It is a known fact that water shortages affect the entire world. The earth is mostly made up of water but only 3% of that is safe for drinking. Each day, illegal practices, neglect and other factors poison our finite water supply. The key to solving this dilemma is to save the environment by harnessing rainwater, water location transfer to ensure its sustainability, desalination and of course treatment of wastewater from industrial causes.
Industrial wastewater treatment offers a sustainable short-term and long-term solution to the water shortage. When industrial wastewater becomes so polluted it turns into a hybrid mix that contains a combination of suspended and dissolved organic and inorganic substances like carbohydrates, fats, soaps, synthetic detergents including different natural and synthetic organic chemicals.
Industrial Waste Treatment Process
When it comes to industrial wastewater treatment, the process is divided into different treatment stages to ensure good water and sanitation standards. The initial phase of the process calls for the use of large filtering screens that can remove solid inorganic material like plastic, paper and metal. This is then followed by the removal of grit and silt that can be abrasive to plant equipment. In the primary stage, wastewater is passed through a primary sedimentation tank where solid particles are removed by gravity settling at the tank bottom. The resulting primary sludge is then collected to the center where it is concentrated and pumped off for further treatment.
The wastewater then undergoes an activated sludge process where naturally occurring organic bacteria is used to breakdown and dissolve all the suspended organic solids. The wastewater that has settled enters aeration tans where air is blown into so as to provide oxygen to help the bacteria grow. The microorganisms proceed to consume the organic pollutants and nutrients present. From the aeration tanks the wastewater mixture of microorganisms is then transferred to a secondary tank where the biomass proceeds to settle at the bottom of the tank and is concentrated as sludge.
At this phase the clarified wastewater is then transferred to a tank in order to undergo the 3rd phase of the treatment process. The tertiary treatment calls for the use of Chlorine is to remove the biological pathogens that are still present in the clarified wastewater which present a health risk to humans. In some instances, the treatment is repeated more than once if the wastewater is going to be diverted for use as irrigation for food crops or whenever there is chance of close human contact.
Advantages
The goal of the water treatment process is not merely to create clean reusable water that can be safely reused in the industrial facility or safely disposed of in a public sewer system but to also help in mitigating the effects of waste production. For instance, it has the potential to reduce waste production, to produce energy through methane and the potential to create natural fertilizer from waste collected.
Waste Reduction & Energy Production
The sludge that is collected during the treatment is itself also treated as it contains a large quantity of biodegradable material. This is treated using anaerobic bacteria in a special fully enclosed digester that is heated to 35C, a condition that allows the bacteria to thrive minus any oxygen. The resulting methane gas is then harvested and then burned in order to generate power. The energy produced can make wastewater treatment plants self-sustaining and any excess power may be transferred for use somewhere else.
For more information about industrial wastewater treatment, please visit the trusted experts at ProAct USA.