Page 28: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 2014)

28 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • FEBRUARY 2014

CRUISE SHIPPING WATER TECHNOLOGY

S afe water management onboard any ship is a challenge, a chal- lenge magnifi ed exponentially onboard the world’s largest cruise ships with thousands of passen- gers and crew in close quarters. Just last month it again made global headlines as

Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of Seas was forced to cut its 10-day cruise short due to an estimated 700 passengers dropping ill with a with a gastrointestinal illness.

Keeping quality water fl owing, passen- gers and crew healthy is a priority for the cruise lines, and Howell Laboratories contends MIOX improves performance, reduces operating costs and protects the environment.

It is not a stretch to characterize the marine industry as conservative in the adoption of new technologies, and in the cruise market it can be expected that the introduction of ‘new’ water disinfection technology is met with a wary eye. But as Howell Laboratories sets its sites on expanding the use of MIOX disinfection technology onboard some of the world’s largest and highest value ships, Adam

Jones, P.E., Director of Business Devel- opment, Commercial Products, Howell

Laboratories, Inc., is quick to point out that the MIOX technology is anything but new. “The core technology has been around for several decades and initially com- mercialized by MIOX,” said Jones. “They started selling systems to land- based water treatment facilities and now have installations all over the world treating Industrial, recreational and po- table water supplies.”

The technology is scalable, founded as the personal use MIOX Purifi er Pen using the MIOX electrolysis process converts brine into a sterilizing solution, using the same simple water disinfection chemistry of mixing salt, electricity and water.

That same technology has been used for decades on land, based in public wa- ter treatment facilities and purifying bil- lions of gallons of water daily.

Lest you think this a land-based only tech solution, think again: Howell Labo- ratories, which has had a relationship with MIOX for more than a decade, has used the MIOX generators as the core to its water solutions system for some of the largest and highest value ships in the world: more than a dozen of the

U.S. Navy’s largest ships, including all aircraft carriers.

The MIOX Relationship

As Jones explains, MIOX is a tech- nology company that seeks partnerships with outside companies to penetrate spe- cifi c market channels such as maritime.

Interest in the maritime market was sparked by a chance meeting onboard an airplane between a MIOX executive and a cruise executive, with the ensuing conversation turning to the industry’s fi ght to contain the Legionella bacteria.

This chance conversation turned into a test and installation aboard the Celebrity

Century, with more than fi ve years of successful operation according to Jones.

It is this reference, plus the extended run aboard the U.S. Navy’s most valued as- sets, that Howell Laboratories is hoping will change the tide in the acceptance of the MIOX solutions on cruise ship new- builds and refi ts. “The cruise industry is interested, be- cause frankly it works better (than exist- ing technology) and it changes how they look at, store and handle chemicals,” said Jones. “Plus, cruise ships are argu- ably the largest users of fresh water on the seas.” According to Jones, the ben- efi ts of the MIOX solutions are fairly straight forward: • Effectiveness The system is prov- en to kill legionella and eliminate bio- fi lm (which, in layman’s terms, is the gunk found in pipes). “Biofi lm in the pipes helps to breed everything that you don’t want,” said Jones. “Jacuzzis are particularly problematic, as the tem- perature is right in that sweet spot.” • Cost Less to Operate The con- sumable, the salt to run the machine, is relatively stable in price. Factoring in the consumables and the electricity con- sumption, Jones loosely estimates a sav- ings of “six fi gures” per ship, per year. • Elimination of Chemicals Simply put, the elimination of chemicals used in traditional system frees space onboard, and eliminates the mix of chemicals on a particular ship.

The System

At the heart of the system is a patented electrolytic cell requiring only Water,

Electricity and Salt to generate all the dis- infection chemicals required. It is capa- ble of producing unique Mixed Oxidant

Solution (MOS) chemistry, an effective, yet environmentally benign disinfectant.

The presence of a second oxidant in the solution, which co-exists for 24-48 hours after generation, provides dramatically increased effi cacy, but the MOS can be monitored and controlled with the same ease as older chlorine-based systems.

It can be used for a multitude of wa- ter applications, from drinking water, as

MOS chemistry complies with all EPA,

IMO, WHO, and CDC standards for safe drinking water, to recreational water, as

Jones said the MOS solution achieves a better, more rapid kill on a broader range of microorganisms when compared to hypochlorite.

Similarly crucial is the system’s proven effectiveness in the removal of biofi lm, an invasive substance that natu- rally forms throughout water distribution lines and serves as a shelter for disease- causing microorganisms.

The Howell/MIOX systems use no hazardous chemicals to generate the dis- infection chemicals, and at a generated concentration of 0.45%, there is no need for Hazmat planning and reporting, as the solution is safe to handle.

As space onboard cruise ships is a pre- mium, the system’s modular design ap- proach is attractive. All tanks and com- ponents are individual units, allowing optimal placement for maintenance, ex- pansion, and even replacement of legacy equipment. Systems also interface with existing control systems. www.howelllabs.com

MIOX Safe Water Management for Cruise Ships

By Greg Trauthwein

Howell Laboratories sets its sites on expanding the use of MIOX disinfection technology onboard some of the world’s largest and highest value cruise ships.

MR #2 (26-31).indd 28 2/3/2014 10:10:51 AM