The reuse of industrial wastewater is becoming increasingly common because of water shortages, environmental necessities, economic incentives, government mandates, and societal desires. By David Christophersen, Technical Support Manager, Veolia Water Technologies

Would your wastewater treatment plant be able to function during a sustained loss of its aeration capabilities caused by a flood or natural disaster? What if a fire destroyed the blower house? Being prepared with a contingency plan for temporary low-pressure air will help operators prevent panic, avoid costly decisions, and minimize impact when a crisis occurs.

CCP, Inc. in West Paterson, N.J. makes over 1,000 product formulations under private labels for the cosmetics industry, using materials such as persulfates, alkali silicates, phosphates, sodium chloride, and magnesium chloride.

Until recently, radar level measurement devices have been cost-prohibitive for most municipalities. Newer advancements, however, have brought the cost down significantly, so it is now feasible for wastewater plant managers to consider adopting the technology for open-channel applications.

As industries expand, they typically need to increase the capacity of their wastewater treatment facilities. Increasingly stringent regulatory requirements, such as lower nitrogen limits, may also signal the need to boost treatment capacity. Installing additional tanks and larger equipment not only adds capital costs but increases operating costs as well.

A U.S. light aircraft manufacturing company uses an alkaline cleaner followed by an alkaline de-smutter, rinse, acid de-smutter (possibly using potassium permanganate), rinse, alodine, and a final rinse. The three 1,700 gal rinses are dumped approximately once each week, or more often, based on the pH.

This article is in support of the Imagine a Day Without Water campaign –- a national online movement to raise awareness about the value of water and water infrastructure. See more articles on AMERICAN’s Imagine a Day Without Water home page.

Among other functions, salt marshes provide breeding grounds and food sources for coastal wildlife, absorb excess carbon from the atmosphere, filter rainwater, protect coastlines from erosion, help ensure the health of our nation’s fishing economy, and promote ecotourism. With salt marshes becoming increasingly vulnerable, EPA scientists are evaluating both the scientific methodology and management practices behind coastal restoration projects.

Conventional activated sludge wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) operate with solids (mixed liquor suspended solids ­– MLSS) concentrations ranging from approximately 1500 to 5000 mg/L. In membrane bioreactors (MBRs), typical MLSS concentrations are even higher (10,000 to 12,000 mg/L). 

This study presents key findings for a first-of-its-kind 14-mile North American pipeline benchmark study that compared CCTV inspection against FELL inspection results. 

This application profile focuses on two test sites with different treatment requirements and describes how Aqua-Aerobic Systems’ OptiFiber® pile cloth media filtration was used at both sites to address the removal of harmful constituents from refinery wastewater.

This application note presents comparative data obtained on influent and effluent wastewater samples using laboratory and on-line TOC analyzers employing the heated sodium persulfate oxidation technique in USEPA-approved methods 415.3 and SM 5310C.

Monitoring phosphate during the wastewater treatment process allows for fine-tuning and optimizing chemical dosing for removal of phosphate, which provides significant cost savings to the plant while protecting the aquatic environment downstream of the facility.

Industrial power plants or co-generation power plants utilize steam for industrial purposes other than power production.

Energy costs continue to increase. At the same time, there is increased pressure to reduce utility bills without sacrificing operations or comfort.

The need for of nitrogen-reducing wastewater treatment systems has become more common in the past few decades due to various environmental concerns, including eutrophication, oxygen depletion, and toxicity to aquatic organisms in lakes and streams. The addition of nitrogen removal to any wastewater treatment plant, new or existing, typically increases the costs of the project significantly. When evaluating suitable technologies, it becomes critical to properly identify processes that can not only proved the best upfront capital value but also provide the most sustainable long-term functionality.

To sustain the environment and smart community growth while protecting public health, engineers, municipal health officials, and regulators need innovative wastewater treatment solutions. The latest evolution of decentralized systems can efficiently handle residential and commercial daily flows and are a cost-effective alternative to the large, centralized wastewater treatment plants of the past. 

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a large group of organic compounds found naturally in the environment. PAHs are monitored by the US Environmental Protection Agency due to their carcinogenic characteristics.