Blackwater and Graywater on US navy ships: Technical challenges and solutions

In anticipation of more stringent environmental regulations, the increasing costs of waste disposal, and the need for naval combatants to operate unim peded in littoral waters, the U.S. Navy has identified the need to develop technologies which are appropriate for the control and treatment of blackwa ter and graywater. This paper will describe the status of development effor ts by the Carderock Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center (CDNSWC) and its supporting contractors, under sponsorship of Naval Sea Systems Command (NA VSEA) and the Office of Naval Research. The challenge was to develop treatm ent systems that meet Navy shipboard requirements for affordability, compac tness, low manning/maintenance, high reliability and safety, and EM, noise, vibration and shock. Membrane ultrafiltration based systems, incorporating aerobic biological pre-treatment and ultraviolet light post treatment disi nfection, have ken developed to meet these requirements. Both external and in-tank membrane systems will be described in terms of performance, system operation and space and weight advantages.