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MERC – DRAFT Test Plan
2
2. Introduction to Technology
The MSI Ballast Water Treatment System (UV), patent pending, designed to exceed IMO
alternative treatment requirements for low to moderate flow rate shipboard applications, utilizes
Ballast Safe Filtration Company's proprietary self-cleaning filter design to separate the
components of the influent ballast water in its primary treatment stage. As a primary treatment,
the filter is intended to remove silt and sediment, organic materials and all organisms >25
microns (nominal) in size from the influent ballast water and then immediately return these
materials back to the source waters in a small fraction of the water stream. The remaining 'clean'
water stream is then treated by Hanovia UV In-Line+ UV units in a secondary treatment stage to
address the remaining organisms <25 microns. Equally as significant as the capability of its two
treatment stages, the MSI System (UV) has been fully integrated and is controlled by a
proprietary ABB Instrumentation water quality monitoring and flow control system designed to
assure and document effective treatment by continuously monitoring a number of water quality
parameters including total suspended solids (TSS) and UV transmission rate, automatically
adjusting flow rate to assure proper treatment, and recording all required water quality and
system operation parameters.
3. Protocols for Pilot-Scale Evaluations for the MSI Treatment System
Basic Experimental Design:
The specific protocols described below are based on the IMO G8 guidelines and the US
Coast Guard supported ETV protocols under development. The fundamental approach of MERC
is to conduct independent, scientifically-sound, rigorous, and quality assured evaluations of
ballast water treatment systems. Therefore, MERC relies on challenging ambient conditions
found in the Chesapeake Bay, and does not artificially augment test waters, to avoid artifacts and
the potential to overestimation of system performance (see Table 1). For example, rapid changes
in physical conditions (such as salinity or total suspended solids) as ambient organisms are being
brought in with ballast water may cause significant mortality, independent of treatment.
Similarly, concentrating natural assemblages of plankton on nets, and introducing them into
ballast water being pumped into tanks, can often result in significant handling associated
mortality. Given the unpredictable physical and biological conditions found in all natural
waters, IMO G8 MEPC 58/23 ANNEX 4, Part 2, Section 2.3.36 is used by MERC as the
standard for a valid test trial: “If in any test cycle the average discharge results from the control
water is a concentration less than or equal to 10 times the values in regulation D-2.1, the test
cycle is invalid”.