Balpure BWTS receives US Coast Guard type approval

(MILAN, Italy) — De Nora, a supplier of electrochlorination equipment, has announced that it has received type approval from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) for its Balpure ballast water treatment system (BWTS). The Balpure system has been approved for both safe area and hazardous zone installations for internationally trading vessels including U.S.-flagged vessels. It is the 15th system to be certified by the USCG since inception.

De Nora is the originator and patent holder of electrochlorination disinfection of ballast water through the slipstream method. According to De Nora’s proprietary system design, only 0.5 percent to 1 percent of the seawater flow entering the ballast line needs to be channeled into the electrochemical unit. The necessary amount of hypochlorite required to treat the water is generated in the slipstream and is then mixed to the full volume of ballast water. This offers an effective solution for ships with large ballast tanks and high pumping rates, particularly large tankers, bulkers and LNG carriers, voiding the requirement to store hypochlorite on board, achieving increased efficiency and avoiding waste. The combination of the slipstream approach, the use of novel patented reverse polarity electrodes and the variable biocide dosing provide a cost effective yet flexible BWTS suitable for both new build and retrofit projects.

The type approval certifies that the De Nora Balpure system meets all requirements of Title 46 of the Code of Federal Regulations and can be installed on U.S.-flagged vessels to offer full compliance.
 
The De Nora Balpure system was previously identified by the U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) as one of three systems that demonstrated the ability to meet a standard 10 times more stringent than the IMO D-2 standard. The shipboard testing of De Nora Balpure was conducted on a U.S.-flagged Aframax tanker operating on the West Coast of the United States that has been ballasting and deballasting with the Balpure system in the regulated waters of California and Alaska on a regular basis for several years. 

By Professional Mariner Staff