A review of blasting waste generation and management in the ship repair industry

Abstract

Solid blasting waste generated from coating removal during ship repair and maintenance poses environmental challenges. This paper presents a review of the generation, characterization, and treatment of blasting waste in the ship repair industry. The quantities, properties, and environmental impacts of the generated blasting waste are summarized and analyzed, and the results indicate that blasting waste has a high generation rate and/or high toxicity. As alternatives to landfill, available blasting waste treatment methods include hydrometallurgical leaching, physical/physicochemical separation, thermal treatment, and direct utilization in the production of building materials. The advantages and disadvantages of these treatments are reviewed and compared. The production of building materials from blasting waste is currently attractive owning to its economic benefits and technical simplicity, whereas recycling blasting waste for high-value applications is gradually gaining research interest. The high dependence of the choice and performance of treatment methods on the waste type and characteristics is highlighted. The results emphasize the interest in conducting more research on physiochemical and thermal properties and the environmental effects of blasting waste. This review suggests that future research should focus more on paint waste management because of the restricted application of dry abrasive blasting and the development of nonabrasive blasting methods in the ship repair industry.

Keywords: Abrasive blasting media waste; Hydrometallurgical treatment; Paint waste; Pyrometallurgical treatment; Recycling; Utilization.