Sludges containing oil and water gradually build up on any relatively large ship, presenting operators with a considerable problem. The options previously available, of incinerating the sludge on board or disposing of it on land, involved considerable expense.

 

GEA Westfalia Separator has found a convincing solution in the SludgeMaster system. Dewatering and recovering the oil from the sludge cuts its volume by up to 95 percent. This also drastically reduces disposal costs.

 

Sludges containing oil and water are created by a variety of factors, including sedimentation of solids in sedimentation tanks, tank dewatering processes, leaks or cleaning cycles in backflush filters and separators for treating fuel oil and lube oil. The trend towards combusting high density fuel oils of higher viscosity, as well as the use of residues as a fuel for medium-speed diesel engines, also increase the proportion of sludge, from both fuel oil and lube oil.

 

It used to be customary either to incinerate this sludge on board or to dispose of it on shore. Incineration is an expensive process because the sludge has to be dewatered by evaporators and then mixed with precious diesel oil to generate a combustible fuel. Disposal on land is also associated with considerable costs, as the sludge has to be transported to a waste disposal site which in turn has to be paid for.

 

GEA Westfalia Separator has solved this issue with the SludgeMaster system. The specially developed separator in this system uses dewatering and oil recovery processes to reduce the volume of sludge produced by up to 95 percent. Subsequent disposal costs are then also cut by this factor. At the same time, valuable fuel oil is recovered, the bilgewater system is freed from oil residues and this also contributes to protecting the maritime ecosystem.