Category: WASTEWATER TREATMENT

Wastewater treatment is the process of involving chemical, physical and biological components to remove contaminants from the water. This is significantly used for industrial as well as domestic consumption. Wastewater treatment has a big impact on the modern-day civilization as it helps to thrive. In this blog, we will focus on wastewater treatment for industries and how it benefits them.

Industries dispose of a huge amount of wastewater every day and thus it needs a constant solution for the wastewater treatment system.

The process of treatment

Usually, industrial wastewater treatment goes through different stages of purification. The first step of purification is ensuring good and clean water. This is done by using huge filtering screens that eliminate solid inorganic substances such as plastic, metal, paper, etc. This step is followed by the elimination of silt and grit present in the water. These can prove to be quite abrasive for the industrial plant equipment. During these steps of purification, the wastewater flows through a sedimentation tank that removes the organic solid particles with the help of gravity when they settle down at the tank bottom. This settled sludge is collected at the centre of the tank from where it is pumped out of the water.

After this preliminary process, the water goes to different biological and chemical treatments to become completely purified and useable. The biological and chemical treatment ensures the removal of any bacteria or pollutants. Industrial water purification systems go through a complex and elaborate process to make the water reusable for the industry. This helps in reducing the wastage of water, which is very significant in today’s world.

Industries that require wastewater treatment

While almost all industries require water treatment to reuse water, here are some of the most important industries that hugely require reusable water.

• Breweries
• Dairy industries
• Iron and steel industries
• Food Processing industries
• Mining industries

What are the benefits?

Wastewater treatment comes with several benefits for industries. The three major benefits include:

• • Energy production – The sludge that comes out of the wastewater contains a huge amount of biodegradable substances. These biodegradable are treated in an enclosed digester of 35 degrees C with anaerobic bacteria. This leads to the process of producing a huge amount of methane gas that can generate electricity for industrial use.
  • Waste reduction – The industrial water filtration systems help in saving water by using the released waste in the improvement of the ecology and environment. This, in turn, enables the government to bring down the number of health risks that are caused by pollution of the environment.

• Production of fertilizers – wastewater treatment also helps in producing fertilizers by drying up the biodegradable substances in the drying lagoons which eventually turns into natural fertilizers. 

Conclusion

Treatment of wastewater not only helps in reusing the same water but also keeps the balance in the ecological system. This is very important for mankind to survive. With the water levels dwindling, it becomes even more significant to save water and reuse wastewater as much as we can. New technologies are developing to make the water treatment process easier and faster.

Water is one of the most vital elements of this nature meant for every living being. Without water, it is impossible to live even a day. But the main problem is that the water is getting contaminated every day and the situation can be alarming. The contaminated water is also contaminating the air and the soil and this way the entire ecological system is becoming unstable. If the water is not properly treated on time, then it will destroy the world of the living creatures. Thus, the industrial water treatment systems are necessary for preventing different types of fouling system from occurring. In case water is left untreated for a prolonged time, then this can damage the expensive industrial equipment ranges leading to excessive maintenance costs and unforeseen repairs.

Use of industrial water treatment:

The industrial water treatment system is mainly used for pre-treating and optimizing source water while keeping an eye toward improving process performance and production efficiency for a specific application. The common examples include processing or producing water, pre-treating boiler feed/cooling tower water, and/or water for drinking.

The comprehensive system of industrial water filtration is helpful in removing the minerals and solids from cooling tower water, boiler feed-water, pump water, process water, discharge water accountable for causing corrosion and damage. When left untreated, minerals and sediment in the source water can corrode piping, decrease heat efficiency, score bearings and shafts, and foul boilers.

Now let’s have a look at the ways how industrial water treatment systems make water healthy:

1. Screening: Source water, either from industrial or natural source usually passes through a screen in the first stage of the industrial filtration system. This stage is necessary as this keeps out the large materials of the water system that can clog or can disrupt the water purification method otherwise.
2. Flocculation/Coagulation: This is the second step of industrial water treatment where chemicals are added to the water to treat it further. This results in the formation of sticky yet small particles known as floc. This floc attracts larger particles. This results in larger particles either to rise on the top to be skimmed off or to the sink to the bottom area of the floc tanks for removing conveyor.
3. Filtration: This is the next important part of the water purification system offered by every industrial water treatment plant. Here the water is pumped through different types of filters while leaving behind the accumulated floc in the filtration media. These filters are made of sand, crushed black walnut shell, cloth or carbon. And these filters trap and remove more particulate while the water passes through these.

Disinfection: Therefore, the filtered water is pumped into a closed tank where the disinfectant chemical like chlorine is used to destroy all the microorganisms or bacteria that have survived the process of filtration. Other technologies of disinfection include RO or Reverse Osmosis, UV or purification with Ultraviolet Light, or Ultra-filtration or filtration with filters with pores of 0.2 microns or less than that.

We constantly use water in our daily activities. Have you ever imagined what will happen if we run out of water in the near future? Water scarcity is not a distant issue anymore. Half the people around the world have already woken up realizing the importance of water conservation and the trend in awareness is constantly increasing exponentially.

Wastewater is the water that is being used for domestic, industrial, agricultural and even medical purposes. Among them, industries consume water in large quantities and thus require a proper industrial wastewater treatment strategy. Treatment of wastewater includes various stages after which the water is deemed to be safe and thus returned to the environment. Wastewater treatment plant typically consists of primary, secondary and tertiary stages which remove solids, chemicals and bacteria at each stage. Wastewater treatment plants are gaining attention not only due to the awareness of water conservation but also due to the many benefits the plant possesses.

Wastewater treatment plant – An asset to create a brighter tomorrow

Firstly wastewater treatment plants provide clean and quality water for irrigation purposes from wastewater that is being released from domestic buildings, industries and agricultural sectors. It is believed that a litre of wastewater pollutes 8 litres of unpolluted water. Therefore converting litres of wastewater per day to usable water is the prime advantage of using wastewater treatment plant. The industrial water treatment systems are long-lasting solutions whose efficiency and stability are consistent with time. It requires very low maintenance, and the cleaning of the plant is pretty simple. The industrial water filtration systems used in the plant require regular cleaning of the membrane filters which may get clogged up over time.

The wastewater treatment plant prevents the outbreak of water-borne diseases by filtering the contaminants and microorganisms from entering into the water sources. There are several water treatment companies that manufacture such wastewater treatment plants with advanced technology and better sophistication. Most of the modern wastewater treatment plants are available at affordable rates and have low operating costs. They produce a minimal odour when compared to the earlier systems and are noiseless. They can be installed easily even in compact sites as the whole setup is compact. They are cost-effective, environment-friendly and have high durability.  Most of the industries having a wastewater treatment plant ensure that the treated water is used for their various other purposes such as water cooling systems and water for irrigating ornamental plants surrounding the industry.

Summary

A large amount of biodegradable waste that is collected in the process of wastewater treatment can be used to produce methane, which in turn can be used as a source of electricity. The methane gas produced can be used to power the treatment plant itself. Also, biodegradable waste can be used as a natural fertilizer for agriculture. Therefore the wastewater treatment plant is a boon to our generation in order to conserve water and help in the peaceful living of the following generations to come.

Water treatment is becoming increasingly important in recent times due to the cumulative demand on this limited resource and pollution constraints rising out of expulsion from untreated/moderately treated wastes. They majorly aim to remove the pollutants from wastewater and to save our natural water resources by destroying pathogenic organism which are the leading causes of many water-borne diseases such as typhoid fever, cholera and Hepatitis A or E.

In order to accomplish a great significance in this arena, the research and development team are putting their utmost efforts in improving the conventional system. This has resulted in many improvised and modernized technologies and industrial water treatment systems are among them.

What is the objective of a water treatment operation?

The ultimate goal of water treatment is to produce water fit for specific purposes. There are 5 main stages involved in the treatment of wastewater into drinking water. They are

• Chemical Coagulation
• Flocculation
• Sedimentation
• Filtration
• Disinfection

But what are the objectives of industrial water treatment? The objectives of this study are

1. To review the present scenario of biotechnologies for water treatment in the world and the country.
2. Ultimately harvest water that can be recycled for various purposes or organized of in a more environmental and healthier way.
3. Eliminate pollutants and other pathogenic organisms that are contaminating the water.
4. Suggesting suitable plans and identifying reliable and professional services to take care of the implementation of the water treatment strategy.

Biotechnology is generally used in many other industrial areas. Gone were those days when they were used only for the study of cells and organisms, with the advancement and development in the health care industry, many clinical approaches were made in making the water treatment strategy successful.

Biotechnology is transforming the industry

Essential biotechnological methods for sewage or wastewater treatment include

Activated sludge – This method uses aeration and a biological floc composed of bacteria and protozoa to remove the contaminants present in the sewage water. These microbes feed on the organic material, forming flocks which can easily settle out.

Oxidation ponds – They treat wastewater through the interaction of sunlight, bacteria, and algae. This is used worldwide and is becoming increasingly popular in developing countries.

Trickling filters– It is an aerobic technique in which the organic matter is removed from the wastewater with their biological filters

Biofilters– It is a popular water treatment technology in which the biofilters use microorganisms to remove air pollution. They can remove organic pollutants from the air, water, and wastewater and make the water clean.

There are also other sophisticated techniques for industrial water treatment plant such as reverse osmosis and ultra-filtration including membrane technology and surface water pollution. Apparently, each and every methodology in biotechnology aims in reducing water pollution without harming natural resources or water bodies.

Although Earth has a large water surface yet 97% of water is salt water, 2% is frozen and only one per cent of water is available as fresh water for the humans to drink. So numerous researches are carried out to convert the salt water (seawater) to freshwater. Most of the process haven’t produced significant results, however, Water Desalination is a technology which includes several processes that remove salt and other minerals from seawater to produce freshwater and is proven to be successful.

Most experts consider desalination can turn out to be a good option for solving the water crisis. As our global water crisis continues to worsen, we are hearing more and more about the use of desalination as a feasible basis of drinking water. But what is desalination?

Desalination – A Complete Overview

Water desalination plant disperse dissolved salts and other minerals from water. In a nutshell, it is a process of turning salty ocean water into drinking water. It is being used more and more around the world to provide people with needed fresh drinkable water. In many areas when there is a scarcity for fresh water and sea water available in plenty, desalination is used to provide potable water for household, production and farming.

Although it is an expensive affair since it requires lots of energy and the water obtained from water desalination systems costs twice the amount of water from freshwater sources. However, in the desert regions like Qatar, there is no fresh water and people in order to make their living often rely on this kind of technology.

How Does Desalination work?

Desalination processes involve multi-stage flash distillation (a process that distils sea water by flashing a portion of the water into steam in multiple stages using countercurrent heat exchangers). There are three methods of desalination

• The thermal desalination-This process uses energy to evaporate water and then condense it again. It works depending on the availability of energy. When there is an adequate amount of electricity, thermal desalination is regarded as the most viable option
• Electric desalination- It is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. To achieve desalination, the water desalination companies apply a small electric current to a plastic chip containing microchannel filled with seawater. This chip works by transmitting salts in one direction and desalinated water into another branch.
• Pressure desalination- This process is typically used in reverse osmosis wherein the saline solution is separated from the dissolved salts flowing through the permeable membrane.  The pressure range varies between brackish water and seawater depending on the intensity of salt content present in the water.

Desalination has numerous advantages, and some of their significant benefits are: to make water available in those areas that have limited resources of fresh water and often regarded as the alternate source to water.

Desalination can be defined as a process where salt water is converted into drinking water. In this procedure, the salt and other semi-solid materials present in the fluid is effectively removed. The process is generally conducted upon seawater or brackish water. In the financial year of 2002, more than 12,500 desalination plants supplied a total of 14 million cubic meters of fresh drinking water per day in 120 countries. It is estimated that the worldwide plant capacity for desalination and water treatment has doubled by the end of 2015.

•    Benefits

1. Access to Drinking Water

Water desalination plants in a particular location where there is a shortage of natural drinking water can provide drinking water. Some islands present in the Caribbean, avail most of their drinking with the help of these desalination plants. Through this process, countries such as Saudi Arabia receive 70% of its fresh water. The process can be used to harvest water during the time of any drought even in countries where fresh water is abundant. For example, the United States is using 6.5% of the world’s desalinated water supply.

2. Quality and Habitat Protection

Water desalinized generally meets or exceeds water quality standards. Water desalination plants can also reduce the pressure on supplies of fresh water from areas that need to be protected. These important freshwater bodies can be preserved by treating ocean water instead of removing it from sources that may also be habitats for endangered species.

3. It would preserve current freshwater supplies.

Since the supply of freshwater to the planet is somewhat limited, it makes sense to preserve it as much as practically possible. It would secure more resources to be used where conservation efforts are presently being put in place, as water scarcity is currently on the hike.

•    Downsides

1. High Cost of Operation

Construction and operation of desalination companies are costly. Establishing a plant can cost millions of dollars, depending on its location. Sometimes the figure may also reach the high billions. So it is safe to say that the planning and construction of a Desalination plant is comparatively an expensive procedure. Once operational, large amounts of energy are required by plants. Energy costs represent only half of the desalinated water production costs. As energy comprises such a significant part of the total cost, changes in energy prices also significantly affect the cost.

2. Environmental Impact

Another disadvantage for desalination of seawater for drinking is that the plants cause an ecological impact. A significant problem is the residue salt after its removal from the water. Also, the process in itself extracts a lot of harmful chemicals that can be injurious in high concentrations, including, carbon dioxide, chlorine, hydrochloric acid.

3. It might risk producing contaminated water.

Although Desalinization can produce high – quality water, it can also introduce biological or chemical contaminants into the water supply. It will have an impact on the location and design of the plants, which should be heavily monitored by the local government to ensure safety.

Tap water contains various undesirable chemicals, biological contaminants, different types of suspended solids and gases. Different kinds of industrial water purification systems are used to purify and disinfect water for human consumption and other purposes that might include medical, pharmacological or chemical use.

Thousands of people die every year because of consuming contaminated water or from waterborne diseases. As of 2014, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), this number stands at 842,000 deaths per year from waterborne diseases. Billions of people still lack access to clean drinking water. Simple techniques for purifying water at home can reduce water-related health risks and save lives every year. Techniques like, boiling water before drinking might help a little but it is not as effective as industrial water treatment. WHO and national governments have been trying to reduce death from waterborne disease in developing countries, setting it as one of the major goals in the public health sector.

Purification of water

Purification of water before consumption is extremely important to avoid serious health issues. Even though industrial water filtration systems use different methods to separate any particle that could cause health issues to purify the water, still installing a water purification system in households is a good idea to avoid any health risks.

Few of the benefits of installing a water purification system at home include:

• Enhanced taste of the water: Water purifiers remove the taste and smell of the chlorine from water. Installing a whole house water purification system filters out unsafe chlorine, bacteria and other chemicals that are added in a small amount in water supplies to kill the bacteria. The strong odour of chlorine makes water impossible to drink and use in cleaning purposes as it leaves a lasting smell. Using a water purifier is recommended to get odourless water.
• Removing lead from water: Some filters are designed to filter out the harmful lead that leads to various health issues including birth defects. Not only lead, but unfiltered water also contains other minerals such as copper and magnesium too, making it unsuitable for drinking. Installing a water purifier is the best way to get rid of these minerals.
• Environment-friendly: Having a water purification system at home means you don’t have to buy water bottles. It is a one-time cost to install a system at home, and it will forever cut down the cost and use of plastic by getting rid of buying bottled water. In the US itself, 50 billion plastic bottles are bought every year, of which only 23 per cent gets recycled, the remaining plastics are dumped into landfills. It takes hundreds of years for plastic to disintegrate. So installing a water purifying system saves the environment from plastic.

While talking about installing water purification system, most people might think that installing a filtration system in the kitchen might be enough to get purified water, they often forget about hard water that is being used in cleaning and washing of clothes, bathing. Prolong use of hard water can causes damages to skin and clothes, leaving skin dry and leaving soap residue from the detergent on clothes. Industrial water purification system is not enough to get clean water at homes. It is not as effective as it would be with installing a home water purification system, which has become a necessity.

The seawater desalination process is employed to convert seawater into fresh water. Notably, seawater desalination is definitely not carried out in a single step. It is a time-consuming process involving multiple steps. Today, we will take a look at the various steps involved in seawater desalination.

Sea Water is delivered to the desalination system after pre-treatment

The very first step involves the delivery of the seawater or the raw water to the desalination plant through the intake pump. The raw water is duly pre-treated before it is delivered to the seawater desalination system. The pre-treatment is necessary to ensure that the water is rendered free of impurities.

There are innumerable suspended solids, clays, bacteria and dissolved organic matters that are susceptible to the RO or reverse osmosis membranes. Pre-treatment remains an important method with the help of which the fouling of the RO membrane is prevented. Activated filter, multi-media filter, and security filters are the three main types of pre-filters generally used.

Reverse Osmosis

The Reverse Osmosis or the RO system makes use of the semi-permeable membrane to eliminate the following materials from the feed water in order to produce completely desalinated fresh water. The semi-permeable membrane is responsible for separating the salt solution and water. It is the osmotic pressure which separates the water from the salt solution. Reverse osmosis takes place if the water permeates in the opposite direction owing to the application of pressure higher than osmotic pressure on the salt solution. The RO permeate is purified – thereby ensuring that around 98% of TDS is removed from feed water.

Energy Recovery and Reduction of Energy Costs

Then comes the stage when the energy recovery system is deployed to reduce energy consumption. Lower energy consumption leads to lower energy costs as well. the energy consumption can be reduced by reusing and recycling the pressure energy obtained from the RO system . ERD or Energy Recovery Device is a popular device employed while operating any seawater reverse osmosis desalination products. What exactly are the next steps involved in seawater desalination? We will find that out right here!

Chemical Cleaning required eliminating pollutants

After the work of the Energy Recovery System is done – comes the turn of the Chemical Dosing System. It remains an integral part of the seawater desalination system. Pretreatment of the water involves the coagulant and bactericide dosing, pH adjustment dosing (administered before the 2^nd RO system) and antiscalant dosing administered before the 1^st level RO. It is very important for companies offering desalination services to select well-designed dosing devices meant for easy operation.

Irrespective of how good the pre-treatment device is, the surface of the membrane will always be susceptible to some types of pollutants. In the long run, these pollutants end up hindering performance and raising the difference in pressure between the inlet and outlet. So chemical cleaning is necessary to eliminate dirt from the surface of the RO membrane. The comprehensive cleaning device consists of a cleaning pump, cleaning tank, and the filter.

Wastewater treating plants help in keeping the water supply high by making the wastewater reusable. Both, industrial organizations and governments require the help of such companies to make the water clean. The following points will help you in understanding this topic:

What is a Wastewater Treatment Plant?

A wastewater treatment plant is a place where wastewater is treated to get rid of the various impurities and thus, make it reusable. It lets the wastewater return back to the water cycle. This water, which comes out as the product of such as plant can be used for a number of different purposes. A water treatment plant is also known as WRRF or Water Resource Recovery Facility. Some refer to these plants as sewage treatment plants as well.

The wastewater contains numerous substances. It comprises of stormwater, which is the result of rain or any drainage that occurs on roads or buildings. It also contains industrial waste as well as domestic waste. Due to such a large variety of different wasteful substances, it becomes essential for a water treatment plant to employ various methods for sanitization.
Water treatment companies usually operate these plants. Water treatment companies help corporations and governments in setting up different plants and organize the same.

Different ways of sanitization

As you may have read above, water treating plants need to remove different kinds of impurities present in the market. To get rid of all of these impurities and make the water reusable, it employs numerous processes. The following are some of them:

• Sedimentation:

Sediments are the pieces of solid impurities that are present in the water. The impurities are primarily removed using gravity separation. The heavy solid particles descend into the lower levels near the floor of the container. They fall into the settling basins, which helps in removing them from the water present above.

• Separations with Phases:

Phase separation is the process of transferring the non-dissolving liquids and substances into another container. Oils and many other solid substances can be removed using this technique. This process is usually done in the intermediate stage of the treatment.

This way, the impurities collected due to chemical reactions and processes can be removed easily.

• Filtration:

Some substances get collected together and they can be removed easily with the use of filtration. Coarse screens are used which possess small openings to allow the passage of water. Through this method, the solids get segregated and the water gets through the screen and it is transmitted into another container.
Apart from these, there are many other methods used by such plants to clean the wastewater.

Conclusion

Overall, these treatment plants play a crucial role in the current scenario. As the level of water pollution has risen to dangerous levels, these plants help in mitigating its effects. It also helps in meeting the rising demand for water supply. If you have any questions regarding this article, feel free to get in touch with us.

You must have come across the term ‘wastewater treatment plant’. Such plants remove the impurities present in the wastewater and make it suitable for use. This is one of the most popular sustainable processes due to the following reasons:

The demand for pure water

The demand for pure water is increasing constantly. There are many things which contribute in this regard. The population is rising at an incredible rate, as it increases, the demand for pure water will also increase. People need water to drink, wash and perform a number of other household tasks. Moreover, the supply of water is limited. There are no specific ways to increase the supply of water in order to fulfill the demands of the growing population.

Not only the household use, but the industrial applications of water are also many. Businesses require water in factories, farms, offices, cafeterias and other places. Without a good supply of pure water, such demand cannot be satisfied.

Advanced technologies

The technologies employed in a modern wastewater treatment system are far more advanced than the previous ones. The current solutions are more effective in removing the impurities present in the wastewater. They have become faster as well. As technology becomes more advanced, it becomes clear that the demand for such systems will also increase. That is so because they are becoming more versatile and practical to use.
The running cost of an industrial wastewater treatment plant has also become lower. Due to such important advancements in technology, the popularity of wastewater treatment plants is increasing.

Increase in wastage

As stated above, the population is increasing at a good pace. However, as the population increases, the amount of waste generated is also increased. A high amount of waste demands a separate place for storage, which is impractical considering the scarcity of land. The best thing to do in this regard is to recycle or re-use the waste. This makes sure that the amount of waste remains balanced and the supply of water is increased.

The growth in wastage generation can be mitigated by a number of other methods but they only work to a certain extent. A wastewater treatment plant ensures that the wastewater gets eliminated and the amount of waste left remains limited.

Increase in awareness

Through the work of NGOs and some governments, the awareness of people regarding the environment has also increased in the past few years. This has also contributed to the growth of the popularity of such systems. Various governments are trying to mitigate pollution and this is an effective method to do so.

Conclusion

The above reasons should have helped you understand as to why these systems are becoming so popular. The environment requires the help of such initiatives and implementations. Such solutions also make sure that organizations look for sustainable measures instead of harmful ones. The increase in awareness of people, advancement in technology and the other factors have helped greatly in this regard.