KR20230089116A - Ballast water processing method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A ballast water treatment method is disclosed. The ballast water treatment method includes receiving seawater using a ballast water pump, electrolyzing the received seawater, storing hydrogen obtained through electrolysis in a hydrogen storage tank, and converting the electrolyzed seawater into ballast water. It may include storing in a tank and neutralizing and discharging the seawater stored in the ballast water tank.

Description

Ballast water processing method and apparatus for ballast water processing { Ballast water processing method and apparatus }

The present invention relates to a ballast water treatment method and a ballast water treatment apparatus, and more particularly, to a ballast water treatment method and a ballast water treatment apparatus for capturing hydrogen gas.

With the rapid growth of shipbuilding and marine-related industries due to the recent development of science and technology, ships and offshore structures are becoming larger and higher value-added as well as requiring longer lifespan. It is being strengthened.

Accordingly, it has become mandatory to install a ballast water treatment system in operating ships and newly built ships due to strengthened regulations on marine environment pollution caused by ballast water discharged from ships operating worldwide. Among ballast water treatment devices applied to ships, seawater is electrolyzed to generate hypochlorous acid in the seawater to sterilize plant and animal bacteria in the water to prevent contamination of the marine ecosystem by marine products.

In addition, fossil fuels used as the main fuel for operating ships are gradually being converted into environmentally friendly fuels due to global warming and environmental pollution. Among them, a lot of research and development is being conducted to use hydrogen as a fuel for ships as a next-generation eco-friendly fuel. Hydrogen used today is mainly composed of by-product hydrogen and extracted hydrogen produced using petroleum. However, these are not truly green energies.

Hydrogen energy is classified into brown hydrogen, gray hydrogen, and green hydrogen according to the amount of carbon dioxide generated. It is necessary to produce eco-friendly green hydrogen with zero carbon dioxide emissions by using only renewable energy without using fossil fuels such as coal or natural gas. . Currently, developed countries are focusing on producing green hydrogen by electrolysis of water by photovoltaic power generation facilities, wind power generation facilities, and renewable energy to produce green hydrogen with zero carbon dioxide emissions. Germany will close coal-fired power plants by 2028 It is scheduled to be converted into a green hydrogen plant, and the global energy paradigm is shifting from 'carbon economy' to 'carbon neutral', and competition to preoccupy the hydrogen economy in each country is fierce.

However, hydrogen fuel has various problems that hinder the realization of the hydrogen economy, including not only production costs, but also infrastructure construction, efficiency, and safety required for storage, transportation, and utilization. In this situation, there are still many problems to be solved, such as hydrogen production, hydrogen storage, hydrogen transportation, hydrogen utilization and safety, for hydrogen to be used as an energy source for ships that consume more energy than onshore facilities.

On the other hand, seawater around the ship is usually used as the ship's ballast water. However, seawater contains various bacteria, toxic microorganisms, or animal and plant organisms that constitute the local ecosystem. Bacteria, toxic algae, or animal and vegetable organisms are filled in the ballast tank in a state mixed with seawater, and are transferred to the destination and discharged.

Usually, large-scale ships such as oil tankers and container ships sail across the ocean, so bacteria and animal and plant organisms distributed in the vicinity of ports in the United States, for example, cross the Pacific Ocean and are discharged to Busan Port in Korea, thereby destroying the marine ecosystem in the Busan area. can also destroy When the toxic microorganism is a pathogen such as cholera, it can cause damage to animals and humans living on land. Accordingly, a ballast water treatment device for removing pathogenic bacteria, toxic microorganisms, or various animal and plant organisms inside the ballast water must be installed in the ship.

The present invention has been made in accordance with the above-mentioned needs, and an object of the present invention is to produce, collect, and store hydrogen by seawater electrolysis on its own in a ship based on the ballast water treatment device technology to use as fuel for the ship's propulsion facility. It is to provide a ballast water treatment method and a ballast water treatment device for use.

In order to achieve the above object, a ballast water treatment method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes receiving seawater using a ballast water pump, electrolyzing the received seawater, and obtaining through the electrolysis. The method includes storing the dehydrogenated hydrogen in a hydrogen storage tank, storing the electrolyzed seawater in a ballast water tank, and neutralizing and discharging the seawater stored in the ballast water tank.

The neutralized seawater may be discharged when the residual oxidant concentration of the neutralized seawater is less than a threshold value.

In addition, in the electrolysis step, the chlorine concentration may be adjusted by adjusting the amount of current supplied to the seawater electrolytic treatment device.

The method may further include using the hydrogen stored in the hydrogen storage tank as fuel for propulsion engines and auxiliary engines.

In the step of storing the hydrogen in the hydrogen storage tank, green hydrogen may be stored in the hydrogen storage tank.

Meanwhile, a ballast water treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a ballast water pump for receiving seawater, a seawater electrolytic treatment apparatus for electrolyzing the received seawater, and a hydrogen storage for storing hydrogen obtained through the electrolysis. A ballast water tank for storing the electrolyzed seawater, an outlet for neutralizing and discharging the seawater stored in the ballast water tank, the ballast water pump, the seawater electrolytic treatment device, a hydrogen storage tank, the ballast water tank, and and a controller controlling the operation of the outlet.

In addition, it further includes a sensor for measuring the residual oxidant concentration of the neutralized seawater, and the controller controls the outlet to discharge the neutralized seawater when the residual oxidant concentration of the neutralized seawater is below a threshold value. can do.

In addition, the seawater electrolytic treatment device may control the chlorine concentration by adjusting the amount of current supplied to the seawater electrolytic treatment device.

In addition, the hydrogen stored in the hydrogen storage tank may be used as fuel for propulsion engines and auxiliary engines.

According to various embodiments described above, based on the ballast water treatment device technology, a ship can independently produce, collect, and store hydrogen by seawater electrolysis and use it as a fuel for a ship's propulsion facility.

In addition, since hydrogen is used as clean energy such as future hydrogen engines and fuel cells that do not generate exhaust gas pollutants, it can be efficient in that it is an energy that is in the spotlight as an eco-friendly fuel.

In addition, when the ship itself produces hydrogen, it is efficient because there is no need to produce, store, and transport on land, and the size of the hydrogen storage tank does not have to be large.

1 is a diagram for explaining the principle of ship ballast water to aid understanding of the present invention.
2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a ballast water treatment apparatus according to an example.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a ballast water treatment method according to an embodiment.
4 is a diagram for explaining a ballast water treatment method in more detail according to an example.

Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Terms used in this specification will be briefly described, and the present disclosure will be described in detail.

The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure have been selected from general terms that are currently widely used as much as possible while considering the functions in the present disclosure, but they may vary depending on the intention or precedent of a person skilled in the art, the emergence of new technologies, and the like. . In addition, in a specific case, there is also a term arbitrarily selected by the applicant, and in this case, the meaning will be described in detail in the description of the disclosure. Therefore, terms used in the present disclosure should be defined based on the meaning of the term and the general content of the present disclosure, not simply the name of the term.

In this specification, expressions such as “has,” “can have,” “includes,” or “can include” indicate the existence of a corresponding feature (eg, numerical value, function, operation, or component such as a part). , which does not preclude the existence of additional features.

The expression at least one of A and/or B should be understood to denote either "A" or "B" or "A and B".

Expressions such as "first," "second," "first," or "second," as used herein, may modify various components regardless of order and/or importance, and may refer to one component It is used only to distinguish it from other components and does not limit the corresponding components.

Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "consist of" are intended to designate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, but one or more other It should be understood that the presence or addition of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof is not precluded.

In the present disclosure, a “module” or “unit” performs at least one function or operation, and may be implemented in hardware or software or a combination of hardware and software. In addition, a plurality of "modules" or a plurality of "units" are integrated into at least one module and implemented by at least one processor (not shown), except for "modules" or "units" that need to be implemented with specific hardware. It can be.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a diagram for explaining the principle of ship ballast water to aid understanding of the present invention.

Ballast water is water that is filled inside a ship so that the ship in operation can have sufficient stability at sea and properly maintain the draft and trim angle, also called ballast water. For safe navigation, sufficient stability and appropriate draft are essential. As it is essential, a ship must be filled with ballast water before departure. In addition, the ballast water is discharged at the arrival point when the ship arrives at the destination and refilled when it departs. For this purpose, the ship has ballast tanks filled with ballast water, water intake and drainage Facilities are provided.

According to an example, as shown in FIG. 1, an inlet called SEA CHEST connecting seawater to a pipeline inside the ship may be installed below the waterline of the ship. Through SEA CHEST, seawater can also be used as cooling water for the main engine, and ballast water can be injected or discharged using pumps and valves by connecting a separate ballast line to the ballast water tank.

In order to inject seawater, since the ship's ballast tank basically exists only below the waterline, it can be injected by gravity simply by opening the valve in the pipeline of the desired tank. Conversely, if the location of the tank is higher than the waterline, the ballast water can of course be discharged to the outside of the ship. Alternatively, if the ballast water is not injected/discharged by gravity, a pump may be installed to inject/drain the ballast water.

2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a ballast water treatment apparatus according to an example.

2, the ballast water treatment device 100 includes a seawater inlet 100, a ballast water pump 200, a seawater electrolytic treatment device 300, a gas separator 400, a hydrogen storage tank 500, a pressure reducing valve 600 ), a ballast water tank 700 and a controller 900.

According to FIG. 2, the ballast water pump 200 supplies some of the seawater introduced into the seawater inlet 100 to the seawater electrolytic treatment device 300, and at the same time, the ballast water tank 700 through the pressure reducing valve 600 can be supplied with The ballast water tank 700 is classified into zones according to an example and may be largely divided into left and right sides, bottom, bow, and stern, but is not limited thereto.

The seawater electrolytic treatment device 300 may electrolyze the seawater to supply the electrolytic water to the gas separator 400 .

The power supply device 300a may supply power to the seawater electrolytic treatment device 300 .

The gas separator 400 may separate gas included in the electrolyzed water provided from the seawater electrolytic treatment device 300 . However, according to another example, the seawater electrolytic treatment device 300 and the gas separator 400 may be implemented as a single device.

The hydrogen storage tank 500 may store hydrogen gas separated from the gas separator 400 .

The processor 180 controls the overall operation of the ballast water treatment apparatus 1000 . Specifically, the processor 180 may be connected to each component of the ballast water treatment device 1000 to control the overall operation of the ballast water treatment device 1000. For example, the processor 180 may include one or a plurality of processors.

The processor 180 may perform the operation of the ballast water treatment apparatus 1000 according to various embodiments by executing at least one pre-stored instruction.

According to an embodiment, the processor 180 may include a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), an artificial intelligence (AI) processor, and a neural processing unit (NPU) for processing digital signals. Unit), time controller (TCON), but is not limited thereto, and is not limited to, a central processing unit (CPU), a micro controller unit (MCU), a micro processing unit (MPU), a controller ( controller), an application processor (AP), or a communication processor (CP), and one or more of an ARM processor, or may be defined by the term. In addition, the processor 140 It may be implemented in the form of a system on chip (SoC) with a built-in processing algorithm, large scale integration (LSI), application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or field programmable gate array (FPGA).

In addition, a pickling system may be additionally added to remove scale generated during the long-term operation of the seawater electrolytic treatment device 300.

According to an example, when seawater is electrolyzed using the seawater electrolytic treatment device 300, hydrogen gas may be generated from the cathode. In the present invention, the generated hydrogen gas can be used as fuel without being discarded. For example, it can be used as a fuel for ship propulsion and auxiliary engines.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a ballast water treatment method according to an embodiment.

According to the ballast water treatment method shown in FIG. 3, seawater is collected using a ballast water pump (S310).

Subsequently, the received seawater is electrolyzed (S320), and hydrogen obtained through electrolysis is stored in a hydrogen storage tank (S330). The seawater electrolysis method is a principle of electrolyzing seawater by supplying direct current to two electrodes and killing marine products by using the toxicity of hypochlorous acid generated at this time.

In this seawater electrolysis process, hydrogen gas is generated on the surface of the electrode. Until now, it is used only to kill marine products due to the concentration of hypochlorous acid, and the generated hydrogen gas is not collected and discarded entirely as it is included in seawater. It can be stored in hydrogen storage tanks and used as fuel. According to an example, the hydrogen stored in the hydrogen storage tank may be green hydrogen.

Subsequently, the electrolyzed seawater is stored in a ballast water tank (S340).

Thereafter, the seawater stored in the ballast water tank is neutralized and discharged (S350).

Meanwhile, the ballast water treatment method may further include measuring a residual oxidant concentration of the neutralized seawater. In this case, in step S350, the neutralized seawater may be discharged when the concentration of the residual oxidant in the neutralized seawater is below a threshold value. However, if the residual oxidant concentration of the neutralized seawater exceeds the critical value, the neutralization treatment may be performed again.

In addition, the ballast water treatment method may further include using the hydrogen stored in the hydrogen storage tank as fuel for the ship. According to an example, the hydrogen stored in the hydrogen storage tank may be used as fuel for propulsion engines and auxiliary engines.

In addition, in step S320, the chlorine concentration may be adjusted by adjusting the amount of current supplied to the electrolytic treatment device.

Hydrogen produced on land takes a lot of time, money, and manpower to generate, store, and transport. However, the fuel used in ships on long voyages requires an incomparably larger amount of fuel than fuel used on land. Therefore, when the hydrogen collected in the above-described manner is used as fuel, it can be very efficient in terms of fuel storage.

4 is a diagram for explaining a ballast water treatment method in more detail according to an example.

According to FIG. 4 , it is possible to receive seawater using the ballast water pump and supply the received seawater to the seawater electrolytic treatment device using the flow control device. In this case, the concentration of hypochlorous acid and the production of hydrogen may be proportional to the amount of DC current supplied to the seawater electrolytic treatment device as follows.

1. If the seawater flow rate is constant, constant current = constant hydrogen production = constant hypochlorous acid concentration

2. When seawater flow rate increases, constant current = constant hydrogen production or hypochlorous acid concentration decreases

Accordingly, the hypochlorous acid concentration can be adjusted by adjusting the amount of current supplied to the electrolytic treatment device and adjusting the seawater flow rate by adjusting the valve opening of the flow control device, if necessary.

Hydrogen obtained through electrolysis of the seawater electrolytic treatment device may be stored in a hydrogen storage tank, and electrolyzed water may be stored in a ballast water tank. In this case, the concentration of the residual oxidizing agent in the electrolyzed water can be measured and used for neutralization treatment in the neutralization treatment device. In this case, a TRO sensor may be used to measure the concentration of the residual oxidant in the electrolytic water.

Seawater stored in ballast tanks may be neutralized and discharged. In this case, the neutralization treatment apparatus neutralizes the seawater stored in the ballast water tank, and discharges the seawater when the residual oxidant concentration of the neutralized seawater is below a threshold value. In this case, a TRO sensor may be used to measure the residual oxidant concentration.

Meanwhile, the hydrogen stored in the hydrogen storage tank may be used as fuel for propulsion engines and auxiliary engines.

According to an example, an inlet valve and a discharge valve are installed on the inlet side of the ballast water tank to control the inflow or discharge of ballast water into or out of the ballast water tank.

According to an example, a salinity sensor (not shown) may be installed in the ballast water tank to measure the salinity of the stored ballast water. In addition, a level sensor (not shown) may be provided to measure the flow rate in the ballast water tank. For example, since the salinity of the ballast water affects the applied voltage of the seawater electrolytic treatment device and determines the efficiency of the seawater electrolytic treatment device, it is necessary to maintain the salinity of the ballast water applied to the seawater electrolytic treatment device above a certain level. there is Accordingly, when the salinity of the ballast water is below a certain level, the ballast water stored in the ballast water tank is introduced into the seawater electrolytic treatment device, thereby minimizing the change in power consumption of the seawater electrolytic treatment device according to the salinity.

According to another example, the applied current and/or voltage of the seawater electrolytic treatment device may be controlled based on the residual oxidant concentration of the electrolyzed water measured by the TRO sensor.

In addition, a filter (not shown) may be installed to remove impurities that may be included in the ballast water.

As described above, according to the present invention, hydrogen naturally generated during the ballast water treatment process can be captured and stored, and used for hydrogen engines and fuel cells while at anchor on land and during coastal voyages.

In addition, since hydrogen is used as clean energy such as future hydrogen engines and fuel cells that do not generate exhaust gas pollutants, it can be efficient in that it is an energy that is in the spotlight as an eco-friendly fuel.

In addition, as described above, when the ship itself produces hydrogen, it is efficient because it does not need to be produced, stored, and transported on land, and the size of the hydrogen storage tank does not have to be large.

Meanwhile, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the various embodiments described above may be implemented as software including instructions stored in a machine-readable storage media (eg, a computer). can A device is a device capable of calling a stored command from a storage medium and operating according to the called command, and may include an electronic device (eg, the electronic device A) according to the disclosed embodiments. When a command is executed by a processor, the processor may directly or use other components under the control of the processor to perform a function corresponding to the command. An instruction may include code generated or executed by a compiler or interpreter. The device-readable storage medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Here, 'non-temporary' only means that the storage medium does not contain a signal and is tangible, but does not distinguish whether data is stored semi-permanently or temporarily in the storage medium.

In addition, each of the components (eg, modules or programs) according to various embodiments described above may be composed of a single object or a plurality of entities, and some sub-components among the aforementioned sub-components may be omitted, or other sub-components may be used. Components may be further included in various embodiments. Alternatively or additionally, some components (eg, modules or programs) may be integrated into one entity and perform the same or similar functions performed by each corresponding component prior to integration. According to various embodiments, operations performed by modules, programs, or other components may be executed sequentially, in parallel, repetitively, or heuristically, or at least some operations may be executed in a different order, may be omitted, or other operations may be added. can

Although the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and is common in the technical field belonging to the present disclosure without departing from the gist of the present disclosure claimed in the claims. Of course, various modifications and implementations are possible by those with knowledge of, and these modifications should not be individually understood from the technical spirit or perspective of the present disclosure.

1000: ballast water treatment device

Claims (9)

In the ballast water treatment method,
receiving seawater using a ballast water pump;
electrolyzing the received seawater;
storing hydrogen obtained through the electrolysis in a hydrogen storage tank;
storing the electrolyzed seawater in a ballast water tank; and
and neutralizing and discharging the seawater stored in the ballast water tank. According to claim 1,
Further comprising: measuring the residual oxidant concentration of the neutralized seawater;
The discharging step is
The ballast water treatment method of discharging the neutralized seawater when the residual oxidant concentration of the neutralized seawater is less than a threshold value. According to claim 1,
In the electrolysis step,
A ballast water treatment method comprising controlling the chlorine concentration by adjusting the amount of current supplied to the seawater electrolytic treatment device. According to claim 1,
and using the hydrogen stored in the hydrogen storage tank as fuel for propulsion engines and auxiliary engines. According to claim 1,
The step of storing in the hydrogen storage tank,
A method of treating ballast water, wherein green hydrogen is stored in the hydrogen storage tank. In the ballast water treatment system,
a ballast water pump that receives seawater;
a seawater electrolytic treatment device for electrolyzing the received seawater;
a hydrogen storage tank for storing hydrogen obtained through the electrolysis;
a ballast water tank storing the electrolyzed seawater;
a discharge port through which the seawater stored in the ballast water tank is neutralized and discharged; and
and a controller controlling operations of the ballast water pump, the seawater electrolytic treatment device, the hydrogen storage tank, the ballast water tank, and the outlet. According to claim 6,
Further comprising a sensor for measuring the residual oxidant concentration of the neutralized seawater,
The controller,
Controlling the outlet to discharge the neutralized seawater when the residual oxidant concentration of the neutralized seawater is less than a threshold value. According to claim 6,
The seawater electrolytic treatment device,
A ballast water treatment device for adjusting the chlorine concentration by adjusting the amount of current supplied to the seawater electrolytic treatment device. According to claim 6,
Wherein the hydrogen stored in the hydrogen storage tank is used as fuel for propulsion engines and auxiliary engines.

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