways
02/04/2013 Chelsea Technologies Group Ltd
Ballast water is critical to the safe operation of ocean-going vessels. However, during ballast water exchange, thousands of aquatic organisms and pathogens can stowaway and be transported from one part of the world to another. The transfer of these organisms in ships' ballast water can have devastating effects on the marine environment and ultimately the health and well-being of the people who depend on it. The International Maritime Organisation 2004 Ballast Water Convention was drawn up to address these issues. With implementation of this convention, it is estimated that 68,000 vessels will require functional, certified ballast water treatment systems by 2016.To date discussion has largely centred around which type of treatment technology is most suited to the task. However, this has overshadowed an important aspect of the new regulations which must form part of the overall treatment regime in order to be effective in ensuing environmental compliance, that of point of discharge measurement to ensure correct treatment. "This is where Chelsea Technologies Group comes in," said Chelsea's Richard Burt. "We have been working closely with both manufacturers of treatment systems and the certification authorities responsible for the formulating the test criteria, to provide them with the right technology for meeting the required standards."
The new FastBallast Fast Repetition Rate fluorometer (FRRf) allows operators to monitor ballast water in real time to the IMO D2 standard (10 to 50 μm category). This FRRf method has been specifically developed for working with phytoplankton within an aqueous phase at low optical density, exactly the conditions encountered in ballast water. Using the inherent high sensitivity of FastBallast, the variable fluorescence of live viable phytoplankton cells in moving ballast water can be monitored to the levels required by the IMO D2 standard. To ensure that phytoplankton from all groups are detected, FastBallast uses three LED excitation channels, with emission peaks at 450, 530 and 624 nm. Each measurement takes only 200 μs, which means that data can be collected from fast moving water (up to two metres of linear flow per second), typically when installed in ballast tanks or water treatment system piping.
Join the new FastOcean Users' Group
The FastOcean Fast Repetition Rate fluorometer forms the central part of the Chelsea ballast water treatment monitoring system. We've just set up a new LinkedIn User Group where we'll be posting news on ballast water monitoring - You are very welcome to join the group.
The challenge for ballast water treatment system manufacturers is that they must convince the ship owners that their systems operate to IMO standards. Having an online monitoring system, such as the FastBallast will not only indicate treatment satisfaction but also provide information for process control, which will ultimately lead to more efficient use of UV treatment dosage and minimise the use of raw materials in chemical treatment methods.
FastBallast will enable ship operators to determine if their ballast water treatment systems are working correctly and provide evidence to the port state control. The technology also lends itself to be packaged into a hand held unit for use onboard by the PSC themselves. This will give the operators real time confidence in their treatment systems and will avoid unnecessary downtime for the vessel.
"The FastBallast is based on Fast Repetition Rate fluorometry that we have been developing over the last 15 years," said Chelsea's Richard Burt. "It was originally developed for marine science applications investigating the photosynthesis reaction in marine algae. We have evolved the technique and applied it to wider applications including bio fuel production, homeland security and pollution monitoring. It is ideally suited to ballast water monitoring due to its fast response time (less than one second) and ability to monitor all algal groups".
Join us at Ocean Business & find out more
Join us on board RV Callista at Ocean Business (9-11 April 2013, Southampton Oceanography Centre) where Dr Kevin Oxborough will demonstrate the new range of FastOcean FRR fluorometers for in situ and in vitro estimation of gross primary productivity. Applications include ballast water monitoring as well as algal bloom detection, sea-truthing of satellite data, toxicant detection, coastal monitoring and iron fertilization experiments to name a few. To reserve your place please contact Ellen Keegan. Web: www.chelsea.co.uk
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