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 | In a ship’s bilge, water mixes with oils, cleaners, and other contaminants to form a complex wastewater that is harmful to the marine environment. Sea vessels are generally outfitted with oil/water separators (OWS) to prevent the discharge of this oily wastewater. However, detergents and other contaminants cause the oily water to form an emulsion that cannot be captured by the OWS and, in some cases, may prevent its proper operation.
ElectroChemical Cleanup
ADA Technologies, funded by Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), is developing a compact and robust system for removing oil from bilgewater using electrocoagulation (EC). ADA is currently scaling up the technology developed in the first phase of the research. | |
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EC Advantages for bilgewater treatment:
- Compact design, can retrofit with exiting OWS
- Easily scaled to different sizes
- No high-pressure pumps or membranes
- No chemical additives
- Removes oil & grease to less than 5 ppm
- Removes dissolved metals and bacteria
- Effective on emulsified wastewater
- Not affected by solvents, detergents, or chemicals that can harm bacteria-based systems
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| During the Phase I work, the EC process was challenged with oily emulsions at pH from 3 to 9 and oil contents up to 10,000 ppm total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH). In all cases the process was able to deliver a clean water stream with TPH less than 5 ppm. The recommended operating conditions required a power consumption of approximately 140 W per gpm of treated water.
Under Phase II, ADA will test a full-scale pilot system pier-side on bilgewater from various vessels. The unit will be trailer- or skid-mounted for portability and will include all ancillary equipment necessary for effective field demonstration of the technology. Under the Phase II Option, the team will design a shipboard prototype and detail the testing and evaluation plan for shipboard demonstration.
Concurrently, ADA’s commercialization team will investigate  other maritime applications for the EC system, including use in commercial vessels, and treatment of ballast water or shipboard graywater. ADA has teamed with Screen Lore Corporation (Denver, CO) and Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipbuilding (Newport News, VA) for development, demonstration, and commercialization of the technology. Return to Water home page
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