Mitsubishi VOS Ballast Water Treatment System: The Technology in Water Purification

Blog | July 27th, 2018

Before international maritime law took control, boat ballast systems could be used as comfy vehicles for tiny hitchhikers. Bio-invasion was a big problem, and it’s still a relevant issue today. However, it’s not a problem that can be solved by installing mechanical filters. Enter the Mitsubishi VOS ballast water treatment system, an active means of stopping boats from introducing invasive species into new waters.

Reviewing VOS Technology 

To review, Mitsubishi VOS (Venture Oxygen Stripping) equipment uses specially developed organism-killing tech to rid ships of ballast hitchhikers. Ballast, the hull-interred water storage tanks, stabilize boat waterlines, but they’re not intended to operate as mobile aquariums. Hence, the need for an active aquatic species neutralization service. Indeed, VOS technology suffocates the invasive species, but it leaves the ballast water entirely safe. Dump it in confidence, knowing the fluid isn’t carrying any environment-disturbing materials.

Mitsubishi VOS Technology: A System Teardown 

A mechanical filter doesn’t live behind the equipment housing, and there’s no caustic chemicals in the mix, either. Just as a side note, chemicals damage sensitive oceanic environments, so they’re not welcome in boat ballasts. Anyway, the equipment is dynamic, so it requires a fuel line. Powering a stripping gas generator, the water treatment system sends a mass of inert gas to an array of venturi injectors. It’s this IGG (Inert Gas Generation) sub-system that enables the next stage of the process to occur. Basically, the IGG assembly employs the venturi effect as a fluid aspiration mechanism. The result of this injection stage is a flow of oxygen stripped water, which is then returned to the ballast tanks.

A ‘By the Numbers’ Perspective 

When the equipment is operating at peak efficiency, it powers a system throughput that easily hits the 150 m3/hr mark, so the entire volume of the ballast units are effectively starved of life-sustaining oxygen. Without that gaseous component, aqueous organisms cannot survive. But the benefits don’t end at IMO (International Maritime Organization) compliance. For without oxygen, metal tanks can’t corrode, nor can paintwork deteriorate. Environmental friendliness, and bilge protection, what an invaluable piece of equipment. Just by creating a micro-fine, micro-bubble emulsion, boat water treatment systems become completely inert.

Descending into the venturi injectors, an emulsion is taking form because of the cavitation effect that occurs when specially shaped venturi chambers perform their fluid-constricting duties. The tiny bubbles are no longer part of the ballast, so they escape as a harmless gaseous stream, right back into the atmosphere. Stripped of oxygen by the inert gas, the return water may look the same, but it’s now a life-inimical fluid, a liquid that cannot sustain environment-invading aquatic life.

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