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28 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News Standards regarding a ship's disposal of waste at sea are ever tightening, a trend which has driven the development of numerous new products and systems designed to keep ship effluent increas- ingly clean. On the following pages are details of a number of new offerings. EcoStream Bilge Water Treatment System Alfa Laval's EcoStream Bilge Water Treatment Systems was designed to meet the stricter IMO requirements that took effect January 1, 2005. As of this date, all bilge water pumped overboard from all new builds and retrofits on existing ships must meet previous stan- dards for an oil content under 15 ppm and also fulfill new standards for con- taminants in the form of emulsions of oils, chemicals, detergents and other particles. In an effort to impose stricter environ- mental standards, an additional IMO test will determine new real-life operating limits for contaminants in bilge water. Alfa Laval's EcoStream, a system based on centrifugal separation, is in the process of being approved by IMO. In the EcoStream System, untreated bilge water is filtered, preheated and fed to the cleaning module by a feed pump. An oil-in-water-monitor on the clean water outlet is set to the required value. When the oil content is below the acceptable value, the clean bilge water goes to the clean bilge tank or is dis- charged overboard. If the value is too high, it is returned to the bilge water feed tank. EcoStream uses the force of gravity to clean bilge water. However, with forces 4,000 times greater than in sedimenta- tion tanks, cleaning is more efficient and faster. EcoStream is designed for contin- uous operation, even under the toughest conditions. It operates automatically in single-stage operation and handles all oil shocks, varying feed composition and rough seas without losing efficien- cy. EcoStream can treat bilge water to well below IMO standards, but tough emulsions may require a further treat- ment phase. Although EcoStream is designed to operate without chemicals and does not include a dosing unit as standard, feed conditioning chemicals can be added before the feed pump. Circle 50 on Reader Service Card Alfa Laval Ballast Water Treatment System Alfa Laval released Alfa Laval Ballast Water Treatment System (BWT), a new system for the removal of unwanted organisms and particles without addi- tives or chemicals. The system, which includes a complete con- trol system for automatic operation, is designed to meet the requirements of the new IMO regulations for ballast water that will take effect in 2009. The major components of the Alfa Laval BWT System are a filter to remove larg- er organisms and particles, the modular Circle 273 on Reader Service Card Marine Environment Keeping a Clean Ship MR MAY 2005 #4 (25-32).qxd 5/2/2005 7:02 PM Page 28