Clean Water Technology To Save Maritime Operators Billions

The AOS Filter has the potential to save maritime operators billions of dollars in both capital and operating costs

Beginning this year and continuing over the next 5 years, the International Maritime Organization and the U.S. Coast Guard are requiring an estimated 65,000 ships over 400 gross tons to be fitted with approved Ballast Water Treatment Systems, "BWTS." Global Water Intelligence estimates that the average cost to install each system is more than $750,000 and the total cost to operators to outfit every vessel will be about $50 billion. This does not include operating costs and maintenance.

Increasing concerns over the transfer of invasive marine species across the world's oceans through the transport and disposal of ballast water by large vessels have prompted the requirement. The new Ballast Water Treatment Systems are required to sterilize or disinfect the seawater to prevent the spread of foreign microorganisms and larger organisms that can damage local environments.

A few examples of environmental damage caused by the transfer of invasive marine species of bacteria, viruses, microorganisms and larger organisms are:

Mnemiopsis leidyi, a comb jelly (similar to a jellyfish) feeds on anything smaller than itself. In its new environment, Mnemiopsis has no natural predators and has outcompeted native species for food. As a consequence, the once profitable anchovy fisheries in Russia and Turkey have almost disappeared.

zebra mussels are one of the most widely known invasions in the United States in the Great Lakes. These organisms grow on almost any structure, forming large clumps of mussels that can clog water intake pipes and damage or impair other structures.

Teredo navilis, a ship worm that is known as the termite of the sea, damages wooden docks, piers, and seawalls. It was introduced to the United States during colonial times on wooden ships.

Current Solutions

The U.S. Coast Guard and the IMO have not yet approved any permanent Ballast Water Treatment Systems but are expected to begin approvals by the end of 2015. Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast guard has approved 9 systems for temporary use as of April 2013:

- Alfa Laval Tumba AB/PureBallast, Models 250 to 2500
- Alfa Laval Tumba AB/PureBallast, Models 2.0 and 2.0Ex
- Ecochlor Inc./Ecochlor
- Hyde/Guardian
- NK Company, Ltd/BlueBallast
- Qingdao Headway Technology Company, Ltd./OceanGuard(TM)
- RWO GmbH Marine Water Technology, Veolia Water Solutions and Technologies/CleanBallast
- Severn Trent De Nora, LLC/BalPure
- SunRui/BalClor

There are over 55 suppliers offering ballast water treatment systems and all are hoping to garner a piece of this giant 50 billion dollar opportunity. A few of the systems are based on ozone and membrane technology but the lion's share use UV followed by electro chlorination. Video presentations for Balclor and Alfa Laval Tumba show that these systems are very complex and require a large footprint. An example is the photo above of the Cathelco UV system.

University of Alberta researchers unveil new technology that can save the maritime industry billions of dollars per year

Maritime operators will be interested to learn about a new technology that was presented by researchers at the University of Alberta on August 17, 2015. The "AOS Filter" created and developed by BioLargo, Inc. (BLGO) appears to be remarkably more effective than any other disinfection/decontamination technology and far less expensive than even the closest competitor. The AOS Filter has the potential to save maritime operators billions of dollars in both capital and operating costs.

At the symposium, researchers presented an audience of industry, academia, government officials and investors with results of experiments and studies validating the company's technical claims that the AOS Filter is less than 1/20th the operating cost of the nearest technical competitor, greater than 100 times the efficacy (disinfection), and more than 10 times faster.

Researchers presented data from more than 100 studies replicating these findings, demonstrating the AOS Filter's important role and high value in maritime use and just about every segment of the global water industry estimated at $350 billion annually.

Independent researchers refer to the AOS Filter's disinfection rates of performance as "unprecedented". The AOS Filter combines iodine, water filter materials and electrolysis within a flow-through water filter device, generating extremely high oxidation potential that easily eliminates soluble organic contaminants and efficiently delivers extremely high rates of disinfection.

The Natural Iodine Cycle

Unlike electro chlorination that uses chlorine to disinfect, the AOS Filter uses a form of iodine that is naturally occurring in the ocean and is a nutrient and not a toxin.

Kenneth Code, BioLargo's Chief Scientific Officer commented, "The all natural Iodine cycle is part of the natural ocean water cycles and it is well understood. The ocean stores up iodine in the form of an iodate, and microscopic sea life and plants use it in their metabolism. They release gases like methyl iodide and ethyl iodide that rise from the ocean into the high atmosphere, ionosphere, where the iodides are oxidized by UV light generating Iodine [I2]. These energized forms of iodine then come on shore in the rain, and fall onto the land and when they come into contact vegetation they react to form iodides and iodates. The land drains to the river, the river to the ocean, and so it goes in a cycle. The Iodine Cycle is simply an elegant cleansing system for our earth and it is a critical cycle to maintain microbial balance in nature while, at the same time, it supports life as an essential nutrient."

"Our AOS Filter replicates the mechanics of this natural cycle and enables us to safely release the AOS treated water back into the ocean."

"The footprint of the AOS Filter is relatively small compared to UV and electro chlorination systems and the capital cost is highly competitive because it is very simple and is made from inexpensive parts that are readily available. Additionally, the operating costs are only a small fraction of all others."

"Don't let its small size fool you. Flow rates for the AOS Filter are the same as proven carbon filtration and can handle any engineered flow rate. We also have a host of additional features that can be built into the system that enhance the AOS Filter's selling proposition like; managing hydrogen sulfide gas as well as automation features that will further distinguish the AOS Filter from the competition."

Another advantage is that because the AOS Filter is small and modular, it can be installed while the vessel is out to sea, solving the problem of delays from limited shipyard availability and downtime while the vessel is out of service at the shipyard.

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