# US 10,500,527 B2 · Ballast water production method and ballast water treatment system

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- Number: US 10,500,527 B2
- Document ID: US10500527B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/555,226
- Filed: 2016-02-03
- Published: 2018-02-22
- Granted: 2019-12-10
- Earliest claimed: 2015-03-04
- Assignees: Kuraray Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Kuraray Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Mitsuaki Yamamoto; Kazuaki Hagiwara; Yasuhiro Tajima
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10500527B2

## CPC

- B01D 29/66: by flushing, e.g. counter-current air-bumps
- B01D 29/11: with bag, cage, hose, tube, sleeve or like filtering elements
- B01D 29/216: {with wound sheets}
- B01D 29/52: in parallel connection
- B01D 29/606: {by pressure measuring}
- B01D 35/0273: {Filtering elements with a horizontal or inclined rotation or symmetry axis submerged in tanks or reservoirs}
- B01D 35/12: Devices for taking out of action one or more units of multi- unit filters, e.g. for regeneration
- B01D 65/02: Membrane cleaning or sterilisation {; Membrane regeneration}
- B63B 13/00: Conduits for emptying or ballasting; Self-bailing equipment; Scuppers (draining means for hatches B63B19/26; centrifugal bilge-water separators B04; {arrangements of installations for treating ballast water B63J4/002; } pipes in general F16L)
- B63J 4/002: {for treating ballast water}
- C02F 1/00: Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage (C02F3/00 - C02F9/00 take precedence)
- C02F 1/004: {using large scale industrial sized filters}
- B01D 2201/182: for depth filtration
- B01D 2201/54: Computerised or programmable systems
- C02F 2103/008: {Originating from marine vessels, ships and boats, e.g. bilge water or ballast water}
- C02F 2201/005: Valves
- C02F 2209/03: Pressure
- C02F 2303/16: Regeneration of sorbents, filters
- B01D: SEPARATION (separating solids from solids by wet methods B03B, B03D; by pneumatic jigs or tables B03B; by other dry methods B07; magnetic or electrostatic separation of solid materials from solid materials or fluids, separation by high-voltage electric fields B03C; centrifuges, vortex apparatus B04; presses per se for squeezing-out liquid from liquid-containing material B30B9/02; treatment of water C02F, e.g. softening by ion-exchange C02F1/42; {arrangements of air intake cleaners in gas turbine plants F02C7/05} ; arrangements or mounting of filters in air-conditioning, air-humidification or ventilation F24F13/28)
- B63B: SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; EQUIPMENT FOR SHIPPING (arrangements of vessel ventilation, heating, cooling, or air-conditioning B63J2/00; floating substructures as supports of dredgers or soil-shifting machines E02F9/06)
- B63J: AUXILIARIES ON VESSELS
- C02F: TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE (separation in general B01D; special arrangements on waterborne vessels of installations for treating water, waste water or sewage, e.g. for producing fresh water, B63J; adding materials to water to prevent corrosion C23F; treating radioactively-contaminated liquids G21F9/04; regeneration of reactants for recirculation into processes, see the relevant places for the processes)

## Abstract

A ballast water production method is provided. The method includes a filtering step that passes raw water supplied into a housing through a filter from a primary side that is upstream of the filter to a secondary side that is downstream of the filter; a volume-increasing step after the filtering step that increases a volume of water present in a space on the secondary side of the housing while the supply of the raw water into the housing is stopped; a pressurizing step after the volume-increasing step that pressurizes an inside of the housing from the secondary side while the supply of the raw water into the housing is stopped; and a rinsing step after the pressurizing step that passes a fluid through the filter from the secondary side to the primary side while the supply of the raw water into the housing is stopped.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A ballast water production method using a filtering unit having a housing and a filter housed in the housing, the method comprising:
(i) passing raw water supplied into the housing through the filter from a primary side that is upstream of the filter to a secondary side that is downstream of the filter;
(ii) subsequently flowing back a filtered water remaining in a filtered water passage into the secondary side of the housing, thereby increasing a volume of water present in a space of the secondary side in the housing while a supply of the raw water into the housing is stopped, the filtered water passage being a passage for sending the filtered water produced in the filtering unit to a ballast tank;
(iii) subsequently pressurizing an inside of the housing from the secondary side while the supply of the raw water into the housing is stopped; and
(iv) subsequently passing a fluid through the filter from the secondary side to the primary side while the supply of the raw water into the housing is stopped.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The ballast water production method according to claim 1, further comprising:
(v) reducing a volume of water present in a space on the primary side of the housing after the passing (i) and before the passing (iv).

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The ballast water production method according to claim 1, wherein the pressurizing (iii) and the passing (iv) are conducted a plurality of times between the passing (i) and a subsequent passing (i).

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The ballast water production method according to claim 1, wherein:
a plurality of the filtering units are provided; and
when the pressurizing (iii) or the passing (iv) is conducted using any of the filtering units, the passing (i) is conducted using other filtering units.

### Claim 5

A ballast water treatment system, comprising:
a filtering unit having a housing and a filter housed in the housing;
a raw water passage for supplying raw water to a primary side in the housing of the filtering unit, said primary side being located upstream of the filter in the housing, the raw water passage being provided with a first switching valve and a pump;
a filtered water passage for sending filtered water produced in the filtering unit from a secondary side in the housing to a ballast tank, the secondary side being located downstream of the filter in the housing, and the filtered water passage being provided with a second switching valve;
a discharge passage for discharging water from a secondary side of the filtering unit, said secondary side being located downstream of the filter, the discharge passage being provided with a third switching valve;
a gas passage for supplying gas to the secondary side in the housing of the filtering unit, the gas passage being provided with a fourth switching valve; and
a controller for controlling the first to fourth switching valves,
wherein the controller is configured to:
conduct a first control of the first switching valve and the second switching valve to be opened and the third switching valve and the fourth switching valve to be closed, and the pump to be driven to filter the raw water by the filtering unit,
conduct a second control of the first switching valve and the second switching valve to be closed and the third switching valve and the fourth switching valve to be opened, and the pump to be stopped to rinse the filter,
control, after the first control and before the second control, the first switching valve, the third switching valve, and the fourth switching valve to be closed and the second switching valve to be opened, and the pump to be stopped, thereby flowing back the filtered water remaining in the filtered water passage into the secondary side in the housing, and
control, after the first control and before the second control, the first switching valve, the second switching valve, and the third switching valve to be closed and the fourth switching valve to be opened, and the pump to be stopped.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The ballast water treatment system according to claim 5, wherein the controller is configured to, after the first control and before the second control, control the first switching valve and the fourth switching valve to be closed and the second switching valve and the third switching valve to be opened.