Water & Wastewater Filtration:

Wastewater Evaporator System Helps Manufacturer Meet Stringent Municipal Guidelines

Many industrial companies recognize the need to dispose of their wastewater in an environmentally friendly way. Although there are options available to them – including chemical treatment, biological treatment, and membrane filtration – evaporation is the only technology that eliminates the need for sewer discharge by removing and permanently disposing of the water portion of the waste.

New system reduces the company’s water usage by a minimum of 30,000 gallons per day and improves production water quality.

Recently, a Santa Ana, Calif. manufacturer joined the growing list of companies to install a zero-liquid discharge (ZLD), wastewater treatment system designed, engineered, and installed by Severn Trent Services. The system incorporates filter presses to remove particulates from a tumbling operation; a UF/RO membrane system to recover and reclaim clean rinse water; and an evaporator to minimize the UF/RO reject wastewater. The system will reduce the company’s water usage by a minimum of 30,000 gallons per day and improve production water quality by recovering and reusing the filtered water in their tumbling and rinsing processes.

"We were able to provide a complete wastewater system," said Herb Elliott, Severn Trent Services Application Engineer. "This project incorporated our Samsco^TM evaporator, along with a UAT^TM ultrafiltration unit and reverse osmosis systems, also provided by Severn Trent. It was critical that we could provide a complete system, from design through installation and start-up, and we delivered."

How it Works
The system begins by pumping the wastewater to a collection tank. This water is then passed through a filter press to remove particulates and is reused in the tumblers and for hand-spraying parts. Recycling the treated process water uses less new water.

Approximately 4 gallons per minute are bled off and sent through the UF/RO system to blow down dissolved contaminants and to generate even cleaner RO water to be used in the final rinse of the product. The concentrate from the membranes goes to the evaporator, where the remaining water is removed, leaving only a small concentration of solid waste.

"The new waste treatment system is able to eliminate sewer discharge, reduce water consumption, and improve process water quality," said Elliott. "The system offers an ideal solution for manufacturers and local POTWs alike."