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| China's first mobile oxygenation barge, located on the Suzhou Creek. |
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| China's first mobile oxygenation barge, located on the Suzhou Creek. |
The environmental technology for China's first mobile oxygenation barge has been de-signed and supplied by BOC. The self-sufficient barge represents the first step in a 12-year plan to rehabilitate Suzhou Creek, a highly-polluted stream that flows through China's largest city, Shanghai. The Suzhou Creek project is China's most ambitious water reclamation project to date. The plan was launched in 1998 with the creation of the Shanghai Suzhou Creek Rehabilitation and Construction Company (SSRCC). Its goal was to rehabilitate the creek to enable it to re-establish a functioning ecosystem and increase public health standards for nearby residents.
Stretches of the 125 km Suzhou Creek have reached anaerobic conditions, which means there are insufficient levels of oxygen to support fish or other aquatic life. Pumping oxygen into the water, through the barge, will assist the natural process of decomposition of pollutants and the restoration of oxygen levels needed to sustain aquatic life.
The oxygenation barge, which was officially handed over to the Chinese government in November 2001, contains a BOC Novox oxygen generator and two Vitox oxygen injectors. Water from Suzhou Creek is withdrawn from the river, oxygenated on the barge at a rate of five tons per day, and then returned to the river via 20 Vitox distribution nozzles mounted on each side of the barge.
This is the latest version of the technology that BOC developed for use in two barges, the Thames Bubbler and Vitality, on stretches of the Thames River in England. Two delegations from SSRCC visited Vitality and talked with BOC engineers in Guildford, UK, before awarding the contract for the Suzhou Creek project.
Chinese environmental officials said they had originally planned to build several land-based oxygenation stations along the banks of Suzhou Creek, but decided it would be more effective to use a mobile oxygenation station to deal with shock loads during emergencies. The barge can go wherever it is needed to improve the oxygen level quicker and cultivate beneficial aerobic bacteria.
In a complex feat of engineering and international cooperation, the entire oxygenation system was built in the United Kingdom to strict international standards, and shipped to Shanghai where BOC and Chinese engineers worked together to design and build the barge and install the environmental equipment.
As part of the long-range plan for the clean-up of Suzhou Creek, the barge is undergoing performance tests over the next few months on a locked off portion of the stream. If it meets its targeted oxygenation objectives, China is likely to build an additional four to six oxygenation barges.
In addition, China has also targeted Lake Taihu at the headwaters of Suzhou Creek for environmental clean-up. The Jiangsu Environmental Protection Bureau has announced that they will invest (US) $1.76 billion over the next five years to build 65 wastewater treatment plants.
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