A system has been developed to treat ballast water by selectively dissociating target molecules into component products compositionally distinct from the target molecule, wherein the bonds of the target molecule do not reform because the components are no longer reactive with each other. Dissociation is affected by treating the target molecule with light at a frequency and intensity, alone or in combination with a catalyst in an amount effective to selectively break bonds within the target molecule. Dissociation does not result in re-association into the target molecule by the reverse process, and does not produce component products which have a change in oxidation number or state incorporated oxygen or other additives because the process does not proceed via a typical reduction-oxidation mechanism.

A laser ablation and filtration process and apparatus wherein liquid containing hydrocarbons or other contaminants is purified. The liquid is exposed to laser energy at one or more selected wavelengths wherein the laser energy travels through the liquid and reaches the hydrocarbons or other contaminants and vaporizes, denatures, breaks down, neutralizes, renders inert and/or separates the hydrocarbons or contaminants from the liquid. A laser source is positioned in or on a vessel based on pre-set parameters to maximize exposure of the liquid to the laser energy, including sizing parameters, angle and inclination of the laser, retention time for the laser process to be applied and geometry of the containment for proper inclination. One or more collection chambers, which may include perforated membranes may be included to collect gases, separated hydrocarbons or contaminants and other by-products of the process. The vessel utilized may be submergible in water to pull or flow contaminated water therethough. The vessel may also be utilized outside a body of water wherein contaminated water from a source is introduced within the vessel.

A fluid sterilization apparatus according to an embodiment includes a tubular cover; a tubular portion provided inside the cover; a supply head provided at one end of the tubular portion; a discharge head provided at the other end of the tubular portion; at least one light-emitting element provided in at least one of the supply head and the discharge head and allowed to irradiate an inside of the tubular portion with ultraviolet rays; and a temperature control unit capable of controlling a temperature of a space between the cover and the tubular portion.

A disinfecting system includes a housing. An ultraviolet light (UV) source is secured to the housing and configured to emit UV light for disinfection of a target. A processor is secured to the housing in communication with the UV light source. The processor is configured to activate the UV light source for a selected amount of time suitable for disinfection of the target.

A laser ablation and filtration process and apparatus wherein liquid containing hydrocarbons or other contaminates is purified. The liquid is exposed to laser energy at one or more selected wavelengths wherein the laser energy travels through the liquid and reaches the hydrocarbons or other contaminates and vaporizes, denatures, breaks down, neutralizes, renders inert and/or separates the hydrocarbons or contaminates from the liquid. A laser source is positioned in or on a vessel based on pre-set parameters to maximize exposure of the liquid to the laser energy, including sizing parameters, angle and inclination of the laser, retention time for the laser process to be applied and geometry of the containment for proper inclination. One or more collection chambers, which may include perforated membranes may be included to collect gases, separated hydrocarbons or contaminates and other by-products of the process. The vessel utilized may be submergible in water to pull or flow contaminated water therethough. The vessel may also be utilized outside a body of water wherein contaminated water from a source is introduced within the vessel.

An assembly comprises a wet compartment (100) having at least one inlet opening for allowing water to enter the wet compartment (100), a functional unit (2) located in the wet compartment (100), a dry area (200) which cannot be reached by water and which is outside of the wet compartment (100), a barrier (110) situated between the dry area (200) and the wet compartment (100), and at least one energy source (20) which is arranged and configured to emit energy for preventing biofouling of at least an exterior surface (17) of the functional unit (2), wherein the energy source (20) is arranged in the dry area (200), a path (112) being present between the dry area (200) and the wet compartment (100) for allowing energy emitted by the energy source (20) during operation thereof to reach the wet compartment (100), through the barrier (110).

A system has been developed to treat ballast water by selectively dissociating target molecules into component products compositionally distinct from the target molecule, wherein the bonds of the target molecule do not reform because the components are no longer reactive with each other. Dissociation is affected by treating the target molecule with light at a frequency and intensity, alone or in combination with a catalyst in an amount effective to selectively break bonds within the target molecule. Dissociation does not result in re-association into the target molecule by the reverse process, and does not produce component products which have a change in oxidation number or state incorporated oxygen or other additives because the process does not proceed via a typical reduction-oxidation mechanism.

A disinfecting system includes a housing. An ultraviolet light (UV) source is secured to the housing and configured to emit UV light for disinfection of a target. A processor is secured to the housing in communication with the UV light source. The processor is configured to activate the UV light source for a selected amount of time suitable for disinfection of the target.

A solution for treating a fluid, such as water, is provided. An ultraviolet transparency of a fluid can be determined before or as the fluid enters a disinfection chamber. In the disinfection chamber, the fluid can be irradiated by ultraviolet radiation to harm microorganisms that may be present in the fluid. One or more attributes of the disinfection chamber, fluid flow, and/or ultraviolet radiation can be adjusted based on the transparency to provide more efficient irradiation and/or higher disinfection rates. In addition, various attributes of the disinfection chamber, such as the position of the inlet(s) and outlet(s), the shape of the disinfection chamber, and other attributes of the disinfection chamber can be utilized to create a turbulent flow of the fluid within the disinfection chamber to promote mixing and improve uniform ultraviolet exposure.

Various ultraviolet (UV) reactors and their methods of fabrication are disclosed. One exemplary process comprises forming a set of parallel channels in a slab of ultraviolet transparent material. The process also comprises providing a reactor substrate with an input manifold and an output manifold. The process also comprises joining the slab of ultraviolet transparent material and the reactor substrate. The input manifold, output manifold, and set of parallel channels are in fluid communication after the joining step. The process also comprises providing a planar ultraviolet light source isolated from the set of parallel channels by the shaped slab of ultraviolet-transparent material. The set of parallel channels and a defining plane of the planar ultraviolet light source are parallel in the assembled ultraviolet reactor.