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MERC - HYDAC Test Plan
4
Figure 1. MERC Ballast Water Filter Evaluation System Design
Sampling Design:
Each filter system will be operated for five to six hour continuously during each test trial. The
duration of each test trial is dependent upon a specific filtered amount of 1,000 m
3
. During the
initial 30 minutes, the middle 30 minutes and last 30 minutes, the following samples will be
collected. To quantify organisms and particles in the ambient water, one mesocosm will slowly
be filled to 1 m
3
,
from the sample port located just upstream of the test filter system during each
of the 3 time points. The filter effluent shall be sampled during the same three 30-minute time
periods. Three sequential replicate samples will be collected from the sample port located
downstream of the filter system, but prior to overboard discharge. For each replicate, one
mesocosm will be filled to 1 m3 over a 10-minute time period. All mesocosms will be sampled
for zooplankton and phytoplankton, and samples for TSS and PSD will also be collected
simultaneously at the sample port.
All sample ports include a valve and sample tube with a 90
o
bend towards the direction of
flow, placed in the center of the piping system (based on the design developed and validated by
the US Naval Research Laboratory, Key West Florida). Sample volumes and details of the
physical, chemical, and biological analyses for each sample are described below.