Black water pipes are used to take waste away from toilet systems onboard ships. Marine operators have long experienced problems with maintaining these pipes, which in many cases results in the costly replacement of pipe runs, inconvenient blockages at sea and the use of hazardous treatments for the symptoms.

What causes this problem?

Due to the low water usage in vacuum toilet systems, scale and human waste builds up in the black water pipes. It is caused by uric acid, a chemical naturally present in human urine. Uric acid is 100 times more soluble in warm water than cold, so, as urine cools, crystals form, these combine with calcium and other elements in water to form typical uric scale and so create blockages.

Traditional solutions

Use of “Acid Cleaners” which are:

• Corrosive and potentially dangerous
• Attack the pipe work system
• Bulky and awkward to store and handle

Pipe replacement which is:

• Costly
• Time consuming
• Inpractical

'biotal technologies' solution

Use a microbial solution to degrade uric acid and prevent scale build up at source, which is:

• Cost effective
• Environmentally friendly
• Non toxic and safe
• Approved by many operators worldwide