Ballast water management and treatment is an on-going issue for marine industry including small and bulk carriers, cruise ships, passenger ships and cargo vessels. Several regulations are implemented at regional, national and international levels to minimise the environmental impacts related to improper disposal of contaminated ballast water at ports. In this study, an environmentally benign approach for managing the ballast water on marine vessels is proposed. Thermoelectric energy harvested from main engine’s waste heat is considered as a primary source of energy for a reverse osmosis desalination process, which recovers the ballast water in the form of clean water to provide for fresh water supplies in ships. A case study is presented to elaborate the proposed scheme. The effects of seawater temperatures and energy recovery schemes on the freshwater production rates are also discussed. The proposed scheme provides a promising approach to ballast water management while allowing to provide in situ treatment for its beneficial use in shipping operations.

压载水管理和处理是包括小型和散货船、游轮、客船和货船在内的海洋工业的一个持续性问题。在地区、国家和国际层面实施了几项法规，以尽量减少与港口污染压载水处置不当相关的环境影响。在这项研究中，提出了一种对环境无害的船舶压载水管理方法。从主机废热中收集的热电能量被认为是反渗透海水淡化过程的主要能源，该过程将压载水以清洁水的形式回收，为船舶提供淡水供应。提出了一个案例研究来详细说明所提出的方案。还讨论了海水温度和能量回收方案对淡水产量的影响。提议的方案为压载水管理提供了一种有前途的方法，同时允许提供原位处理以使其在航运业务中的有益用途。