MEASUREMENT & MONITORING
WASTEWATER TREATMENT
ARVIA TECHNOLOGY
REDUCING THE WATER GAP AND HOW PROCESS
ENGINEERS CAN PLAY THEIR PART
Gary Richards, Director at wastewater treatment technology and
advisory company, Arvia Technology discusses how effective wastewater
treatment can form part of a worldwide effort to reduce the water gap
and how process engineers can play their part.
It is a fact that global demand for water already exceeds supply and
industries which rely heavily on water are one of the main culprits
contributing to this ever-growing water gap. Often, water used across
industries such as the pharmaceutical, chemical and oil and gas sector
is discharged directly into the environment. Treating wastewater
so it can be reused can play a significant role in preventing further
pollution of water sources, reducing the amount of water consumed,
ultimately reducing this water gap.
REUSING WATER
The whole concept of reusing water that previously has been
discharged to the nearest sewer or waterway may never have been
considered by organisations.
By reusing water in a closed loop system, rather than bringing in new
fresh water, organisations can improve their sustainability and help
to reduce the depletion of global water supplies. As natural water
supplies come under increasing pressure, the ability to reuse treated
or processed water will become critical. Before water can be reused, it
must be treated to reduce contaminants.
TRADITIONAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT
Traditional wastewater treatment methods can partly eliminate or
remove industrial chemicals, but some traces are still detectable in
effluents. The final stage of water treatment, when only trace levels
of pollutants reside in wastewater, has always posed problems for
various industries.
In traditional wastewater treatment processes such as Advanced
Oxidation Processes (AOPs) combined with Hydrogen Peroxide,
Fenton’s reagent (a combination of chemicals), and Reverse Osmosis,
large doses of chemicals including biocides are used to eradicate
contaminants or prevent the processes from fouling and blocking.
This is costly and produces a hazardous sludge which must be
transported and incinerated.
THE GREEN ALTERNATIVE
The good news is, there are modern, greener alternatives for the
reduction of hard-to-treat organics from water and wastewater
streams.
Arvia’s Nyex™ solution uses adsorption and electrochemical oxidation,
providing an environmentally considerate process that treats water
without the need to use chemicals. Treated water is safe for reuse for
other purposes around the manufacturing facility, such as cleaning or
irrigation; uses which chemically dosed water is often unsuitable.
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PECM Issue 42
POSITIVE SIGNS
Businesses which use water in their manufacturing processes must
take responsibility for their wastewater treatment and water reuse. By
removing these hard-to-treat pollutants from industrial wastewater,
we can begin to tackle the global issue of fighting the water gap.
Arvia Technology works with companies in the UK, Europe and Asia.
It has treated challenging wastewater from the agricultural, chemical,
electronics, oil and gas and pharmaceutical industries in Europe and
Asia.
www.arviatechnology.com