How To Reduce VOC Emissions In Wastewater Treatment

By Emily Newton

Adding to the typical worries of wastewater treatment operations, emissions from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are the next frontier of pollution control.

Volatile organic compound emissions are why wastewater treatment must become innovative. Due to VOCs’ gaseous nature, they are hard to control as they evaporate from water basins. Still, treatment facilities must take action to reduce VOCs in wastewater treatment and, therefore, the emissions.

It is vital to remove VOCs from water for the health and safety of workers, consumers, and facilities. Failure to create healthy conditions causes long-term adverse effects. Fortunately, tech innovations are helping industries overcome this obstacle to create a safer future in wastewater treatment.

The IoT Influence
The Internet of Things (IoT) is increasing the number of connected smart devices globally, providing every sector with countless ways to streamline and optimize operations.¹ IoT sensors help to gather analytics, reveal gaps in their processes, and offer improvement suggestions for remediation efficiencies. Smart water can exist among these technologies and combine with sustainable tech for an even more significant impact.

One of the best ways to treat wastewater is through activated carbon filtration, sometimes with aeration, which improves alongside smart technologies. Computers can help assess the status of the filter and how well it’s working alongside various kinds of VOCs, thus providing insight into the emissions potential. Imagine IoT recognizing an irregular bacterial contaminant² that has reduced the efficiency of processes. Discovering these issues can reduce emissions by keeping tabs on irregularities.

IoT technologies could help one of the most vulnerable points of the wastewater treatment process — storage. Advancements could help quantify previously unknown metrics, such as how many diffuse emissions are escaping in between steps of the treatment process. Are there harmful microorganisms present? IoT devices could also monitor volatile pH and ion levels³ during electrodialysis treatment, informing operators if they missed their chance to optimally removing fluoride. Incorporating IoT electronics to help monitor treatment systems could reduce emissions by illuminating previously undiscovered oversights.

This includes saving time in analyzing the more sustainable method for treating specific VOC compounds since some respond better to varied techniques. This improves efficiency and industry knowledge by revealing opportunities for reducing emissions.

The most popular models for analyzing VOC emissions haven’t been updated in many years. Plus, they can only estimate emissions based on water sampling instead of air analysis. When plants then create their own software,⁴ it could lead to inaccurate data collection. Connecting plants to IoT devices could help to create a collaborative solution for emissions measurement — a gap in the market.

Reducing Harmful Emissions
The simple answer to reducing emissions is through better treatment methods. Wastewater treatment plants rely on aeration methods to reduce odor-producing substances in water. Wastewater treatment plants can simply add pure oxygen to reduce or eliminate⁵ odors while reducing their VOC emissions.

Biofiltration and other activated sludge processes in wastewater treatment are highly malleable methods that work alongside other changes in the treatment approach. Creative implementation could also improve the positive environmental impact by cultivating biomass energy from this process.⁶

Another method that treatment plants can utilize to reduce VOC emissions involves reverse osmosis. These filters have a pore size that is nearly 0.0001 microns across. This filtration method can remove all organic molecules and viruses and most minerals from water.

The Human Impact
Though renewable energy and smart technology are paving the way to reduce VOCs in wastewater treatment, there are countless ways humans can change their habits daily to better water quality. After all, numerous human activities unintentionally cause a mass spread of VOCs⁷ into waterways.

One example is educating and practicing the correct disposal of products. Everyday household items containing VOCs include paints, oils, pesticides, and inks. When people carelessly discard these items, the chemicals seep into soil and waterways, exacerbating the problem. Weather conditions like wind and rain cause the spread of VOCs from their original locations, making them a widespread concern.

Increasing awareness of the risks of VOCs will help these changes take place. It’s possible many have never heard of them and do not understand that they can cause:

• Mild symptoms such as coughing, headaches, or nausea
• More severe symptoms like allergic reactions or shortness of breath
• Long-term health conditions like liver damage and some cancers.

Humans could also reduce using products emitting VOCs. One way to do this is by engaging in safer home renovations, choosing products with few or no VOCs. This includes aerosols like hairsprays and air fresheners. Consumers can opt for solid or liquid forms of these products to help curb some of the burdens on wastewater treatment.

The Future Of VOC Emissions Reduction
Though the primary concern of wastewater treatment is purifying water, considering ways to purify the air is a side effect of the industry. Removing VOCs from water means higher-quality air and water, eliminating another harmful player in environmental degradation. From smart innovations to shifts in human behavior, VOC emissions in wastewater treatment could become a worry of the past.

References

1. https://revolutionized.com/industrial-iot-applications-for-different-industries/
2. https://www.iotforall.com/iot-changing-wastewater-management
3. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13201-021-01375-8
4. https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/AA/00/07/95/91/00001/Splendor_Anthony_HonorsThesis.pdf
5. https://www.lindeus.com/industries/water-and-wastewater-treatment/aeration-odor-control
6. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2516019219852603
7. https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources/science/volatile-organiccompounds-vocs

About The Author

Emily Newton is an industrial journalist. She regularly covers stories for the utilities and energy sectors. Emily is also editor in chief of Revolutionized (revolutionized.com).