BIO-UV moves forward with navy ballast water treatment system
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Case Studies
The tailor-made system is part of a US government objective to fit Naval vessels with a treatment option.
Laurent-Emmanuel Migeon, CEO of BIO-UV Group, stands with an example of the UV water treatment technology. Credit: BIO SEA by BIO-UV.
BIO-UV Group has announced that its BIO-SEA Ballast Water Treatment System (BWTS) designed for the US Navy has been granted approval to begin operational testing.
The BWTS, developed with engineering partner The Columbia Group (TCG), completed factory acceptance tests at a production facility in France and it will now be shipped to a Navy facility for testing.
Celebrating the movement in the project, BIO-UV CEO Laurent-Emmanual Migeon thanked representatives from the various involved parties for visiting the production plant to oversee the factory acceptance tests.
Migeon said: “This is a major milestone and not only represents the quality and efficiency of BIO-SEA engineering and technology, but it is also indicative of the success of the partnership we have with the US Navy and TCG in designing a custom-made BWTS capable of meeting the most stringent requirements of the U.S. military.”
The contract with TCG to develop the ultraviolet light ballast water disinfection system for Navy ships was awarded in 2021 after being open to international vendors. It is based on developing a military version of equipment already approved by the US Coast Guard.
Tailor-made for the US Navy, the filtration system is capable of dealing with flow rates of up to 300m³/h, with plans also in place to build a system capable of up to 1,000m³/h.
Ballast water treatment is an evolving technology that has come about after recognition of the environmental impact that ballast water can have when ejected at a different site from where it was first pumped.
Untreated ballast water can hold a variety of marine species that may be able to establish a potentially invasive population in a new area however, the issue has only been brought to scientific attention since the 1970s and 1980s.
The BIO-UV contract from the US Navy comes after the US Government set an objective to install ballast water treatment technology on all Naval vessels, meaning that the BIO-UV’s work is done alongside scientists and engineers from the Navy and TCG.
Taxonomy
- Ballast Water