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Emulsified Bilgewater Treatment

Award Information
Agency: Department of Defense
Branch: Navy
Contract: N00024-04-C-4119
Agency Tracking Number: N032-0298
Amount: $99,947.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: N03-206
Solicitation Number: 2003.2
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2003
Award Year: 2004
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2003-12-01
Award End Date (Contract End Date): 2004-05-29
Small Business Information
8100 Shaffer Parkway, Suite #130
Littleton, CO 80127
United States
DUNS: 148034408
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 Craig Turchi
 Senior Research Engineer
 (303) 792-5615
 craig.turchi@adatech.com
Business Contact
 Clifton Brown,
Title: President
Phone: (303) 792-5615
Email: cliff.brown@adatech.com
Research Institution
N/A
Abstract

In a ship's bilge, water mixes with oils, cleaners, and other contaminants to form a complex wastewater that can be harmful to the marine environment. Naval vessels carry oil/water separators (OWS) to prevent discharging oily wastes overboard. These OWS systems can remove oil from water; however, serious problems arise when other contaminants, e.g. detergents, are present. These ingredients cause the oily water to form an emulsion, which fouls the OWS and prevents its proper operation. Thus, the Navy is seeking improved methods of separating oils from emulsified bilgewater. Acceptable techniques must be compact, automated, and effective on a wide range of waste compositions. 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, and bacteria. Shore-based systems have successfully treated oily bilgewater. The industrial use of the EC process has been limited due to its inability to effectively compete with land-intensive chemical-coagulation processes. ADA proposes to develop and demonstrate a shipboard EC system that will take advantage of key EC attributes - simple operation, compact size, and broad applicability - to enable this technology for marine applications.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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