Membrane Technology

There are many kinds of membrane technology presently available on the market but ultra filtration and ceramic filtration are currently being used on board ships for bilge water treatment. In this section ultra filtration technology will be discussed first followed by ceramic filtration technology.

3.3.1.1 Ultra filtration membrane technology

This is a two-stage system utilizing velocity reduction, differential specific gravity and coalescence, followed by ultra filtration to separate and remove free oil and emulsified oils (Ngueyen, 2001). Ultra filtration uses thin film membranes of engineered fiber with pore sizes ranging from 0.001 micron to 0.01 micron. These membranes create an effective and mechanical barrier to the passage of oil molecules but allow permeates to pass through.

The advantages of these membranes, as explained by Nguyen (2001), are that they repel more oil, absorb more water and are seldom fouled by free oils. In addition, the engineered pore structure creates a surface filter at the outer skin rather than entrapping the oil molecules in the inner part of the pores. This process of filtration facilitates the easy cleaning of the membranes.

The operation, as mentioned before, is carried out in two stages. In the first stage of the system, the oily water mixture is passed through a basket strainer into a conventional coalescent type separator to remove most free oils and solids. The water discharged from the first stage is then pumped into the second stage through a primary bag filter. In the second stage, water is pushed through ultra filtration membranes, which remove the emulsified oils and soluble contaminants. The permeated water thus processed through membranes virtually becomes free from oil, with less than 5-ppm oil content.

Companies like Coffin World Water System in United States and Martex International a/s in Denmark have developed the ultra filtration method. The operational procedure of the Martex Oily-Water Separator as described in their

manual (2001a) is based on the molecular difference of oil and water to purify the emulsion in a membrane filtration unit. The water and oil, received after filtration can be used in boilers and incinerators respectively. The system operates as follows. The oily water mixture is first stored in a storage tank after passing through a pre- filtration unit (see figure 5). It is then drawn by a feed pump and passed to the oily water separator through a heat exchanger. In the separator, free oils and most of the solids are removed but the emulsion passes away to a circulating pump that boosts the emulsion through an automatic filter and a preheater. The automatic filter removes all solid particles of size more than hundred microns and the preheater heat up the emulsion to a temperature of 50 degree centigrade.

Figure 5: Martex Ultra filtration membrane separator

Source: Martex International A/S (2001)

A second booster pump then draws the heated emulsion and passes it through a safety filter of 100 microns to the membrane filter. The membrane purifies the emulsion into pure water and waste oil, using cross flow filtration. The water flows through the membranes and is continuously led out of the system whereas

membranes withhold the oil. The residual emulsion from the membrane is re- circulated through the separator until it breaks down into pure water and oil. Pure water thus received is passed through the heat exchanger and an oil discharge- monitoring unit before discharging to the sea. The company guarantees less than 2- ppm oil in the discharged water after processing.

The advantages claimed for this system are:

• The unit is automatically operated, and is controlled (stop/start function) by a level switch in the waste water/oil tank.

• The membrane filter has a self-cleaning (automatic) circulation process, which back flosses the membrane plates using a soap solution. The unclean water is channeled into the waste water/oil tank while the plates are cleaned.

• It is unaffected by cleaning agents and detergents.

• Cross flow filtration reduces fouling and clogging of the membrane plates.

• Automatic outflow termination when oil content exceeds 2-ppm with the aid of a built in alarm.

• No use of expensive chemicals or any other additives • Low cost operating system

• The separator has no upper limit capacity. The company is presently able to supply separators with a capacity of 3-80 tons/day

3.3.1.2 Ceramic micro filtration membrane technology

This system essentially uses a porous, chemically inert ceramic tube to remove oils, grease and solvents. The pore size of the micro-filtration membrane or the ceramic tube is 0.2 micron whereas the molecular size of the oil molecules is far less than this size (Murton, 2001). This creates a problem in separation. However, this problem has been overcome by maintaining a stable emulsion of oil water mixture prior to the separation. “Solvation of the oil droplets produces a stable emulsion that is large enough to be retained by the micro-filtration membrane” (Murton, 2001, p 26). The stable emulsion that is essential for the effective separation of oil and water can be produced by various methods.

• Pre mixing in the feed tank • Ultrasonic emulsification

• Shear mixing within the membrane system (The shear mixing system is proved to be the most successful method).

The ceramic micro-filtration system operates by feeding the oily water mixture into a feed tank from where free oils are separated out from the top (see figure 6).

Figure 6: Ceramic micro filtration system

Source: Murton, 2001, p 26

Thereafter a re-circulating pump draws the oily water mixture from the bottom of the tank and circulates it through the ceramic filter and back to the feed tank. This process of circulation continues until a stable emulsion of the mixture is achieved.

Figure 7: Principle of Cross-flow filtration

The velocity of the flow of the mixture is carefully controlled in the range of 4 to 6 meters per second to prevent surface polarization and the build up of a fouling layer on the inside of the tube (Murton, 2001). However, the membrane unit is not a single tube but rather comprises of a monolith with several flow channels (see figure 7) (Murton, 2001). The emulsification takes place not only as a result of shear introduced by the re-circulation pump but also by inducing high turbulence adjacent to the membrane surface (Murton, 2001).

As soon as the stable emulsification is achieved or observed, the water is allowed to pass through the membrane with the emulsion being retained in the feed tank and ultimately separated out on a batch or semi-continuous basis (Murton, 2001). However, care should be taken not to overwork the emulsion so that it breaks down. A fine balance is to be maintained between creating an emulsion and overworking it to achieve an efficient separation.

The producing companies of ceramic micro-filtration technology, Alan Cobham Engineering and Biodesign, claims a reduction of oil content in the effluent water as low as 0.5-ppm. In a statement Colin Murton (2001), the business development manager of Alan Cobham Engineering explained: ‘We’ve conducted trials and ended up with much less than the regulatory limit of 15-ppm; we’ve ended up with 0.5-ppm – and that’s with solids and everything, not just bilge water’ (p 25).

The advantages claimed for this system are simple, cost effective and reliable. The system needs a low surface area and has less stringent requirements of cleaning and hence reduction or elimination of the use of chemicals. The cross flow configuration ensures maximum performance and minimum maintenance. The system is of course, fully automated.

However, the efficient separation greatly depends on the ability of the system’s pretreatment stage to produce a stable emulsion, which must be large enough to be retained by the 0.2 micron rating of the micro-filtration membranes (Nguyen, 2001). Another concern is the ability of the fragile ceramic material to withstand the harsh

demands of shipboard operations (Nguyen, 2001). The capacity of this system ranges from 3 to 10 cubic meters per day, that is about 3-10 tons/day.