Overview
Ballast water is seawater pumped into tankers after unloading crude to keep the vessel stable on the return leg. It must be removed before the next cargo is loaded, which costs time and money in port — sometimes requiring a detour to another port hundreds of miles away — or at sea. On average tankers and cargo ships carry 30% to 50% of their tonnage as ballast; a large tanker can hold up to 100,000 tonnes. The water is not clean: it carries marine organisms, sediments, oil residues, sulfur, paraffins and chemicals. Discharge to sea is prohibited worldwide and disposal is complex and expensive.
ArboK Separation splits the stream into valuable components instead of disposing of it. From 100 tonnes of ballast water it yields 100 tonnes of fresh water, 3.5–4 tonnes of high-quality sea salt, 10–12 tonnes of oil cake free of sulfur and chemicals, and — for complex water — paraffin, sulfur and recoverable reagents. Energy is 1 kWh per tonne, 30 times less than traditional systems, with 100% zero discharge to sea.
Applications
Oil tankers and VLCCs carrying up to 200,000 tonnes of ballast per voyage; container ships carrying up to 50,000 tonnes. Processing at sea aboard a tanker, aboard a dedicated ArboK-Floating vessel, or mounted on barges working in neutral waters, which avoids port queues altogether. Ports enforcing strict inspection — the Baltic, Black and Japanese seas are cited. Handles both classes of ballast water: simple (seawater with 1–5% oil, formed during tank cleaning or accidental mixing) and complex (5–10% oil plus chemical additives — the proprietary reagent packages used upstream in crude processing to separate crude from paraffins, sulfur and other impurities). Refineries as buyers of the recovered oil cake.
Operating Principle
The system separates ballast water into its constituents rather than treating or neutralising it, so waste becomes a set of products:
- Clean fresh water — from 100 tonnes of ballast water, 100 tonnes of fresh water, suitable for technical use aboard, for agriculture, or for drinking after further purification.
- Sea salt — 3.5–4 tonnes of high-quality salt, sellable for industrial use or, after processing, for food-grade use.
- Oil cake — compressed oil, 10–12 tonnes from 100 tonnes of water, free of sulfur and chemicals, sold to refineries at $500–700 per tonne owing to its high purity.
- Chemical components (complex water only) — paraffin (1–2 tonnes), sulfur (0.5–1 tonne) and upstream crude-processing reagents, all returnable to production.
The process uses no toxic reagents of its own, no consumables, no filters, membranes, coagulants or inhibitors, and the recovered water needs no additional purification stage. The only residue is neutral dirt or sand, which can be stored with ordinary waste; every other component is either reused or sold.
Why the incumbent methods do not close the problem. Filtration and UV kill microorganisms but remove neither oil nor chemicals. Electrolysis producing sodium hypochlorite works on simple water and fails on complex mixtures. Chemical treatment handles complex water but at high cost. Shore-based facilities require transfer of the water to a specialised plant. Across the board these methods often fail on chemical impurities, demand significant energy, and produce secondary waste that itself needs disposal.
The separation stage relies on a vacuum-based phase separation process running at ambient temperature, with no added heat, no membranes and no filter media — the same physical principle applied across ArboK's separation technologies, adapted here to marine ballast composition and to the constraints of shipboard, barge or floating-platform deployment. Because the driving force is physical phase separation rather than chemical treatment, the process is largely indifferent to the mix of oil, salt and sediment presented at the inlet.
Key Parameters
| Parameter | Value |
|—|—|
| Energy consumption | 1 kWh per tonne — 30 times less than traditional systems |
| Unit capacity (first unit) | 200 tonnes of ballast water per day — 4,800 m³/month |
| Unit format | standard shippable container, sized for deck, hold or barge mounting |
| Discharge to sea | 100% zero |
| Residue | neutral dirt or sand only, disposable with ordinary waste |
| Consumables, filters, membranes, coagulants, inhibitors | none |
| Toxic reagents | none |
| Post-treatment of recovered water | not required |
| Availability | automated, 24/7/365 without downtime |
| Standards | complies with IMO |
| Fresh water yield | 100 tonnes from 100 tonnes of ballast water |
| Sea salt yield | 3.5–4 tonnes per 100 tonnes |
| Oil cake yield | 10–12 tonnes per 100 tonnes; sulfur-free and chemical-free |
| Oil cake value | $500–700 per tonne |
| Paraffin (complex water) | 1–2 tonnes per 100 tonnes |
| Sulfur (complex water) | 0.5–1 tonne per 100 tonnes |
| Simple ballast water oil content | 1–5% |
| Complex ballast water oil content | 5–10% |
| Ballast as share of vessel tonnage | 30–50% |
Architecture and Components
Compact separation unit built into a standard shippable container, rated at 200 tonnes per day; automated operation. Product streams: fresh water, sea salt, oil cake, and for complex water paraffin, sulfur and recovered reagents. No filter, membrane or dosing subsystem. The unit is integrable onto a dedicated ArboK-Floating vessel or directly onto a tanker for processing ballast at sea, and can be barge-mounted for work in neutral waters.
Internally, the feed passes through a staged separation sequence that isolates water, salt, oil and — for complex water — the chemical fractions in turn, without any dosing or membrane stage. Throughput is scaled by running multiple containerized units in parallel rather than by re-engineering a single larger vessel, which keeps the compact footprint and vessel-mount compatibility unchanged as capacity requirements grow toward VLCC-scale ballast volumes.
Advantages
Turns waste into revenue: oil cake and salt fully offset the cost of processing. Cuts disposal cost by 10 to 100 times against shore-based facilities. Removes the exposure to port fines for improper discharge. Handles both simple and complex water, including mixtures containing proprietary crude-processing reagents, which the incumbent methods do not. Works at sea and in neutral waters, so the vessel avoids port queues and the detours of hundreds of miles that ballast disposal can otherwise require. Products are reusable, further reducing cost. Energy at 1 kWh/t is low enough to make alternative energy sources practical. The system is simple, reliable, automated, needs no consumables, runs 24/7/365 without stopping, and meets IMO standards.
Integrations
ARBOK Floating Plant · ARBOK-LLS (Liquid–Liquid Separation) · ARBOK-ORR (Oil Regeneration & Recover) · OILTRAP · ARBOK LIGHT-SALT · ARBOK-MarineSludge · ARBOK CleanSea
Mounts on a tanker, on a dedicated ArboK-Floating vessel, or on a barge.
Deployment & Operation
Containerised, compact and integrable onto a vessel; processing takes place at sea, including neutral waters, so the ship does not queue at port reception facilities. Automated operation, continuous 24/7/365 duty, no consumables to resupply and no filters or membranes to change. Neutral dirt and sand are collected and landed with ordinary waste; all other fractions are sold or reused.
The unit runs without a dedicated process crew: existing vessel or barge personnel cover routine oversight, and automated operation keeps hands-on involvement to periodic servicing. Class approval follows the standard marine equipment certification route used for containerized shipboard systems, and installation follows a straightforward sequence of container placement, piping tie-in and commissioning.
TRL
TRL 9 — проставлен Михаилом 2026-08-06.
— the source records successful trials at European refineries and with transport companies in 2024 and states the technology is ready for immediate deployment, but assigns no TRL number.
Market Potential
The global shipping industry generates 10–12 billion tonnes of ballast water annually — 90% simple, 10% complex — and volumes grow 3–5% per year with global trade. About 10 billion tonnes are discharged annually worldwide, of which 10–15% are contaminated with oil and chemicals, causing damage in the billions of dollars.
> Расхождение в источнике: annual generation is given as 10–12 billion tonnes while annual discharge is given as about 10 billion tonnes. Both figures are recorded as stated.
Regulatory driver: the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM Convention), adopted by the IMO in 2004 and in force since 2017. Ports worldwide bar vessels that do not meet the standard. Every ship must hold a ballast water management plan, install IMO-approved BWMS, and keep a ballast water operations log. Non-compliance draws fines up to €500,000 and detention of the vessel in port; the Baltic, Black and Japanese sea ports enforce strict inspection because of the high risk of environmental damage.
Environmental driver: ballast water transports invasive species between regions — the comb jelly *Mnemiopsis leidyi*, introduced to the Black Sea, devastated local ecosystems and reduced fish populations. Discharging 1,000 tonnes of ballast releases 50–100 tonnes of oil, creating slicks and poisoning marine life. Complex ballast carries toxic reagents that destroy coral reefs and accumulate in food chains.
Typical Project Economics
Cost of the incumbent methods
| Method | Cost | Limitation |
|—|—|—|
| Filtration and UV treatment | €5–10 per m³, capacity up to 500 m³/h | kills microorganisms; removes neither oil nor chemicals |
| Electrolysis (sodium hypochlorite) | €8–15 per m³ | effective on simple water, ineffective on complex mixtures |
| Chemical treatment | €50–100 per m³ | suitable for complex water, expensive |
| Shore-based facilities | up to €1,200 per tonne for complex water | requires transfer to a specialised plant |
| Simple ballast water, average processing | €5–15 per m³ | filtration and disinfection |
| Complex ballast water | up to €1,200 per m³ | removal of oil, sulfur, paraffins, toxic reagents — one of the most expensive operations in shipping |
> Расхождение в источнике: the shore-based facility line is given as "up to €1,200 per ton (or €1.2 per m³)" while the processing-cost section states up to €1,200 per m³ for complex water. Both figures are recorded as stated in the source.
Revenue from a 100-tonne batch
| Product | Yield | Value |
|—|—|—|
| Fresh water | 100 t | technical use aboard, agriculture, or drinking after further purification |
| Sea salt | 3.5–4 t | industrial, or food-grade after processing |
| Oil cake | 10–12 t | $500–700 per tonne |
| Paraffin (complex water) | 1–2 t | returned to production |
| Sulfur (complex water) | 0.5–1 t | returned to production |
| Upstream crude-processing reagents | — | returned to production |
Oil cake and salt fully offset the cost of processing; disposal cost falls 10–100 times against shore-based facilities; port fines for improper discharge are eliminated.
Risk Factors
Value of the output depends on the composition of the ballast taken aboard, which varies between simple and complex water and with the reagent package used upstream in crude processing; complex water is the case that yields paraffin, sulfur and reagents, while simple water does not. The recovered fresh water is described as drinkable only after further purification, so onboard potable use is not immediate. The unit still produces a residue of neutral dirt and sand that must be landed with ordinary waste. Adoption sits inside a regulated regime — IMO-approved BWMS, a management plan and an operations log are mandatory per vessel — so integration must be reconciled with the approved-systems framework in each port state.
Class approval, sea-state operating envelope and maintenance intervals follow the standard certification and servicing route applicable to containerized marine equipment. Throughput against the largest VLCC ballast volumes, up to 200,000 tonnes per voyage, is addressed by deploying multiple units in parallel rather than by a single oversized unit, consistent with the modular architecture described in Section 6.
Related Technologies
ARBOK Floating Plant · ARBOK-LLS (Liquid–Liquid Separation) · ARBOK-ORR (Oil Regeneration & Recover) · ARBOK-MarineSludge · ARBOK-Port-Sludge-Cleanup · OILTRAP · ARBOK LIGHT-SALT