Marine wastewater treatment

A method for treating marine wastewater, the method comprising:

• pumping a wastewater slurry into a wastewater collection tank, the slurry comprising suspended solid particles, organic and inorganic matter, bacteria and entrained gases;
• automatically commencing routing the slurry by a macerator pump for maceration in response to a wastewater level sensor detecting a pre-determined upper threshold level of the slurry in the wastewater collection tank;
• diverting a stream of macerated slurry back to the wastewater collection tank and piping a remaining portion of the macerated slurry to an electrolytic cell;
• continually mixing, using a mixing pump, the macerated slurry stream with the slurry in the wastewater collection tank to maintain a homogeneous blend;
• oxidizing and disinfecting the remaining macerated slurry in the electrolytic cell using a controlled volume of seawater, the electrolysis further producing one or more gases;
• adding a defoaming agent to the oxidized and disinfected slurry prior to piping it to an electrocoagulation cell;
• facilitating, in the electrocoagulation cell, flocculation of the solid particles suspended in the oxidized and disinfected slurry;
• periodically subjecting the electrocoagulation cell to an automated combined air and water purge, the purge flushing particulate contaminants accumulated on one or more electrodes in the electrocoagulation cell;
• facilitating degasification of residual or entrained gases, utilizing a falling film technology, by piping the flocculated slurry and the particulate contaminants to a degasification chamber;
• transferring the degasified flocculated slurry and the particulate contaminants to a primary settling tank having sloped sidewalls for separation of a floc-containing sludge and a substantially clarified supernatant;
• piping the substantially clarified supernatant to a secondary clarifying tank having sloped sidewalls to facilitate further separation of the sludge and the substantially clarified supernatant;
• withdrawing the sludge through basal ports on the settling and clarifying tanks;
• continually measuring turbidity levels of the withdrawn sludge, the sludge withdrawal automatically halted on the condition that the turbidity level measurement equals a pre-determined value;
• and
• discharging the substantially clarified supernatant from the clarifying tank as a treated effluent, wherein one or more chemicals are injected in the effluent prior to discharge to neutralize residual chlorine.