Marathon Products Ltd

Bilge Water from a Drill Ship

Frontier Drilling polishes bilge water discharges

Background

As an oil drilling company that operates ships all over the world, Frontier Drilling stays current on environmental regulations regarding ship discharges in waters from the Indian Ocean to the Arctic Ocean.

To help meet worldwide water quality standards, all of Frontier Drilling's ships are equipped with a Oil Water Separator (OWS) system for their bilge water, which separates oil from water before the excess water is discharged overboard. Normally these oil water separator (OWS) systems are an effective, solution to removing contaminants from the bilge water. However, it is a regular occurrence for the OWS to bypass slugs of oil, breakdown, or operate in out of control conditions. A back up system is often needed to ensure compliance.

"The back-up system (MYCELX) can take over to ensure continuity of function and conformity with the law," said Ola-Peter Tollefsen, an operations and marketing manager with Frontier Drilling.

The Problem

If an OWS fails, it can cause many environmental woes. Oily bilge water can poison fish and other marine organisms. Research has shown that the by-products from the biological breakdown of petroleum products, such as diesel fuel, oil and gasoline, harm fish and wildlife and pose threats to humans if they are ingested.

Even sheen, the rainbow coloration that forms on the surface of contaminated water, can be blown onto the shoreline and cover small plants and animals, interfering with respiration and life cycles. This shoreline pollution also can cause animals to abandon nesting areas they may have been using for years.

Vessel operators must comply with laws or they can be fined for considerable amounts of money. Such was the case recently, when a major cruise line company was fined US$18 million for illegally discharging oily bilge water.

The Solution

The manager at Frontier Drilling purchased a MYCELX MX-22 filter unit, manufactured by MYCELX Technologies Corporation. The MX-22 is used as a back up system on the Frontier Duchess, one of the company's oil drill ships, ensuring no contaminants are discharged with the bilge water and allowing the ship to comply with stringent marine legislation in the waters near Singapore and India.

MYCELX Polishing Unit Installed

"I first read about MYCELX and its BilgeKleen unit on the internet," Tollefsen said. "I liked their concept of zero discharge of contaminated bilge water by means of a simple filter. Since I am involved in the offshore oil and gas industry, it was natural for me to try it out."

MYCELX manufactures BilgeKleen units in all sizes, The smallest, the BK-1, is designed for use on pleasure boats and yachts, while much larger versions are available with flow rate capacities of up to 780 gpm. The MX-22, used on the Frontier Duchess, utilizes the same

MYCELX technology as the smaller BilgeKleen systems. When infused into various filter media, MYCELX removes virtually 100 percent of hydrocarbon pollution from water. The amazing thing is that this can be done in a single pass with less than 0.5 psi of backpressure even when fully saturated with hydrocarbons. Once the pollutants come in contact with MYCELX, they instantly bond to the material and become extremely water repellent and thickened, which removes them entirely from the water.

The Results

The MX-22 filter was installed on the Frontier Duchess in the fall of 2000, and "it's working great," Tollefsen said.

Before, if the OWS had malfunctioned and contaminated water had been discharged, the fine would have been steep. With the MX-22 filter, the Frontier Duchess' crew has no longer has to worry about the typical "out of control" conditions.

The Benefits

"I have not seen a better alternative to the MYCELX filter range on the market, and I find it a simple and cost-effective solution to ensure against pollution," Tollefsen said. "The cost-effectiveness may be measured as an 'insurance policy' against pollution to avoid spills that could result in fines.

"It also shows potential clients, such as oil companies and authorities that we are a serious and responsible drilling contractor that takes measures to protect the environment over and above what may be strictly required by law."

The company is in the process of installing the filters on its entire fleet of drill ships, an act that will prove their commitment to environmentally responsible behavior.

"I believe the MYCELX filter range has great potential, as pollution of the seas and inland waters is now a priority issue," Tollefsen said.

MYCELX polishing filter products are designed to remove hydrocarbons ranging from raw BTEX to crude oil, sheen, chlorinated solvents, PCBs, POPs, TBT, and organically bound metals from water. Beyond the filter technology, MYCELX also has a full line of oil spill remediation materials ranging from specialty pads to sheen booms, marine & marina products, air filtration and industrial processing & wastewater systems.

Oil Spill From Water

Coastal Oil Remediation

Replacing melt-blown polypropylene "sausage" booms with a dual-functioning oil remediation device that operates like an underwater weir helped one oil refinery combat on-going oil pollution on an everyday basis.

TerraGuard, part of a diverse line of MYCELX-infused oil-remediation products developed by MYCELX Technologies Corporation, recently met its’ biggest-ever challenge on the shores of the North Tees River in Wilton England. Designed with dual functions of absorbing bulk amounts of oil both above and below the water surface, TerraGuard demonstrated nearly 100% effectiveness in a waterway recognized as one of the worst cases of ongoing oil pollution on an everyday basis.

Background

The site was the North Tees facility for the Wilton Petrochemical Refinery, the biggest in Europe. It currently shelters many of the world's largest oil-producing and chemical companies. The refinery has been using melt-blown polypropylene "sausage" booms in an attempt to collect surface sheen and tarball formations from the oily waters off its banks before it reaches an effluent treatment area. Three layers of MBPP booms, each 10 ft. long and 8 in. in diameter, are arranged end to end across 250 ft. of the river. They are deployed on a daily basis along with absorbent pillows - and so far, the results have been fairly unsuccessful.

The Problem

A full field trial was conducted in the summer of 1997 by ICI, an international British conglomerate that manufactures a wide range of products including solvents, refrigerants, and armaments. The test was successful and was nearly 100% effective with only one layer, approximately 90 meters long, according to Nigel Flintoft, Environmental Manager at the North Tees facility.
"The melt-blown polypropylene booms that we originally were using had minimal effectiveness as all the sheen and oil was simply passing underneath," Flintoft said. "In addition, we had to change out the booms every day due to water logging and cosmetic reasons, costing us about $500,000 a year."

The Solution

The refinery deployed a single layer of TerraGuard with results being immediate, far exceeding the performance of the MBPP booms. TerraGuard operates like an underflow weir. The upper portion of the device actually floats to skim sheen from the surface, while a weighted curtain collects oil substances from below, allowing clean water to flow through to the other side. It is deployed in 10-ft. interconnectable units.

The Results

All of the oil was retained on top and the TerraGuard only allowed clean water to pass underneath. Additionally, the same length of the new oil remediation device remained 100% effective for a period of four weeks; even then, it was still effective but was changed out due to cosmetic reasons. A cost analysis demonstrated a tremendous savings as the refinery's yearly expenditure would decrease easily from $500,000 to $100,000.

The Benefits

TerraGuard is the first portable and instantly deployable underflow weir. Because it floats, tidal waters are not a problem. It is flexible in a number of applications ranging from everyday use to emergency oil spill responses. MYCELX, a non-toxic chemical, instantly adheres to oil, causing it to clump together and become hydrophobic and super-buoyant in water. When infused in a number of different substrates ranging from wood chips to buoyant pads, MYCELX scoops up oil spills efficiently. In addition, it is highly water repellent, cutting down on water adsorption, an expensive problem for traditional absorbent pads. In addition, many used MYCELX-infused products can be safely incinerated and even used for energy due to its high BTU value and low water drag-out.

Environmental Merit -
Reduces generated waste and the costs of disposal. The used product can easily be incinerated saving landfill space and future environmental liability.
Immediate Oil Removal -
The MYCELX products instantly absorb oil and sheen without absorbing water.
Decreased Maintenance Costs -
Any reduction in labour or pays off greatly, changing over to the TerraGuard decreased the changeout frequency from once a day to once every 4 weeks.

PCBs from Water

PCB Electric Utility Application

Background

The utility industry -- seeking to protect the environment while at the same time reducing their risk of fines, costly cleanup efforts and unwanted public scrutiny -- is striving to prevent oil and PCB contamination of soil and water.

For utilities, the problem occurs primarily in manholes and in transformer yards where stormwater is exposed to old transformers and capacitors that have oil or fluids that contain some PCBs. In order to perform maintenance, the stormwater (containing traces of oils, lead and PCBs) must be pumped out of the manholes and retention wells, and treated before it can be discharged to the environment or municipal sewer systems -- an expensive process for any organization.

The Problem

For one utility, this practice -- excluding pumping and transportation of the water to a treatment facility (i.e."ex-situ" treatment) -- costs over 25 cents per gallon. The objective was to develop an in-situ treatment system to address the oil/PCB contaminant concerns.

The Solution

In June 2000, JDT built and began testing the first system. After four months of operation, the system processed 1,300,000 gallons of manhole wastewater at a cost of only 2.8 cents per gallon. The system removed PCBs, oil, grease and other hydrocarbons to BDL (below detectable limits). As an expected bonus, the system also removed the lead and copper from the effluent water.

The Results

Table 1.0 -- Results from treating 1,300,000 gallons of manhole water.

HRM Effluent

Avg. Influent

Max. Influent

PCB1254

ppb

<1.0

3.74

40.0

TPH

ppm

<5.0

367.9

21400

Oil & Grease

ppm

<5.0

17698

141000

Lead Avg.

ppm

0.020

33.0

150.0

Copper

ppm

<0.01

11.6

87.0

Stormwater Treatment

The Dalles Lock and Dam on the Columbia River

Background

In the spring of 2002, the US Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, decided to design a stormwater treatment system to treat turbine oils and other oils and greases that accumulate in their collection system in the base of the dam. The turbine oils come from leaks and maintenance activities on their equipment. The water comes from wash down activities and seepage from the dam. The water, oils and grease are collected in a central sump at the base of the dam.

6. Philadelphia Naval Shipyard

Equipment

Two MX-22 Units

Background

Military/Naval Aircraft Carriers & Battleships are decommissioned dockside at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. On the ships are large volumes of petroleum-impacted water in the bilge & ballast sections. This water must be treated prior to discharge or hauled away for treatment off-site. In this case, the shipyard was treating the water off-site or ex-situ at US$0.25 per gallon, plus transportation and handling.

The Solution

The MYCELX HRM system was installed and removes petroleum and metals from off-loaded/dock-side bilge & ballast water at 220 gpm. The system consists of an automated gravity oil-water separator (OWS), particle filtration, (2) MYCELX MX-22 HRM Cartridge units in series, and a 20,000 gallon hold tank.

Emergency Spill Response

Large Power Producer Responds to Explosion of Transformer with PCBs

Background

Many transformers containing PCBs are still in use today. Some of these transformers are located in close proximity to large and very environmentally sensitive bodies of water. In these situations spill response time and the availability of effective containment and clean up materials is critical.

The Problem

A large transformer at a major power production facility experienced a cross arc. The resulting explosion released 180,000 liters of oil containing 2 ppm PCBs. The spill entered a storm sewer and then a creek that empties into the Great Lakes, only 8 km away. The spill quickly contaminated the creek and shoreline with oil as deep as 3” on the water surface.

The Solution

Two emergency response teams were dispatched to the scene, EMRP/MYCELX and a traditional responder with conventional materials. Hard booms and 8” sock net booms were deployed in the traditional manner. The hard booms were marginally successful at containment, but did not stop sheen. The sock booms proved ineffective in absorbing the large amounts of oil present. When removed and bagged for disposal, the sock booms were very heavy, requiring 2 or 3 people for handling. The plastic disposal bags containing the sock booms ended up half full of water, with very little oil. The use of these booms was discontinued after the first few hours.

At the creek entrance to the lake, MYCELX TerraGuard booms were installed on both sides of the hard booms. This action completely sealed off the creek, preventing even sheen from reaching the lake.