Electrochemical Recovery of Hazardous Contaminants in Bilge Wastewater

All marine craft accumulate wastewater in their bilge. Although mostly water, this bilgewater contains multiple types of contaminants, including heavy metals, fuel oils, lubricants, and coolant fluids. Small craft, such as the Marine Corps’ new Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, do not have the ability to separate these contaminants from the water and so, when operating in environmentally sensitive areas, this wastewater is held for later treatment. Holding and hauling wastewater creates a severe logistical burden for training and field operations. Electrocoagulation (EC) is a method of electrochemically inducing coagulation of dissolved ions, oils, or suspended solids to create a readily separable phase. EC effectiveness has been demonstrated on heavy metals, fats, oils & grease, coal fines, bacteria, and oily bilgewater. ADA Technologies has developed a cartridge-style EC system that simplifies the use of the technology and is well-suited to small mobile system designs. In the present work, ADA proposes to develop and demonstrate a truck-portable EC system that takes advantage of key EC attributes – simple operation, compact size, and broad applicability – and incorporates a polishing step to remove soluble organic compounds. Such a system will separate the contaminants so the bulk of the collected wastewater can be discharged in the field.