Dana Ellis, Project Manager for “Environmentally Friendly Hot Cutting Solutions,” assists in the assembly of a fixture which will be used for evaluation of opacity generated by a variety of hot cutting techniques, at partner facility Edison Welding Institute.
Work has begun to develop new methods to reduce emissions during the breakup and recycling of the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Enterprise in 2016. The Enterprise is 89,600 tons full load; 1101 feet long, has a flight deck 252 feet wide, and a 133 foot beam. It is so big it dwarfs the largest drydock in Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, which is the Navy’s only organic site for breaking ships. If current oxy-fuel cutting methods alone are used to break it, environmental issues are certain to prolong the breaking process.
Oxy-Fuel cutting is currently the most commonly used method for large scale metal cutting and preparation operations, e.g. ship breaking. While this method is both cost effective and efficient it also creates large quantities of visible emissions, metal fumes and debris. This has led to compliance issues with air pollution and clean water requirements. Known alternative methods available at this time are nowhere near as efficient.
Test cut using MagneGas- a green natural gas for metal cutting
Safely dismantling and recycling any large ship poses a unique environmental challenge but special care must be taken when working on a nuclear powered vessel.
NCMS has formed a collaborative team to develop a new solution for the US Navy to use on these large ship breaking projects.
