The U.S. EPA’s recently released Preliminary 2016 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan indicates the industries and pollutants that the agency has its eyes on for potential future regulation.

In a slight change in topic, this is going to be a more general article around why I believe water treatment technologies are so critical. Why this Industry is so vital, and what depends on the new technologies that this industry generates. We do so much where I work that goes well beyond produced water recycling, and it is all extremely important.

The Western Governors' Drought Forum webinar “Once Marginal, Now Crucial: The Growing Demand for Re-used, Produced, and Brackish Water” explores the technological and regulatory obstacles to utilizing re-used, produced, and brackish water.

As water scarcity continues to be a major, ongoing challenge in the U.S., public and private sector leaders are seeking new insights on sustainable solutions. In this work, they are grappling with challenges on a scale that oil and gas organizations have been confronting for decades now. It’s understandable that stakeholders can get caught up in the tactical side of dealing with water crises — but there is also guidance to be gained by taking a high-level view.

Last year the EPA implemented new regulations entitled “Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases.” The new regulations called for certain facilities emitting 25,000 metric tons or more per year of specified GHG’s to provide an annual report of their actual GHG emissions. 

Wastewater from dairy applications has high amounts of calcium and phosphorus. This characteristic may cause scaling on the media of a Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor and may cause poor COD removal. Veolia was able to retrofit the client’s existing MBBR with the newly designed Z-MBBR media by AnoxKaldnes, which improved the operation of the entire wastewater system.

High oxygen levels in beer will cause organoleptic problems in the final product, so breweries aim to achieve oxygen-free water. Since Paulaner Brewery installed a modular, water deaeration system that uses hydrophobic hollow fiber membranes to remove dissolved gasses, the unit has operated maintenance-free. This tech brief outlines the unit’s design, operation, and the resulting reduction of energy consumption costs.

Chemical, petrochemical, and oil-refining plants are process-intensive operations with regulatory requirements to protect the surrounding water and air from the effects of industrial pollution. These external demands are matched by equally compelling internal pressures to address product purification needs, find alternatives to utilizing costly fresh water in production processes, reduce the carbon footprint, and operate efficiently and profitably.

Pure steam is used in sterilization chambers as a common method to sterilize pharmaceutical products, such as equipment parts, instruments, containers and materials for sterile environments.

Microbial contamination of food and beverage products is a potentially catastrophic occurrence resulting in foodborne illness or food spoilage. The same nutritive properties that render cheese and dairy products such a valuable food also provide an ideal growth medium for microbes if contamination occurs.

The advanced ST75 Air/Gas Flow Meter from Fluid Components International (FCI), which measures fuel gas, process gas, inert gas, waste gases and air in small line sizes, is ideal for optimizing the fuel-to-air ratio for plant burner-boiler control, reducing plant fuel costs while protecting the environment.

From time-to-time I write on topics that are related to water and wastewater as a "backgrounder" so that those involved in the field can gain a wider perspective and have available to them a cogent explanation minus jargon on various topics. By Dr. J.H. Wakefield

Power plants and refineries around the world must manage and treat complex effluent waste streams from the Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) process. Flue gas is generated by the combustion process of fossil and fossil-derived fuels, such as coal, oils, and natural gas in power plants. Petrochemical refineries may generate flue gas from a number of different processes, including Catalytic Cracking, Steam Methane Reforming, and Heaters or Furnaces.

Central district heating systems have gained attention in recent years because they can be more efficient than localized boiler units. The efficiency of district heating is usually due to power generation plants being able to produce heat and electricity simultaneously. District heating also helps prevent pollution by using advanced flue gas cleaning techniques.

Reverse osmosis (RO) systems offer power plant owners and operators a reliable and well-proven water treatment solution. However, designing and caring for an RO system requires a thorough understanding of a plant’s water supply and the technology’s capabilities. Part one of this series will review the importance of water samples and pilot studies as plant engineers begin to design an RO system to match their needs.

The U.S. EPA’s recently released Preliminary 2016 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan indicates the industries and pollutants that the agency has its eyes on for potential future regulation.

Water reuse is trending up. Here are nine developments to watch in 2017.

The advanced ST75 Air/Gas Flow Meter from Fluid Components International (FCI), which measures fuel gas, process gas, inert gas, waste gases and air in small line sizes, is ideal for optimizing the fuel-to-air ratio for plant burner-boiler control, reducing plant fuel costs while protecting the environment.

A combination of water scarcity and the desire to provide exceptional service has driven water utility managers to be focused more than ever on acquiring accurate, real-time insight into their distribution systems. Operators face a natural hurdle, however, when using traditional center-line electromagnetic flow meters, which don’t account for velocities that vary across a pipe. Fortunately, a solution has emerged to address the issue.

Innovation can take many forms. In the water and wastewater industry, new and emerging technologies get most of the credit for being innovative and potentially transformative. However, new modes of thinking can have equal and sometimes greater impact.

The textile industry is a water consumption intensive industry. Water is utilized for cleaning the raw material, and for the different steps in the textile dyeing process. Due to the effects of water scarcity and stricter environmental regulations, the cost of fresh water utilization has increased worldwide.

London’s Heathrow Airport is one of Europe’s busiest airports catering for more than 200,000 passengers each day with an average of 1,200 flights arriving and departing from the airport daily. Heathrow Airport Water Services Department has an extensive network of 120 pumping stations to manage and they agreed to install and trial Xylem’s new state-of-the-art Flygt wastewater pumping system in an effort to solve chronic clogging issues at one of the airport’s wastewater pumping stations.

In a slight change in topic, this is going to be a more general article around why I believe water treatment technologies are so critical. Why this Industry is so vital, and what depends on the new technologies that this industry generates. We do so much where I work that goes well beyond produced water recycling, and it is all extremely important.

Over the course of the 2016 presidential election, President-elect Donald Trump has presented to the American public his energy and economic plans, which are geared toward establishing energy sovereignty and increasing the pace of job creation in the nation. In his push for energy independence, Trump has suggested lifting restrictions placed on shale, oil, natural gas, and coal production.

The Western Governors' Drought Forum webinar “Once Marginal, Now Crucial: The Growing Demand for Re-used, Produced, and Brackish Water” explores the technological and regulatory obstacles to utilizing re-used, produced, and brackish water.