A Cluster-Based Technique for Identifying and Grouping Oily Waste Types Generated From Marine Oil Spill Response Operations

Abstract

In the event of a marine oil spill and its subsequent response operations, different types of oily wastes are generated in large quantities, and their management is a significant challenge that oil spill responders face. The goal of this study is to develop a comprehensive pattern recognition modeling framework for deriving and grouping a set of unique clusters that separate different types of oily wastes from each other. The main idea is to group oily wastes based on their unique characteristics, such as the percentage of oil, percentage of water, percentage of mineral matter, and percentage of organic matter. Each cluster has a relatively homogeneous pattern of pollution characteristics. Prior to implementing the cluster analysis technique, it is important to evaluate and transform the raw oily waste data using well-defined criteria. An advanced machine learning technique, fuzzy C-means clustering algorithm, is employed to classify the oily wastes. The Kolmogorov–Smirnov tests are employed to examine the statistical significance of clustered data. Results show a heterogeneous diversity in seven identified clusters in relation to different types of oily wastes. The cluster-based analysis method presented in this article is an integral part of an integrated optimization-based model which will provide valuable inputs for adjustment of the existing management practices, enhancement of short-term pollution control strategies, and development of long-term oily waste management policies. The output of this study would provide a better tool to waste characterization and sorting steps that are required to immediately separate recovered waste to support downstream response efforts. This result of this study also supports the overall goal of minimizing impact on the environment by ensuring the maximum amount of recovered waste can be recycled or disposed in an environmentally friendly fashion. Moreover, properly classified, sorted, and labeled waste will greatly help with downstream steps of packaging, transportation, and tracking of waste, and as a result, it will minimize total waste management time and costs, under the constraints involving waste storage and transport capacities, waste pre-treatment and treatment facility capacities, and environmental regulatory compliance, as well as other operational and logistic constraints.