What exactly is the Bilgewater inside a ship and what does it consist of?
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Basically water with some deisel fuel, oil and grease, plus any other liquids that collect in the lower parts of the hull.
Water comes from nminor leaks through the hull plate joints as the hull flexes, condensation, spills, rainwater etc. Then there are many parts of machinery that have oily parts, such as propeller shaft bearings, engine lubrication, fuel spillages, and so on, that all can contribute a bit of hydrocarbon to the mix.
That’s condensate of air moisture.
Rivers oder sea are colder than air temperature.
The higher the temperature the more moisture the air can take up.
Additionally heat is transported very fast through the steel of the ship, effectively cooling down the temperature in the body of the ship.
If now moist air is in the ship it cools down and water condensates on all kind of surfaces.
As this includes machinery, bilgewater is contaminated with oil and gas to be filtered.
The bilge is the bottom of the boat. Ships typically get water in the bottom. That water is called bilge water. Depending on the type of ship and era, bilge water may have trash, fuel, Pooh in it.
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