Electrochemical Recovery of Hazardous Contaminants in Bilge Wastewater Navy SBIR FY2006.2 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2006.2 Topic No.: N06-102 Topic Title: Electrochemical Recovery of Hazardous Contaminants in Bilge Wastewater Proposal No.: N062-102-0143 Firm: ADA Technologies, Inc. 8100 Shaffer Parkway Suite #130 Littleton, Colorado 80127-4107 Contact: Craig Turchi Phone: (303) 792-5615 Web Site: www.adatech.com Abstract: All marine craft accumulate wastewater in their bilge. Although mostly water, this bilgewater contains multiple types of contaminants, including heavy metals, fuel oils, lubricants, and coolant fluids. Small craft, such as the Marine Corps' new Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, do not have the ability to separate these contaminants from the water and so, when operating in environmentally sensitive areas, this wastewater is held for later treatment. Holding and hauling wastewater creates a severe logistical burden for training and field operations. Electrocoagulation (EC) is a method of electrochemically inducing coagulation of dissolved ions, oils, or suspended solids to create a readily separable phase. EC effectiveness has been demonstrated on heavy metals, fats, oils & grease, coal fines, bacteria, and oily bilgewater. ADA Technologies has developed a cartridge-style EC system that simplifies the use of the technology and is well-suited to small mobile system designs. In the present work, ADA proposes to develop and demonstrate a truck-portable EC system that takes advantage of key EC attributes - simple operation, compact size, and broad applicability - and incorporates a polishing step to remove soluble organic compounds. Such a system will separate the contaminants so the bulk of the collected wastewater can be discharged in the field. Benefits: The EC process can remove oils and dissolved metal ions from diverse wastewaters and can function as either a sole separation step or as a pretreatment to other processes. For mobile operations, EC attributes such as compact size, diverse applicability, and minimal reagent usage become key advantages. ADA's cartridge EC system is specifically designed for small, mobile operations under adverse conditions. A successful project will demonstrate EC's ability to separate a diverse set of contaminants from water, allowing the bulk of the water to be directly discharged. The modular nature of the design makes it readily scalable for different sized applications. Other applications for such a small, portable system include marine dockyards and the pretreatment for drinking water in disaster and emergency relief operations. Return