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Ballast Water Treatment
- An affordable solution
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| A cost effective solution
for treating large quantities of ballast water in minimal
time frame - utilizes deoxy-genation with elevated CO2.
Tests and analysis confirms the effectiveness of bubbling
tri-mixture of Nitrogen, Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen through
the ballast water. The system is expected to kill at least
95% of aquatic vertebrates, invertebrates, phytoplankton,
and macro algae in the ballast water. |
| Click here to learn more |
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| VOC
Emission Prevention by AUPS and effects of Negative Pressures
on Crude Oil |
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| An
Estimated 4 to 7 millions of Fluid Cargo is lost due to
VOC emission versus 25,000 due to spillage. AUPS contains
the vapor emission that occur during transit by keeping
the ullage gas cool (heat exchanger), saturated (closed
and constant pressure system), and by minimizing the venting
. Comprehensive laboratory and computer simulation has
been undertaken. A paper on the subject has been presented
to SNAME/WMTC in October, 2003. |
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| June
11, 2001: AUPS System Passes Test |
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| The final
test on June 11, 2001 was a total success. Acting
on radio command the test engineer simulated a hull rupture
by opening a valve between the “cargo” tank and the “ocean”
tank. The guests, watching the simulation in real time
on a video monitor, observed no loss of cargo after the
“rupture”. Mr. Husain and his colleagues declared the
test to be a resounding success. |
Click here to read the whole
story
Click here to view test results |
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January
28, 2002:
COMMENTS REGARDING
USCG EFFORT TO SECURE MARITIME TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE
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| The purpose
of this commentary is to offer suggestions in regard to
United States and international community interests to
protect maritime shipping, passengers, crew and to some
extent maritime infrastructures from terrorist threats
or activities. |
| Click here to read the commentary |
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Completion
of the American Underpressure System (AUPS) Test Program
Final Report to the Office of Naval Research
(ONR) - 2004 |
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The U.S. Congressional
Oil Pollution Act of 1990 allowed for the evaluation
and approval of alternatives that can be determined
to have equal or better performance than the double
hull in protecting the marine environment.
In April 2004, MH Systems completed
the final part of the test, validation and analysis
of the American Underpressure System (AUPS) under the
aegis of the Office Naval Research (ONR). This is culmination
of a decade of long work to find alternative solution(s)
to prevent or reduce catastrophic oil spills. AUPS is
an active inert gas controlled system utilizing a vacuum
technique, which drastically reduces or totally prevents
spillage from a rupture to the hull, accidentally or
from enemy action. It has been tested in full scale
on the USNS Shoshone also under contract from ONR in
2002.
The EXECUTIVE SUMMARY of the Final
Report, prepared at the completion of the comprehensive
analysis of the tests and risk-based design, is shown
herein.
Download
Executive Summary (right
click filename - Save Target As..):
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TECHNICAL PAPER
Crude Oil Under Negative Pressures
and Hydrocarbons Emission Containment |
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Paper presented to the World Maritime Technology Conference
October 2003 in San Francisco, CA. Event co-sponsored
by SNAME
- Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers.
Authors:
M. Husain, (M) President, MH Systems, Inc., San
Diego, CA
H. Hunter, MH Systems,
Inc. San Diego, CA
D. Altshuller, MH Systems,
Inc., San Diego, CA
E. Shtepani, Hycal Energy
Research Labs Ltd., Calgary, AB, Canada
S. Luckhardt, Energy Research
Center, University of California, San Diego, CA
ABSTRACT
This paper presents the results
of experimental and theoretical analysis of crude oil
under negative (sub-atmospheric) pressures. The use
of negative pressure in the ullage space of tankers
has been proposed for the mitigation of cargo losses
resulting from accidental hull rupture. This potential
application resulted in detailed laboratory tests of
various crudes over a range of temperatures and pressures.
The findings were then applied to prevent or minimize
VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) emissions occurring
during transport of crude oil.
Equilibrium between liquid and gas/vapor components
is reached at moderate hydrocarbon partial pressures.
Predictions of liquid-vapor transformation can be made
very accurately from known relationships, in the present
case, the Peng-Robinson equation of state. The amount
of material vaporized in reaching equilibrium is small,
and the composition of the source liquid is changed
only slightly. It can be shown that the partial pressures
of hydrocarbon components are low, and can be accommodated
by a closed system.
The adverse environmental and economic losses caused
by VOC emissions from crude oil tankers are significant.
A brief discussion on the design of a closed, negative
pressure system for VOC emission minimization is discussed.
The closed loop system, along with a seawater heat exchanger,
mitigates the effects of temperature and pressures as
well and will significantly reduce VOC venting to the
atmosphere...
Download Technical Paper (right
click filename - Save Target As..):
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AUPS DEFINED
A State-of-the-Art Spill Avoidance System
The American Underpressure
System (AUPS) is a dynamic system which creates a
slight vacuum (two to four pounds per square inch) in each
cargo tank. This vacuum, assisted by the outside hydrostatic
pressure of the surrounding water, prevents or minimizes cargo
loss in the event of hull rupture. In case of a bottom
rupture caused by grounding, nearly all of the cargo can be
protected. In the case of side hull damage, cargo below
the level of the damage will be lost, while the cargo above
the side hull rupture will be protected.
State-of-the-art hardware and software are used that can easily
be installed in tankers. This system can be used in
conjunction with existing inert gas systems that are mandatory
on most tankers to prevent explosions.
| "In the case
of a bottom rupture caused by grounding, nearly all of
the cargo can be protected." |
AUPS consists essentially of
exhaust blowers with their isolation and control valves tapping
into the inert gas system seal/non-return valves. A
negative pressure of inert gas is created in the ullage space
- the volume of gas above the oil. This negative pressure
or underpressure is continuously adjusted
and prevents oil from spilling if the tanker is ruptured.
Stated simply, the oil is held in the tank by the slight underpressure.
The retrofitting of this technology on existing tankers and
barges, small and large shipyards worldwide could realize
about $5 billion in new business, a significant portion of
which could be accomplished in U.S. facilities.
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CONCEPT MADE SIMPLE
Imagine a Straw...
The underpressure concept is best
understood by making an analogy with which most people can
identify. Imagine sipping water half-way up through
a straw and sealing off the top of the straw with your fingertip.
A simple principle of hydraulics allows the water to be held
in the straw at this level until the finger is released.
This same principle allows oil to be contained within the
hull should a rupture occur in the tank. When a tanker
is loaded, the oil level inside the tank is higher than the
surrounding seawater level. This causes a higher pressure
to exist inside the tanker due to hydrostatic pressure.
Normally, when a hull is ruptured, the pressure inside forces
oil to flow out up to the level of the surrounding seawater
(discounting density). Using AUPS, this complete loss
would not occur.
The system equalizes the pressure inside and outside the tanker
at the rupture point by applying a slight underpressure of
2 to 4 psi in the ullage space of the tank. As oil flows
out, it is replaced by seawater up to the rupture point only.
Oil loss is held to a minimum as all oil above the rupture
point will remain in the tanker. In the event
of an accidental grounding bottom rupture, AUPS would prevent
virtually all oil spillage from the tanker.
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AUPS
SYSTEM RELIABILITY
The American Underpressure System utilizes the existing Inert
Gas system in its intact configuration and functions. The
positive pressure function of the existing I.G. system remains
unchanged. The underpressure system simply adds a modular
system to draw down the inerted ullage gas mixture to a predetermined
underpressure level, and maintains the underpressure using
a simple control system. Thus a major portion of the underpressure
system is already present in existing ships. Some current
inert gas systems lack redundant functionality, and may be
upgraded as part of the underpressure system installation.
Further investigation to establish reliability baselines is
needed in this area as the current systems are often not tracked
for failure history.
The underpressure system is an active system, that is, it
functions through the operation of components such as valves,
fans and controls. In designing the system for seagoing service,
consideration must be given to the reliability of the system
so that its ability to control cargo loss is not impaired.
This objective is achieved through three mechanisms, (1) the
selection of high reliability components, (2) the use of parallel
redundancy for key components and (3) the inherent ability
of the system to function in degraded modes of operation.
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