THE USE OF MBR SYSTEMS FOR THE TREATMENT OF REAL SHIPBOARD SLOPS: ANALYSIS OF BIOLOGICAL PERFORMANCE AND BIOMASS BIOKINETIC ACTIVITY

Abstract

In order to prevent hydrocarbon discharge at sea from ships, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) enacted the MARPOL 73/78 convention in which any oil and oil residue discharged in wastewater streams must contain less than 5 ppm hydrocarbons. Effective treatment of this petroleum-contaminated water is essential prior to its release into the environment, in order to prevent pollution problem for marine ecosystems as well as for human health. The present paper reports the first results of a field gathering campaign aimed at gaining insight about the treatment of real shipboard slops with a MBR pilot plant, in terms of pilot performance and biomass biokinetic activity. The achieved results highlighted a very high removal of total organic carbon, with biological removal efficiencies (evaluated inside the bioreactor) almost equal to the total removal efficiency (after the membrane filtration), thus suggesting a satisfactory level of biomass activity, also confirmed by the respirometric batch tests.