Ship wastewater-
treatment
To keep the seas clean, cruise ships treat their wastewater in the Baltic Sea themselves on board in compliance with strict limits or discharge it completely in harbours. Demand is for discharge quantities of 200 cubic metres/hour per ship. By comparison, a swimming pool 25 metres long holds around 900 cubic metres of water. Together with our partner Unitechnics, we carried out extensive tests to research the best treatment process for the wastewater treatment of cruise ships and thus created a new standard. In addition to the volume of wastewater and the adaptation to the pH value of the municipal wastewater system, another important requirement was odour-neutral discharge, both at the terminal and on the way to the sewage treatment plant.
As part of our BLUE PORT concept, we are thus making an important contribution to protecting the sea and, by operating one of the most modern reception facility for ship wastewater on the German coast, have already been fulfilling the requirements that came into force in 2021 since 2017.
And this is how it works
Several hundred metres of pressure resistant pipes with eight junction points, have been laid parallel to the ship berths. The pipes flow into storage containers, located north of the terminal, which are fitted with wastewater analytical and treatment technology. By using compressed air and adding ozone the water is aerated in big pipes. The generated exhaust air which has been cleaned and filtered from hydrosulphide is eventually so pure and odourless that it can be discharged through a chimney. The treated ship wastewater is finally pumped into compressed air pipes newly laid below the adjacent street and leading to the municipal delivery point. From there it is fed to the city sewage plant in Bülk and cleaned. Now, 300 cubic metre of wastewater can be disposed of per hour at the Ostseekai.
The facility of about 1.8 million Euro serves as an example and was subsidised by the State of Schleswig-Holstein. Read more ...
Nice to know: The wastewater treatment facility at Kiel’s Ostseekai has been nominated by the Baltic Ports Organization (BPO) for the Baltic Sea Award 2018.