Aalborg Industries has successfully finalised the land-based tests towards obtaining IMO's "Type Approval" of its AquaTriComb™ ballast water treatment system with very satisfactory test results.
The land-based tests were carried out at The Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) on the Dutch island Texel, and with the completion of satisfactory land based testing, Aalborg Industries has in May 2010 commenced the sea-based tests on the general cargo vessel “MS Timbus” sailing in Northern European waters. The tests have so far shown very good results, and Aalborg Industries has even
managed to successfully carry out eco-toxicological and water-chemistry tests beyond what is required by the standards to reach the highest level of confidence in terms of disinfection efficiency.
Type approval has been applied for with German authorities, more specifically the Federal Office for Maritime Shipping and Hydrography (BSH = Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrografie) supported by the Federal Office for Environment (UBA= Umwelt Bundes Amt).
“This is a very important milestone in the development of our ballast water treatment system, adding to the Basic Approval received from IMO in 2009. I would like to thank the development team of Aalborg Industries Water Treatment Pte Ltd. (joint venture between Aalborg Industries A/S and Aquaworx ATC GmbH) for a job well done so far and we look forward to bringing an ecologically friendly ballast water treatment system into the market”, says President & CEO Jan Vestergaard Olsen, Aalborg Industries A/S.
The IMO convention is scheduled to come into force in the beginning of 2012, and Aalborg Industries expects to be ready to launch its AquaTriComb™ ballast water treatment system in commercial operation already in early 2011 - to secure that shipowners can achieve compliance with the forthcoming regulation with a ballast water solution of the highest standard and that it is environmentally friendly as well.
The ballast water treatment technology
The AquaTriComb™ is a unique system for treatment and cleaning of ballast water using a combination of three technologies: filtration for pre-treatment, low pressure UV light for disinfection and ultrasound for cleaning. Thanks to the use of ultrasonic technology the system is self-cleaning and thus almost entirely maintenance-free. This combination ensures a reliable and highly efficient ballast water treatment that will meet even the most stringent standards in the industry. The AquaTriComb™ system is designed and approved to clean ballast water without the use of chemicals and features outstanding efficiency combined with low operating costs and a small footprint for onboard installation. Finally, no generation of chemical substances takes place and energy requirements are relatively low.
To be in full compliance with the IMO legislation, the AquaTriComb™ solution is active during
deballasting, where the water is again passed through the system for cleaning and filtration. This ensures that bacteria and micro-organisms in the inaccessible ballast tanks and pipe systems of the ship are effectively eliminated and only treated water is returned to the sea.
For further information regarding this press release, please contact:
Aalborg Industries A/S, Denmark, Mr Jan Vestergaard Olsen, President/CEO, tel. +45 99 30 40 00.
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Aalborg Industries is an international group with subsidiaries in Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Dubai, Singapore, Japan, China, Korea, Brazil, Vietnam, Australia and the USA. A network of agents support the sales activities. The revenue amounts to DKK 2.8bn, of which 95% is outside Denmark.
Production of the Group’s products takes place at its own factories in Denmark, China, Brazil and Vietnam as well as at selected external outsourcing partners. The number of employees in 2009 totals about 2,600.
Aalborg Industries’ core business is to produce, supply and maintain steam, heat and safety solutions for marine and maritime oil and gas applications, i.e. steam boilers, waste heat recovery boilers, thermal oil heaters, burners, control systems as well as heat exchangers and inert gas systems. As a supplement to the activities in the global marine and offshore markets, Aalborg Industries also supplies boiler plants and services within selected land-based sectors. In 2009, the development of plants for cleaning of ships’ exhaust gas and ballast water has been initiated and these plants are expected to be sold to the market in the coming year
