OILY SLUDGE DISPOSAL

IN THE CONTEXT OF THE

MARINE POLLUTION AGREEMENT
 INTRODUCTION
MARPOL (Marine Pollution Agreement)
International convention signed by 137 countries
around the world, including the UAE in October 2006
Introduced to reduce, and reduce the risk of, pollution
at sea from shipping
To prevent the disposal of wastes at sea
Requires Port Authorities to control waste disposal by ensuring
all vessels have Certificates of Safe Disposal for all waste
streams, namely solids, sewage and oily waste before leaving
port
In particular the disposal of oily slops and sludges

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 SOURCE

The sources of oily effluents generated by

shipping are mainly from:
Impurities removed from bunker fuel oil
Tank cleanings (bunker and cargo)
Oily effluent water
Lubricants and greases

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 CHARACTERISATION
These streams can be characterised into two groups
as follows:
Slops: Sludge:
Pumpable Un-pumpable
Solids < 1,5% m/m Solids > 35% m/m
Water 30% - 60% v/v Water 10% - 20%
Specific Gravity <1 Specific Gravity >1

The importance of this distinction is in the

handling, processing and disposal costs.

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 RECOVERY
The method of recovery of these waste streams varies
significantly:
SLOPS:
Pumped overboard
Either into a barge or a
road tanker on the wharf
side
The quantity of oil
generated is typically 0,5%
of vessels fuel used
The typical recoverable oil
in slops is >95%
The cost per tonne of oil
recovered is relatively low
SLUDGE:
Shoveled by hand into
small plastic bags
Placed in skips
Removed overboard by
crane
The quantity is much less
than slops and dependent
on the period between tank
cleanings
The typical recoverable oil
in sludge is <66%
The cost per tonne of oil
recovered is relatively high
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 DISPOSAL

The principles of disposal should always

be to:
MAXIMISE the UTILISATION of the energy
source through recovery and recycling
MINIMISE the quantity of waste requiring
DISPOSAL with regard to:
Environmental considerations/circumstances
Best Available Practical Technology (BAPT)

Facilities and infrastructure

Cost 6
 UTILISATION
SLOPS:
Has a high usable oil content, and recovery and
dewatering can be practically and economically carried
out. The recovered oil can be either:
Returned to BUNKER FUEL OIL by blending
Currently no practical technology available to render slops into
bunker fuel oil specification
However as most refineries produce bunker fuel that is well within
the quality specification, judicious blending is possible, although this
is not necessarily to the liking of ship owners and engineers
INDUSTRIAL FUEL OIL
Requires a different and often lower quality specification
Can be practically achieved with current technology
Requires a local industrial base using heating fuel
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 UTILISATION

SLUDGE:
The sludge can be utilised as is, in:
Cement manufacture (Fe & Al content beneficial)
Clay brick manufacture (replaces coal)

And not much else!

However some useful oil can generally be recovered

from the sludge. This has the advantage of reducing
the volume of waste and renders the sludge more
acceptable for disposal
But at considerable cost
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 DISPOSAL
SLOPS:
SOLIDS (sludge):
The removal of the inorganic solids from slops produces a
sludge as there is usually some associated oil remaining.
This sludge can be less than 60% oil by mass

And would typically account for less than 5% by mass of the

oil in the slops received.
WATER:
The water can be
Easily removed to below 1% remaining in the oil
Pre-treated to remove the bulk of the oil (<200 ppm)
Disposed to a biological water treatment facility

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 DISPOSAL
SLUDGE:
The removal of the free oil in sludge results in
a sludge requiring disposal with around 50% oil
content by mass and accounts for around 40%
by mass of the sludge received.
Further processing can reduce the oil content
even further but at a cost
There are various available technologies:
Centrifugation, solvent wash, steam stripping
Incineration, pyrolisation or thermal desorption

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 DISPOSAL
The choice of approved disposal options
needs to consider:
The ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT of each
alternative in respect of the:
Available practical technology
Type and quantity of pollution produced

The local circumstances

The acceptable cost-benefit ratio

Sustainability

Monitoring and control required

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 PROCESS
SLOPS
WATER
TREATMENT SLUDGE
PROCESSING

WATER
SLOPS

DISPOSAL

PROCESSING
SLUDGE
OIL PRODUCT

SLUDGE
TREATMENT

SOLIDS
DISPOSAL 12
 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Policy (port authority) detailing requirements, standards, procedures,
system, authorisations, measurement, monitoring etc
Vessel disposal control system
Infrastructure:
Barges and/or road tankers
Wharf side tankage for slops/ballast water
Sludge handling (skips and trucks)
Processing facilities
Slops
Sludge
Effluent oily water
Disposal Facilities
Landfill for sludge/solids/plastic
Bio-treatment for effluent water
Compliance monitoring

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 LOW SPEED
HORIZONTAL
SPINDLE
CENTRIFUGE

HIGH SPEED
VERTICAL
SPINDLE
CENTRIFUGE
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FORCED FEED
EVAPORATOR
FOR WATER
REMOVAL

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