Chapter A 11

Bilge pumping systems and oily water separators

While the regulations may vary slightly with size, type, age, and flag of a ship we can
say the following:
1) On all ships it must be possible to pump any leakage water out of any
watertight compartment, which is not a tank. That means dry cargo and any
other normally dry compartments, including machinery rooms, which are
below the freeboard deck. Systems, which do this, are called bilge pumping
systems.
2) Compartments and decks above the freeboard deck will be drained by
drainage pipe systems leading overboard. These are called scuppers and have
simple non-return valves to prevent water coming up them due to wave action.
These non-return valves are often called storm valves.
3) Bilge systems are designed to deal with relatively minor leakages of clean
water.
4) The size of a bilge main pipe is given by a formula:
Diameter = 25+(1,68(L(B+D)) 0,5
Where L= Ship’s length
B= Ship’s breadth
D= Ship’s depth
The size used is then the nearest standard size to that calculated. The
pipe diameter is in millimeters and the ship dimensions in meters.
5) The capacity of a bilge pump is 0,0057 . main pipe diameter²
6) Main engine rooms have emergency direct bilge suction valves fitted to the
largest pump capable of pumping sea water. (and often also to other pumps)
7) On all ships a special oily bilge water system is fitted to prevent pollution of
the sea by oil when pumping out leakage in machinery rooms or pump rooms.
This is the system normally used for such rooms. The main bilge pumping
system and emergency bilge suctions are only to be used in an emergency and
then only to the minimum needed to avoid serious damage or danger.
8) Ships built after 1998 which can carry hazardous cargos have to have systems
which avoid any toxic type of liquid passing through systems in the engine
room.
9) Small compartments can usually be fitted with independent devices, such as
ejectors or hand pumps, for pumping out leakage.
10) Bilge pumps have to be self priming or with a priming device fitted (see
chapter A01 pumps).
11) It must not be possible to flood one compartment from another through a bilge
system. Therefore all relevant valves in the system have to be non-return
valves.

The above is very relevant. However the following notes deal with requirements
and methods for avoiding pollution of the sea by oil etc.
The international conventions dealing with marine pollution are shown below:

The provisions of MARPOL annex I include the following:

The basic requirements for prevention of pollution of the sea by oil, as shown above,
have not changed since 1978. However the details, of what is approved equipment
and what is not, have changed. Available technology has also improved. The first
oily water separators fitted to ships tended to be very problematic. The monitoring
systems were also problematic. Separators tended to use a combination of gravity
separation and simple filtration. Oil was detected and discharged from the top of the
gravity separation part. The oil detectors tended to be problematic and the separators
required continuous watching by an engineer when they were in use. The discharge
monitors often worked on measurement of transmission of light through the
discharge. Rust, soap or air bubbles tended to give totally false readings. The problem
of accurately measuring the quantity of very different types of oil was not seriously
dealt with until fairly recently.

One major change in rules for approving equipment is given in the maritime
Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) rule referred to as “IMO MEPC
107(49)” The method of testing separators according to this rule is shown below.

There are the following ways that mineral oil and water can exist together:
1) Water dissolved in oil. This is normal and not normally harmful. It is not
visible but how much will be dissolved depends on humidity and temperature.
So water can come out of oil if the temperature changes. This form is not
relevant to this subject.
2) In a mixture literally bits of oil floating in the water. In this form water and oil
are easy to separate
3) In an unstable emulsion. Oil and water are stirred up and form a white sort of
coloured substance. This is more difficult to separate.
 4) In a stable emulsion which looks similar to an unstable emulsion but consists
of very small particles of oil and water mixed together and held together by
ionic attraction. This is very hard to separate.

It is expected that the MARPOL regulations will eventually require separators to give
a water output with less than 5ppm oil content. MEPC 107 (49) requires separators to
break emulsions. It also requires monitors to accurately measure oil content when
different types of oil and emulsions and rust are involved in the process. The above
standard test is used for this. The test fluids are as below:

For these reasons makers of oily water separators and monitoring equipment, have
developed equipment which comes up to MEPC 107(49) standards and which can
give water discharges consistently below 5ppm. This is a big step forward.

One way of breaking stable emulsions involved putting aluminium ions into the
emulsion. This tends to break the ionic attraction between oil and water.

There are several ways used in this modern separator equipment including:
1) A system which can best be described as using an ordinary gravity separator,
with an advanced design of filter after it. This type can use a large quantity of
filter material.
2) To use a centrifugal purifier possibly with a feed of aluminium rich powder
3) To use an ordinary gravity separator containing an extra chamber with special
hydrocarbon eating bacteria in.
4) Flocculent method. Where a chemical is added which forms the oil into large
floating foam like masses.
As may be expected each manufacturer says their system is best and tries to hide what
treatment chemicals they are using by giving them trade names.

The modern monitors normally make use of the fact that more or less all hydrocarbon
oils will make an equal change in wave length of fluorescent light. Light is put into a
sample tube via a light filter so that only one wave length shines in. There is another
filter that blocks this wave length so only the light which has changed wavelength
shines back out and is picked up and measured.

Normal gravity separator with a filter

“Ensolve PetroLiminator” system