Bilge water consists of liquids that drain to the lower regions of the ship’s hull and is comprised of water, oils, fuels, surfactants, and a myriad of other contaminants.
Common methods of separating and removing oil from this mixture include coalescing, filtration, centrifugation, flocculation, and/or combinations of these technologies. There are varying degrees of success of each of these methods but a common problem for all of these oil water separators (OWS) is the high cost involved for long-term operation and maintenance. This may not be reflected in the initial price tag but ship engineers are well aware of the high labour and materials costs to maintain these systems.
EnSolve’s novel PetroLiminator OWS consists of three stages: Stage I physically separates and removes the non-emulsified oil via an advanced coalescing matrix. The influent stream enters the inlet chamber where water turbulence and velocity are sharply reduced, and initial gravimetric separation occurs. As the bilgewater flows through the separation chamber, oil droplets coalesce and grow in size rising to the surface for removal.
From Stage I, the process flow is directed into the Stage II biotreatment chamber for further treatment. In this chamber the environment is controlled for optimal growth of hydrocarbondegrading microbes. Stage II is packed with support matrix media with billions of hydrocarbon-degrading microbes attached to its surface. These are natural, non-pathogenic microorganisms that have been selected to consume oil as its primary carbon source. The process of bioremediation has been used for decades to treat thousands of waste streams and contaminated ground water sites worldwide. EnSolve Biosystems has adapted and patented a process that utilizes this technology for shipboard specific use. In biodegradation, petroleum hydrocarbons are converted to CO2, cell components, and water. Optimal biodegradation of hydrocarbons will occur with the pH between six and eight, temperature between 10 and 35 °C, abundant oxygen, and safe nutrients for sustained growth.
Stage III is a final clarifier, which allows for continuous oil concentration analysis and removal of hydrocarbonfree effluent. The oil content monitor ensures that only effluent meeting the preset criteria (i.e., oil concentration) will be discharged over board.
From an operational standpoint, the elegance is built into the design, not operation of the PetroLiminator OWS system. Unlike many OWS systems that require a lot of attention, the PetroLiminator system is fully automated. The operator merely has to turn the dial to “Automatic Operation” and walk away. A one-page laminated quick reference guide is chained to the system which provides the recommended daily (five minutes) and weekly (15 minutes) system checks.
No flocculation agents or carbon adsorbent filters are required. Unlike centrifugation OWS systems, no pre-treatment weir tanks are required for the PetroLiminator OWS thus saving ship owners valuable space and costs for such installations.
Source: Ensolve
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