Management and environmental risk study of the physicochemical parameters of ballast water

• Published in: Marine pollution bulletin 2017-01, Vol.114 (1), p.428-438
• Main Authors: Nosrati-Ghods, Nosaibeh, Ghadiri, Mehdi, Früh, Wolf-Gerrit
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ballast water; Ecological risk study; Humans; Indian Ocean; Management; Marine; Metals, Heavy - analysis; Oxygen - analysis; Physiochemical condition; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - analysis; Salinity; Seawater - analysis; Ships; Temperature; Water; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Purification - methods
• ISSN: 0025-326X; 1879-3363
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.09.062

Shipping is a vital industry for the global economy. Stability of ships, provided by ballast water, is a crucial factor for cargo loading and unloading processes. Ballast water treatment has practical significance in terms of environmental issues, ecosystem, and human health, because ships discharge this water into the environment before loading their cargos. This study reviews the common methods for ballast water management – exchange, heating, filtration, ultrasonic treatment, ultraviolet irradiation, chemicals, and gas supersaturation – to select the best one. This study compares water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and heavy metals (Co, Cr, Ni, Pb) for ballast tanks of selected ships with the recipient port environment in the Persian Gulf as a case study. The exchange of ballast water in the ocean and/or its treatment on board to prevent inadvertent effects on the environment's physicochemical conditions is related to vessel characteristics, legislation, and the environmental condition. Ecological risk study showed that the salt content in ballast water is close to that of seawater, but the values of Cr (2.1mg/l) and Ni (0.029mg/l) in ballast water are higher than those in seawater (1 and 0.004mg/l, respectively). •Description of ballast water management methods.•Experimental investigation of ballast water and seawater.•Differences of physiochemical characteristics of ballast water and seawater.•Selection of the best ballast water management method.