Demonstration of Rapid Waste Reduction from Ships Using Hydrothermal Liquefaction and Compaction

Waste management on ships is an important yet difficult task because as waste is generated by day to day processes, it accumulates and occupies valuable space aboard vessels. The waste consists of a wide variety of organic and inorganic constituents, some of which are high in water content such as food waste. A process that is capable of rapidly converting all of the waste into a dense media for efficient storage or capable of completely eliminate some of the waste is ideal. We propose to develop a process consisting of a hydrothermal liquefaction reactor and a waste compactor. The hydrothermal liquefaction reactor will convert organic materials into an energy dense fuel, while the compactor will condense the inorganic waste. Hydrothermal liquefaction is a unique technology that can depolymerize wet or dry biomass into fuel. This fuel can be then be burned to heat the reactor, essentially eliminating waste from the boat. In Phase I, a batch reactor will be used to demonstrate the feasibility of rapidly reducing the volume of solid waste aboard ships while producing fuel from this waste. In Phase II, the batch reactor will be converted to a pilot-scale continuous reactor to achieve more efficient waste processing.