CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION
1.1 GENERAL
One of the primary environmental concerns of marine industry is the overboard discharge
of the liquid wastes. Oily residues that are generated in normal ship operation are
considered hazardous wastes (Nievas et al., 2006). One litre of oil spill intentional or
accidental can spread over 4000 square kilometres disconnecting air and water
interactions and requires 3.3 kg of oxygen for complete degradation (Mahesh et al.,
2013). The discharge of waste water must meet more stringent waste disposal regulations
imposed by local, national and international authorities (Peng et al., 2005). The major
petroleum pollution in open oceans as well as in coastal waters occurs by accidental spills
and deliberate discharge of ballast, wash waters from oil tankers, and bilge waste
discharges, causing site pollution and serious adverse effects on the ecosystem (Gutnick
and Rosenberg, 1977; Kanaly and Harayama, 2000 and Alper, 2003). Normal shipping
operations are responsible for over 70% of the oil entering the sea from marine
transportation (Ball, 1999). Generally, three kinds of wastewater generated on ships can
be identified: black water, grey water (including galley water), and oily bilge water
(OBW) (Sun et al., 2010).
The Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA) in conjunction with the Department of
Defense (DoD), the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce and several Federal
Agencies, is developing the Uniform National Discharge Standards (UNDS), organized in
three phases, for incidental liquid discharges from vessels of the US Armed Forces
(Rincon and La Motta, 2014). From the Nature of Discharge Report for Surface Vessels
Bilge Water, the annual mass loading of heavy metals in bilge water produced by US
aircraft carriers is about 116 kg of copper, 57 kg of nickel, 299 kg of zinc, and 160 kg of
iron (EPA, 1999). In 2000, The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation
reported that cruise ships operating in Southeast Alaska produced 1,300 to 5,300 gallons
of bilge water every 24 hours. Oily bilge water is accumulated at intervals from
approximately 0.550 m3 per day per boat and accounts for about 20% of the million
tonnes of oily water poured each year into the oceans worldwide (Tomaszewska et al.,
2005).

In the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL
73/78), the International Maritime Organization (IMO) agreed that all ships producing
more than 400 GRT (gross register tonnes) have to include oil/water separators (OWS) a
filtering system, oil meters and alarms (Bernal et al., 1999). In relation with bilge waters
and according to the current regulations, the concentration of oil in waters discharges
cannot overcome a level of 15 ppm, especially in seagoing (Benito et al., 2007).
Therefore, bilge water needs to be treated to an effluent less than 15 mg/L in oil/grease
content before being discharged. However, this regulation is not applicable to fishing
vessels with gross tonnages of less than 400; therefore, significant amounts of oilcontaminated bilge water are continuously released into the environment (Lin et al.,
2007). Unfortunately, these wastes are dumped directly into the seas and oceans at
offshore in an illegal way to avoid detection due to uneconomic expenses of sludge
unloading (Korbahti et al., 2010).
1.2 BILGE WATER
Cruise Ship Discharge Assessment Report 2008 prepared by EPA reported that bilge
water is the mixture of water, oily fluids, lubricants, cleaning fluids, and other similar
wastes that accumulate in the lowest part of a vessel from a variety of different sources
including the main and auxiliary engines; boilers, evaporators and related auxiliary
systems; equipment and related components; and other mechanical and operational
sources found throughout the machinery spaces of a vessel. Oily bilge water has two
distinct components (generally, petroleum hydrocarbons) a gravity separable phase and
an emulsified phase and both must be addressed to produce clean bilge water.
Petroleum hydrocarbons are present as free oil (petroleum hydrocarbons that separate
from wastewater and float to the liquid surface) and as emulsified oil (petroleum
hydrocarbons that remain in stable suspension and do not separate from the wastewater)
(Asselin et al., 2008). Hydrocarbons, the main constituent of bilge oil waters are toxic in
nature and they are of concern due to their long persistence in the environment
(Sivaraman et al., 2011). High levels of anthropogenic hydrocarbons were associated with
crude oil exploitation and harbour areas (Olivera et al., 2000). Fig. 1.1 shows where a
bilge well is in a general vessel with a bilge water treatment system on board.

Fig. 1.1 Bilge Wells Location in a General Vessel (Andrade, 2009)

1.2.1 Effect of Bilge Water on Marine Environment
In an examination of oil pollution in the marine environment, the Urban Harbours
Institute (2000) indicates that about 70% of such oil pollution is due to chronic pollution
from municipal and industrial wastes or runoff, dumping of waste oil, release of oily bilge
water, and from other-than-tanker transportation. Bilge water is the most common source
of oil pollution from cruise ships (National Association of Attorneys General, 2002). Oil
released into the marine environment immediately begins to move and weather, breaking
down and changing its physical and chemical properties. Some of these processes occur
immediately after the spill, while others occur over time. Some of the processes include
dissolution, sedimentation, movement, bio-degradation, evaporation, weathering, and
dispersion. As these processes occur, the oil threatens surface resources and a wide range
of subsurface marine organisms, which are linked in complex food chains. Some
organisms may be seriously injured or killed very soon after contact with the oil in a spill,
however, non-lethal toxic effects are more subtle and often longer lasting (U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, 2006 ; Cruise Ship Discharge Assessment Report
2008).

Bilge and ballast water containing metals cannot be removed through treatment or
environmental degradation. These metals, if ingested, can cause various human health
problems such as lead poisoning and cancer. Additionally, consumption of contaminated
seafood has resulted in exposure exceeding recommended safe levels. Bilge water may
contain toxic organics, such as solvents and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), which can
be cancer-causing and lead to other serious ailments, such as kidney and liver damage,
anemia, and heart failure. Discharges of toxic organics can also result in the release of
poisonous gas, which occurs most often when acidic wastes react with other wastes in the
discharge. Bilge water may contain oils and fuels which can poison fish and other marine
organisms. Since these pollutants can float on the waters surface and be blown into the
shoreline, they can physically cover plants and small animals thereby interfering with
plant life cycles and the animal respiration. Birds, fish, and other animals are known to
abandon nesting areas soiled by pollution (Technical EIA guidance manual for ship
breaking yards, 2010).
Exposure of marine organisms to petroleum hydrocarbons can result in mortality due to
acute toxicity or physical smothering. Additionally, possible long-term impacts include:
impaired survival or reproduction; chronic toxicity of persistent components; and habitat
degradation (Peterson and Holland-Bartels, 2002). Oil, even in minute concentrations, can
kill fish or have various sub-lethal chronic effects (CRS, 2007), as well as severely
damage coral reefs. According to the Blue water Network (2000), ingestion of oil can kill
birds or lead to starvation, disease, and predation of these animals. A Canadian study has
estimated that 300,000 seabirds are killed annually in Atlantic Canada as a result of
illegal discharges of oil from ships (Wiese, 2002). In that report, Wiese (2002) indicates
that the analysis of oil collected from bird plumage in Atlantic Canada and the North Sea
over the last 10 years showed that over 90% of the oil collected was composed of heavy
fuel oil mixed with lubricant oil the type found in bilges of large ocean-going vessels.
In addition to the strong evidence for the impact of massive contamination associated
with an oil spill, there is increasing evidence that chronic, low-level exposures to
hydrocarbons in the sea can have a significant effect on the survival and reproductive
performance of seabirds and some marine mammals (National Research Council, 2003 ;
Cruise Ship Discharge Assessment Report, 2008) .

1.2.2 Treatment of Bilge Water in Cruise Ships

Cruise Ship Discharge Assessment Report 2008 prepared by EPA and Sun et al. (2010)
reported that in the traditional shipboard waste water treatment systems currently
available on the market, treatments for black/grey wastewater and bilge water are
separated which results in two independent treatment systems. The management of bilge
water by most vessels consists of the following steps:

Bilge water is pumped into a holding tank, which is usually of sufficient size to hold
the water for several days

Bilge water is processed by an Oily Water Separator (OWS) to extract oil and
petroleum products from the bilge water. Different cruise ships may use different
types of OWS (e.g., centrifugal, filtration, and gravity based systems)

The treated bilge water from the OWS is discharged overboard; the discharge does
not have an oil content of greater than 15 ppm; and the discharge does not leave a
visible sheen on the surface of the water

All oil or oil residues that cannot be discharged in compliance with the above
mentioned requirements generally the oily waste collected by the OWS is retained
in a holding tank until it can be incinerated onboard or off-loaded to a land-based
treatment facility

The disadvantages of oily water separator on ships are:

High capital investment and large onboard space is required

Difficulty for operation and maintenance on ships, which is unsuitable for onboard
installation

In order to reach the stricter discharge limits for bilge water, the additional post
polishing devices for gravity oilwater separator (OWS) are quite expensive

Data recorders can be manipulated or shut off and not record all discharges

Oil-water interface detectors (oil content monitor) can easily get out of calibration and
allow more oil to be discharged than legally allowed

Piping systems can be re-routed to bypass the oil-water detectors

Substances such as cleaning solvents are not removed from bilge water and are
routinely discharged with the liquids into the ocean

Bilge water tanks are used to dispose of other hazardous materials, both liquids and
solids, illegally because the bilge alarm/bilge monitor will not detect these other
substances

1.3 MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY

It is very important to reduce the potential risks due to the illegal dumping of bilge water.
The varied nature and composition of bilge water poses a more difficult separation
problem than the treatment of conventional oil in water emulsions. Therefore, there is still
lack of a universal method for oil removal from such wastewaters. Hence it is felt that an
enhanced treatment of bilge water with high removal efficiency, low operation costs,
short operation times and reduced use of additional chemical products is required in order
to comply with environmental regulations.
1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives for the present study are framed as follows,
1.

To test the treatability of oily bilge water using a synthetic bilge water emulsion by
electrocoagulation process with batch flow reactor

2.

To evaluate the efficiency in terms of organics removal and to examine the volume
of the sludge residues produced, electrical energy consumed and electrodes
consumed

3.

To study the effect of different electrode combinations (aluminium and iron) on the
treatment of bilge water and other operational parameters like pH, applied voltage,
spacing of electrodes, area of electrodes etc

4.

To optimize the influencing parameters of electrocoagulation process by Response

Surface Methodology

5.

To analyze the sludge produced from electrocoagulation process

6.

To perform the process kinetics, adsorption isotherms and mass transfer rate of batch
electrocoagulation process

7.

To compare the efficiency of electrocoagulation with chemical coagulation, and

8.

To test the applicability of electrocoagulation on real bilge water.

1.5 ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS

The whole project report on the present study has been organized in five chapters. The
effects of bilge water on marine environment and the necessity of its treatment are
discussed in Chapter 1. The motivation and objective of the present study has also
discussed briefly in the same chapter.
Chapter 2 gives the brief review on the earlier works related to the physico chemical and
biological treatment of bilge water and the electrocoagulation mechanism adopted for
various oily wastewaters. The theory and mechanism of electrocoagulation and the theory
of adsorption isotherm and mass transfer has also been discussed in the same chapter.
The different materials used for synthetic bilge water preparation and electrocoagulation
process have been described in Chapter 3. The batch reactor description, the instruments
used for the study and the methodology adopted in batch treatment as well as chemical
coagulation of synthetic bilge water have been discussed in the same chapter. The tool
used for the optimization of the electrocoagulation parameters and the parameters
considered for the optimization has also been elaborated in the same chapter. The chapter
includes the method used for sludge characterization, kinetic study, adsorption isotherm
study and mass transfer study. The method adopted for the study on real bilge water as
well as the determination of operating cost of electrocoagulation process are also included
in this chapter.
In Chapter 4, the results of batch electrocoagulation using aluminium electrodes have
been discussed in detail, which also includes the characteristics of sludge produced after
electrocoagulation process, results of kinetic study, adsorption isotherm study, mass
transfer study etc. The soluble COD removal efficiency and specific energy consumptions
are also discussed in the Chapter 4. The optimization carried for batch electrocoagulation
process using response surface methodology has been discussed in the same chapter. The
chapter consist of the results obtained for chemical coagulation of synthetic bilge water
and also the soluble COD removal efficiency obtained for different electrode
combinations. The results obtained for the electrocoagulation of the real bilge water as
well as the operating cost of the electrocoagulation process is also discussed in the same
chapter.

Chapter 5 gives the summary of the study and the conclusions derived from the study.
The further scope of the study is also presented in the same chapter. The schematic
structure of the thesis is shown in Fig. 1.2.
Chapter 1
Introduction, Motivation, Objectives of the study

Chapter 2
Review of literature includes the different techniques used for
treatment of bilge water, Theory of electrocoagulation and its
influencing parameters, Optimization of influencing parameters in
electrocoagulation process using Response Surface Methodology,
Theory of adsorption isotherm and mass transfer

Chapter 3
Description of synthetic bilge water preparation, Methodology
adopted in batch electrocoagulation process and chemical coagulation
process, Apparatus used, Tool used for the optimization of the
electrocoagulation parameters and the parameters considered for the
optimization, Method adopted for sludge characterization, kinetic
study, adsorption isotherm study and mass transfer study. Method
adopted for treating real bilge water, Calculation of operating cost of
the process

Chapter 4
The results of batch electrocoagulation process for different
influencing parameters, Optimization results and the optimized
parameters, Characteristics of sludge, Results of kinetic study,
adsorption isotherm study and mass transfer study, Results obtained
from chemical coagulation, Effect of different electrode combination,
Case study on real bilge water, Operating cost of the process

Chapter 5
Summary and Conclusions, Scope of future work
Fig. 1.2 Schematic Structure of the Thesis
8