Optimal UV quantity for a ballast water treatment system for compliance with IMO standards

Ballast water management is an effective measure to ensure that organisms, bacteria and viruses do not migrate with the ballast water to other areas. In 2004, the International Maritime Organization adopted the International Convention on the Control and Management of Ballast Water and Ship Sediments, which regulates issues related to ballast water management. Many technologies have been researched and developed, and of these, the use of UV rays in combination with filter membranes has been shown to have many advantages and to meet the requirements of the Convention. However, the use of UV furnaces in ballast water treatment systems requires a very large capacity, involving the use of many high-power UV lamps. This not only consumes large amounts of electrical energy, but is also expensive. It is therefore necessary to find an optimal algorithm to enable the UV radiation for the UV controller in the ballast water sterilisation process to be controlled in a reasonable and effective manner. This controller helps to prolong the life of the UV lamp, reduce power consumption and ensure effective sterilisation. This paper presents a UV control algorithm and a controller for a UV furnace for a ballast water treatment system installed on a ship. The results of tests on vessels illustrate the effect of the proposed UV controller.