Vessels of all types have a limited useful life and must ultimately be dismantled or scuttled as artificial reefs, with wastes properly disposed. The Navy is seeking a means of removing hydrocarbons from inactive ships prior to ship dismantling or sinking as an artificial reef. The Phase I project investigated the use of a biological/mechanical system that was capable of removing free-phase oil while consuming emulsified oil from hydrocarbon-contaminated wastewater. The results of the Phase I study substantiated the practicality of a bio-mechanical oil water separator (OWS) for bioremediation of hydrocarbons and other organic contaminants on inactive DOD vessels. In Phase II, EnSolve builds on the Phase I work by designing, constructing, and testing a full-scale biomechanical OWS system as a method of cleaning ship washwater to regulatory acceptable levels. Efforts to get the system certified by the appropriate regulatory agency will be accomplished in the Phase II option.
Benefit: The results of this study will prove the practicality of a bio-mechanical oily water separator for the bioremediation of hydrocarbons and other organic contaminants on inactive DOD vessels. If successful, the technology would yield a complete hydrocarbon removal solution for the cleanup of inactive ships. A treatment process that can reliably remove all types of hydrocarbons from the entire vessel with minimal structural dismantling required (i.e., piping, tank penetration, and hot work) would have significant competitive advantages over existing technologies. The proposed system will be transportable and re-usable, thus making it easy to move from one vessel to another. The system will be low maintenance with minimal operator interaction and low capital/operating costs, consequently saving the Navy millions of dollars in remediation and liability costs.
Keywords: bioreactor, Oil, Bioremediation, Oxidation, separator, Hydrocarbon, inactive, Biological
