Analysis of Polluted Oily Water Management in Klaipėda Sea Port

Abstract

Lithuania is one of the countries that have ratified the Marpol 73/78 Convention which foresees the tools of reduction and prevention of sea pollution with bilge water and other substances. The Directive of the European Parliament and Council 2000/59/EB is addressed to the reduction of waste on board of ships and its wash overboard..
Analysis of the ships entering Klaipėda Sea Port has estimated that oil waste comprises about 74 % of the whole collected waste amount. The analysis of technological flows and documents has indicated problematic points in the following processes:
1. collection of oily and engine bilge water from ships;
2. collection of spilled overboard oil products;
3. exploitation of intermediate accumulative reservoirs in the port;
4. regular transportation of accumulated oily water engine bilge water to the oil-polluted water treatment station;
5. distribution, storage, treatment (mechanical, physical, sorption) of pumped engine bilge water.
Among oil polluted waste, its specific kind - oily water emerges in ports and it is called "engine bilge water" in the Waste Management Regulations. Engine bilge water is specific and hazardous to the environment as it is a liquid compound of water and oil products capable of making steady emulsions. It also acquires specific properties during various technological processes. Equipment, technological processes, specificity of the control related to combustibility and inflammability, as well as conformity to the requirements of the International and EU Rights, technological processes management and documents are needed for the management of this specific waste. For this reason, separation of this oily water from the common oil-polluted waste and analysis of these streams of waste treatment are of great importance in enhancement of the effectiveness of environmental protection during the management process of this oily waste.
Applying a system approach to the oily waste in the port, a waste management system algorithm based on the life cycle has been set up. The system of port waste management is a set of technological processes, each of them performing a certain function and demanding for stock, electric energy, fuel, transport, heat, technological equipment, etc.
Having completed the analysis, the algorithm assessing the supervision of technological processes and documents of engine bilge water management and a schematic diagram of the life cycle have been set up which make it possible:
- to assess the supervision of formation, collection and utilization of oily and engine bilge water;
- to effectively control energy and stock quantities supplied to each stage of a technological process;
- to identify and assess the sources of the environmental pollution (ambient air, water, waste);
- to foresee and evaluate the priority regions of optimization of engine bilge water management.
Having made the environmental assessment, it was suggested to convert the waste resulting from the engine bilge water treatment into the energy and to use it in a technological process when closing (finishing) the life-cycle.