Alfa Laval’s PureBallast Passes the 10-year Mark
Finland’s ratification of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention came just days before the 10-year anniversary of the launch of Alfa Laval’s PureBallast.
On September 15, Alfa Laval marked the passage of 10 years since its PureBallast was released in 2006, when the global introduction of ballast water treatment requirements had then seemed imminent.
New exactly one decade later, that milestone has been passed. Meanwhile, PureBallast, now in its third generation, continues to offer good performance in fresh and brackish waters as well as marine. Likewise, it is suitable for low-clarity water, operating at full flow where UV transmittance is as low as 42 percent.
Sold and serviced by Alfa Laval, the chemical-free PureBallast was the first ballast water treatment system to become commercially available, according to its manufacturer. A key component of the system is the Enhanced UV Reactor, which was developed jointly by Alfa Laval and Wallenius Water based on Wallenius Water Technology.
“We promised early on that customers would meet ballast water legislation with confidence,” said Anders Lindmark, General Manager, Business Centre PureBallast. “Not only does PureBallast 3.1 fulfill that promise, it does so with previously unthinkable efficiency.”
With the ratification process complete, the BWM Convention will enter into force on September 8, 2017. This means the long-anticipated retrofit wave will now begin in earnest, which will put considerable pressure on ballast water treatment suppliers.
“Alfa Laval is well prepared for what’s ahead in terms of both knowledge and capacity,” says Lindmark. “Having sold over 1200 systems and installed more than 300 as retrofits, we have the necessary skills in place and a production infrastructure that is geared for ramp-up.”