Today we want to delve into the concept of sustainable industrial wastewater management.
Let’s start by asking a question: can a company contribute to achieving the goals set by the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and at the same time optimise costs and save money?
The answer is yes.
In fact, sustainable water management is among the goals, and one opportunity to seize is certainly the reuse of industrial waste water, which allows numerous advantages in terms of consumption as well as environmental impact.
Let’s find out more about this.
WHAT IS INDUSTRIAL WASTE WATER
Wastewater is the type of fluid that results from activities:
- human
- domestic
- industrial
- agricultural
In general, it is water that contains organic and inorganic substances that can be harmful to health and the environment.
For this reason, after their use, they cannot be dispersed directly into the environment, but must first undergo constantly monitored purification.
This process must be carried out according to Italian and EU regulations, which provide for actions necessary to achieve or maintain the good quality status of surface or deep waters, protecting them from pollution.
THE TREATMENT AND PURIFICATION OF INDUSTRIAL WASTE WATER FOR SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT
Wastewater treatment and purification are processes used to convert waste and refuse water into purified water.
Treatments are ideal for the purification of both industrial waste fluids and storm water.
In this way, the purified fluids can be returned to the water cycle, or, they can be used within industrial processes or irrigation.
Wastewater purification takes place in special plants and is usually structured in several stages, during which toxic substances are removed from the liquid waste.
The type of treatment to be used depends on the final destination or use of the water, but in general, the processes involved in the separation of contaminants include six stages:
- Pre-treatment, this is a mechanical operation involving the coarse screening stage, the equalisation stage and the oil separation stage.
- Primary treatment, consists of chemical or physical operations to remove materials that could create problems in subsequent stages.
- Secondary treatment, involves the removal of biodegradable organic substances.
- Tertiary treatment, serves to remove non-biodegradable organic substances, ions, macromolecules, nutrients and odours.
- Disinfection, serves to remove microorganisms and bacteria.
- Sludge treatment, corresponds to the final removal of residues.
THE BENEFITS OF SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRIAL WATER MANAGEMENT
The sustainable and virtuous management of industrial water brings with it numerous advantages and benefits in terms of:
- savings on the amount of water used
- on energy costs
- on the volume of wastewater generated
On a practical level, implementing sustainable wastewater management allows on the one hand savings in water supply and on the other hand a reduction in wastewater charges.
Many sectors require large amounts of water to run their production cycle and therefore companies are also called upon to invest in reducing their water consumption.
Proper sizing and technological implementation of treatment plants allow for the recycling of fluids.
Water recovered from industrial processing can be recycled for uses related to production itself, even if not in direct contact with food, cosmetics or drugs.
They can also be reused as washing water, in fire-fighting systems, and in thermal cycles.
In this way, treated water can be reused both within the company itself and between several companies, through industrial symbiosis.
Contact us and find out more about our industrial waste water treatment system.
