The research project CLEAN – a strong, industry-led association of companies and science – is working on how anaerobic technology can[ds_preview] be tested, developed and established on board cruise ships in an energy-efficient manner.
Engineers of Carnival Maritime and Martin Membran Systems are working together with scientists from the Institute of Urban Water Management and Waste Technology at the University of Hanover and the Innovations- und Bildungszentrum Hohen Luckow to test and apply promising and innovative approaches to establish anaerobic technology on board cruise ships. The Federal Republic of Germany and here the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy support the R&D project with financial support over three years.
The aim of the project is the production of biogas and thus a renewable energy source with simultaneous, environmentally friendly recycling of organic residues. »We hope that the CLEAN research project will provide innovative, sustainable solutions, especially with regard to the generation and use of energy from organic waste on board. At the same time, the remaining quantities to be disposed of are to be significantly reduced again«, says Christoph Schladör, Head of Technical Projects at Carnival Maritime.
Up to now, the focus has been on the environmentally compatible disposal of organic waste. With the new project, organic residues on cruise ships, especially in the form of food waste, flotate and sewage sludge, are now treated for the first time in such a way that they can be used as biogas. »Wastewater treatment and residual material treatment are once again significantly improved«, he emphasizes.
The participating scientific partners perform important preliminary work for the design of the process engineering to be tested. This includes a precise analysis of the organic residues produced on board and, based on this, laboratory and semi-technical investigations of the reactor design.
»The organic substrates on board are very heterogeneous and even new substrates such as the flotates from kitchen waste water pre-treatment are added. Therefore, the experience gained from onshore installations cannot be transferred to the ship system, says Kai Schumüller, who will work on the project at Leibniz Universität Hannover.
The preliminary investigations are followed by a test of the plant technology on board an Aida Cruises ship in order to demonstrate the technical feasibility.
Involved in the project are Carnival Maritime, in coordination with Aida Cruises, the Institute for Urban Water Management and Waste Technology, Leibniz University Hannover, Martin Membrane Systems and the Innovations- und Bildungszentrum Hohen Luckow.
