Optimised treatment of ship wastewater

It is harmful to discharge untreated contaminated water from ships and oil rigs into the sea. With tougher new regulations looming, an EU initiative developed a more effective cleaning system that uses electrolysis to separate oil and water.

Bilge water and slop water are the dirty by-products of cleaning operations on ships or oil rigs. Both waste products are oily or otherwise polluted, hence may not be released into the sea without treatment. Current international regulations limit the maximum allowable pollutant concentrations to 15 parts per million (ppm) for total hydrocarbons. Individual jurisdictions may be more lax, while others enforce a standard stricter than the international limit. A general limit of 5 ppm has been proposed.

Further details: Optimised treatment of ship wastewater