International
Large ocean-going ship lo burn wastes at sea Matthias HI pulled away from its moorings at Rendsburg, West Germany, last week and sailed down the Kiel Canal to Brunsbuttel on the Elbe Estuary. During the coming months it will undergo a series of trials before joining its two sister incinerator ships in regular service. Its launching marks a further evolution in the technology of burning waste chemicals at sea. Several features distinguish Matthias HI from either of its two predecessors. It is the largest ship of the fleet and is equipped with special facilities for incinerating both liquid and solid wastes simultaneously. Moreover, the burning operation will take place while the vessel is plying between ports of call. In a typical service run, it will pick up wastes from northern European ports, such as Antwerp and Liverpool, and set out across the Atlantic, burning as it goes. By the time it reaches the U.S. East Coast, it will be ready to take a new load on board. From there it will sail to Galveston or Houston, timing its arrival for the pickup of yet another cargo of waste. Then it will travel eastward to Marseilles, Genoa, or some other Mediterranean port, where it will take on a further batch of wastes before returning to Rotterdam or Antwerp to begin the cycle. There is a growing need for a ship with the capabilities of Matthias HI. Tightening environmental laws are making it increasingly difficult for companies to dispose of chlorinated hydrocarbons and other wastes from their chemical operations. "Several European firms tell us that they have 30,000 metric tons of solid chemical waste that they need to get rid of each year," notes Dietrich Sobinger, a director of West Germany's Stahl & Blech Bau GmbH, which is headquartered near Essen. Sobinger has been largely responsible for developing the incineration technique. Sobinger set about designing an incin-
erator that could be mounted on a vessel. This led to the launching in 1968 of the Matthias I, named after Sobinger's young son. The ship, which was essentially an experimental unit, is capable of burning some 500 metric tons of liquid waste chemicals at a time. The success of Matthias I led to the fitting out of a second vessel with a disposal capability of 1000 metric tons. Meanwhile, West Germany's Hansa Lines shipping company took note of the development and decided to enter the arena with a ship of its own, the Vulcanus, owned by Ocean Combustion Services, a Dutch subsidiary of Hansa. Vulcanus already has conducted trial burnings in the Gulf of Mexico using wastes supplied by Shell Chemical (C&EN, Nov. 18, 1974, page 43). Sobinger and his associates quickly recognized that the market was bigger than they had thought originally. Larger ships were needed which could burn solid as well as liquid wastes. But this, in turn, entailed the need for additional investment capital. At this point, Meneba joined forces with SBB and set up Pollutex Milieutechniek headquartered in Rijswijk, near The Hague. Meneba is the contraction of Meel Netherlands Bakum, a large Dutch flour and bread-making concern. The connection with Meneba isn't as unusual as it may at first appear, comments Capt. J. F. Luns, Pollutex marketing manager. Apart from having the necessary capital, the company obviously has experience with oven designs, he notes. Unlike Matthias I and 77 and Vulcanus, which remain in a specific location at sea during burning operations, Matthias III is an ocean-going vessel. In addition to being capable of disposing of 15,000 metric tons of liquid chemical wastes, it can burn up to 1500 metric tons of solid wastes during a voyage. The incinerator is mounted on the stern of the ship so that
Luns (left) and Sobinger discuss plans for Matthias III incinerator ship
fumes from it are carried away from the vessel as it travels. Matthias III is a modified tanker of 19,300 deadweight tons. Tanks on either side are used for seawater ballasts. Liquid waste is carried in nine inner tanks well away from the hull to eliminate the danger of ocean pollution in the event of a collision. Barrels of solid waste are carried as deck cargo. As soon as the ship is well out to sea, the liquid wastes are pumped to the incinerator. Around the base of the furnace are 20 specially designed twin burners capable of burning fuel oil and waste matter in one flame. At the start of the operation, the furnace is heated to about 1200° C with fuel oil. Then waste is fed gradually into the fuel oil flame through an inner burner tube. As the burning progresses, the fuel oil is throttled back gradually and eventually shut off. Incineration is maintained at about 1400° C. Should the temperature within the furnace drop below 1200° C, the supply of waste automatically shuts off and an alarm sounds. There are similar safeguards if the temperature rises above 1550° C. Solid waste, which is burned simultaneously, enters the base of the furnace on a rotating turntable. After incineration, the resulting molten slag is tipped into receptacles underneath. Depending on its composition, a block of solidified slag can be discharged at sea or unloaded at the next port of call. Customers pay about $45 per metric ton of waste that burns. The cost varies according to such factors as the specific nature of the waste and its calorific value. Already a number of Pollutex representatives are collecting waste at various European locations. In the U.K., for instance, T. R. International Chemicals has a service that coordinates collection and storage of wastes at central terminals where it also analyzes the material. Great care is taken to conduct the operation within the regulations set out by the United Nations Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization. In addition, the makeup of the waste itself is considered before being accepted for burning. Pollutex has set an upper limit on the carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and chlorine content of the material and evaluates the compatibility of wastes from one source with that from another. Materials containing high levels of sulfur and nitrogen are subject to control, and wastes containing more than 2 ppm of such toxic metals as cadmium and mercury aren't accepted. Dermot A. O'Sullivan, C&EN London
