With sustainable solutions, Deutsche Yachten member Fundamental Marine Developments aims to revolutionize the market for wastewater and waste treatment systems.
Fundamental Marine Developments (FMD) focuses on the development of environmentally compatible solutions for superyachts – after all, they are cruising in the world’s most beautiful and, in some cases, environmentally sensitive waters, and should have as little detrimental effect on the ecosystem as possible.
One of FMD’s latest developments is the SBR (Sequencing Batch Reactor), a wastewater treatment system whose simple design sets it apart from other systems of its kind on the market. The SBR requires no chemicals, no foaming or sludge generation, and no membranes, and its uncomplicated design and low maintenance requirements place minimal demands on the crew. Designed to treat gray, black, kitchen and laundry wastewater, the system treats wastewater sources with a fully biological process with no mechanical or chemical additives. At the same time, the SBR is highly resistant to variable loading, toxic shocks, and fats and oils, and has low power consumption.
Complementing the SBR, FMD also offers a new waste treatment system. The SWP (Solid Waste Processor) reduces the volume of waste on board by up to 80 percent. The treatment process is capable of handling most types of waste by first shredding and heating it, then dehydrating it under vacuum and finally sterilizing it. The SWP is available in different variants. The SWP1 is the smallest model with a volume of 110 liters and a weight of about one ton. The SWP2 model holds 210 liters, but is also twice as heavy. Both units are made of stainless steel and can be operated by a single person. The largest model to date is the SWP20 with a capacity of 2,000 liters.
The SWP is classified as Zero Emissions Equipment (ZEE) and, together with the wastewater treatment system, is the optimal system for yacht owners who want to make their yacht sustainable and low-waste. “FMD is not only innovative, but also responsible. Sustainability is a megatrend that has also long since arrived in the superyacht industry. German companies, like FMD, are working on the pulse of the times here,” comments Claus-Ehlert Meyer, managing director of the Deutsche Yachten working group and the German Boat and Shipbuilders Association, on the latest FMD products.
