Objective:

Department of Defense (DoD) facilities annually generate thousands of tons of oily sludge at oily wastewater treatment plants, washracks, fuel depots, forging and industrial operations, and maintenance activities. Since this waste cannot be recycled or burned, it is drummed and landfilled. The current method of land disposal is not environmentally conducive and will become limited and extremely expensive, making on-site treatment the best alternative. The objective of the project is to demonstrate and validate an innovative application of a full-scale bioreactor for on-site treatment of oily waste sludge generated by the DoD. This project will demonstrate that bioreactors can effectively and economically biodegrade oily waste sludge leaving only water and carbon dioxide gas for discharge and biomass for recycling. A bioreactor constructed using commercially available components will be demonstrated at Scranton Army Ammunition Plant.

Technology Description:

Biological treatment of oily sludge degrades the complex hydrocarbons and renders the oily sludge non-toxic. Initial research demonstrated that bacteria already present and adapted to industrial waste streams from a variety of sources degrade hydrocarbons within two weeks to less than 100 parts per million (ppm). The system to be demonstrated consists of a reactor tank fitted with an aeration system, recirculation pump, pH controller, and ultra-filtration (UF) module. The UF module will be used to increase the system's throughput and remove solids from the treated sludge liquor.

Expected Benefits:

The principal benefits of biological processing include destruction of the oily sludge to simple innocuous end products; low residuals from the aerobic biological process; cost-effective processing; and less hazardous operations. Degradation of the oily sludge also eliminates long-term liability associated with landfilled waste. The Navy alone generates in excess of a million pounds per year of oily sludges, and the cost for disposal has escalated sharply as a result of land-ban exclusions. Including all costs (i.e., sludge collection, storage, and disposal), annual costs now exceed $6.5 million per year. Liability for drummed wastes is very high, and if site remediation is required when wastes are inadequately confined, the costs are projected to eight figures at single activities. Average operational cost using the bioreactor described above is $0.08 per pound of oily sludge, which is substantially less than the current disposal cost of $0.30 to $1.20 per pound.
(Anticipated Project Completion - 2006)

Contacts:

Mr. Sonny Maga
Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center
1100 23rd Avenue, Code 421
Port Hueneme, CA 93043
Telephone: (805) 982-1340
Fax: (805) 982-4832
E-mail: magagf@nfesc.navy.mil

Dr. Frederick Goetz
University of California, Santa Barbara
1100 23rd Avenue
Port Hueneme, CA 93043
Telephone: (805) 982-1184
Fax: (805) 982-4832
E-mail: goetzf@nfesc.navy.mil