Prime Lake Technology Sweden AB (“Prime Lake”) has successfully completed a pilot test for the elimination of harmful contaminants found in wastewater generated from open loop scrubbers. The test results, obtained by ALS Scandinavia, verify a significant reduction of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and Sulphur (S), improved turbidity and pH-levels, as well as a dramatic increase of dissolved oxygen (DO). Prime Lake is now moving ahead with its partner, one of Europe’s largest ship owners, to assess and optimize the onboard technical implementation for seaborne trials. Eventually we can anticipate revised policy recommendations from relevant government entities and maritime bodies.
Coinciding with the new IMO 2020 framework we early on identified treatment of wastewater from scrubbers as a priority, with so-called open loop scrubbers being especially problematic from a marine pollution perspective as they dishcarge wastewater straight into the ocean. Although further tests are required for optimization it is safe to say that our Electro-Aeration solution transforms the wastewater from open loop scrubbers into a ‘product’ that can be discharged with minimal impact on the marine environment, falling well within acceptable limit”, said Victor Chang, CEO, Prime Lake.
George Kinigalakis, Chief Compliance Officer at Prime Lake and former expert advisor on EU programs around ship recycling, continued ”Working closely with ship owners and maritime associations around this issue has been a key aspect for us since inception. As a response to the IMO 2020 framework owners globally rushed to install scrubbers in order to be compliant with the sulphur cap, with an estimated 85% of owners opting for open loop scrubbers. However, wastewater generated from scrubbers caused several key ports to enact ECAs, which over time would create a challenging environment – for liners in particular – to operate key routes. Consequently, it is satisfying that we are now able to present a possible solution for these owners, and we are looking forward to seaborne trials to advance this technology further.”
Source: Prime Lake