Patent ID: 8668832

Claim:
A method for treating wastewater using an apparatus positioned onboard a marine vessel, the method comprising: introducing a pre-determined volume of wastewater into the apparatus, the apparatus comprising: an electrolytic cell, one or more oxidation chambers, one or more dehalogenation chambers and an integral flow meter; providing a seawater-rich environment by routing and mixing a pre-determined volume of seawater with the wastewater, wherein a ratio of the seawater to the wastewater in the seawater and wastewater mixture is at least 20:1; oxidizing and disinfecting the seawater and wastewater mixture by treating it through the electrolytic cell; subjecting the oxidized and disinfected mixture to further oxidation within the one or more oxidation chambers until the oxidized and disinfected mixture is substantially fully oxidized; introducing a pre-measured quantity of a reducing agent into the substantially fully oxidized mixture and routing the substantially fully oxidized mixture comprising the reducing agent to the one or more dehalogenation chambers; providing a serpentine flow path within the one or more dehalogenation chambers, wherein the serpentine flow path ensures that the reducing agent is contacted with the substantially fully oxidized mixture for a time period sufficient to treat and neutralize residual oxidants, and controlling, with the flow meter, a volumetric flow rate of a treated effluent exiting the one or more dehalogenation chambers, wherein the wastewater includes sewage, black water, gray water and combinations thereof, and wherein the wastewater is collected and treated in an automated continuous batch operation until substantially all the wastewater in the marine vessel has been treated.