The industrial waters They are those used in industrial and commercial activities, and which are then discarded as waste or waste. As waste they are called industrial wastewater or sewage..
Industrial waters are used for different purposes, such as raw material, solvent, energy source and hygiene of areas, implements and personnel. They come from natural sources or from the recycling of industrial wastewater. As industrial wastewater, its sources are very diverse, depending on each of the industries where it originates..
The composition of industrial wastewater varies depending on the type of industry in particular, even within the same industrial branch with a great variety of chemical substances.
Industrial wastewater can contain heavy metals, colorants, fats, oils, detergents, acids and drugs. In the same way, they can include animal and plant derivatives of different nature.
The types of industrial wastewater vary according to the industry origin, the use that is given to them and the raw materials used. They can also be classified according to the predominant type of substances dissolved in them. The treatments applied to purify industrial wastewater vary depending on the type of pollutants present..
Article index
The industry receives water from the public network, wells, rivers, sea water or recycled water from the industrial processes themselves. When used in various processes such as washing facilities, use as a solvent, energy production, distillation, filtration and personal hygiene, wastewater is produced..
It is one of the industries that consumes the most water in its processes and at the same time generates a large amount of industrial waste water. This industry consumes 27% of the industrial water of the entire industry.
Only 5 to 10% of the water used is consumed, being necessary to process the rest as industrial waste water.
It has a high consumption of water and a large generation of industrial wastewater and for each kilo of textile material, about 200 liters of water are required. On the other hand, industrial wastewater reaches high levels of contamination, due to the use of various chemical substances.
It has a high water consumption and generates large amounts of industrial wastewater. The contamination of these waters is high and the dissolved contaminants are highly toxic in most cases..
It consumes about 17% of industrial water, although in some areas, such as the beverage industries, most of it is incorporated into the final product. Within this branch, industrial wastewater varies enormously depending on the specific industry. Among others are the meat, dairy, beverage, canning and sugar industries.
Industrial wastewater from the pharmaceutical industry is causing serious pollution problems. This especially in countries such as India and China, where there are few controls on industrial discharges..
In these industrial waters there are drugs, such as antibiotics, that once in the environment can generate resistance in strains of pathogenic bacteria.
Large amounts of water are consumed, using it as a hydraulic impulse to disintegrate the rock in search of minerals. Subsequently, in the metal processing industry, water is used mainly as a coolant.
In these energy-generating industries, water is used as a refrigerant, producing large amounts of industrial wastewater. These waters are highly polluting, and can contain heavy metals and even radioactive elements..
The composition of industrial wastewater is extremely variable, as it depends on the industrial processes that produce it. In general terms, they have a relatively low content of organic matter and heavy metals are the main pollutants in industrial wastewater..
The main pollutants in this group are lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic. Heavy metals are waste products in various industries, especially in metal processing, oil and chemistry..
In specific cases such as mercury, an important source is industrial wastewater from coal-based thermoelectric plants..
They are incorporated into industrial wastewater by various industries, especially oil and petrochemicals.
They are especially relevant in industrial wastewater from the leather tanning industry.
These are soaps and detergents, and they are found in many types of industrial wastewater. This is because they are widely used in cleaning areas and implements, as well as in the processing of raw materials. They are particularly polluting due to their negative effect on cell membranes.
A wide variety of colorants are used in different industrial branches, for example in the paper, textile, food and chemical industries.
In industrial wastewater from the paper and textile industries, the presence of plant components such as fibers and cellulose is relevant.
Industrial wastewater from the food processing industry is particularly rich in organic matter, of both plant and animal origin. In addition, they can incorporate a diversity of microorganisms, some of them pathogens for animals, plants or humans..
Industry uses a wide variety of chemicals in industrial processes, either as raw materials or as mediators of different reactions. Many of these elements and chemical compounds go as polluting waste in industrial waters..
One of the large industrial branches is pharmaceuticals, which uses different organic and inorganic chemicals. With these medicinal compounds are made, traces of which in many cases end up in industrial wastewater.
Drugs have become emerging pollutants of great public health relevance. Relevant amounts of antibiotics, analgesics and other drugs have been detected in some bodies of water.
Industrial waters can be classified from different points of view, either by the use made of them by industry or by industrial sector. In each case, the characteristics of the resulting industrial wastewater will vary..
They are used in cleaning processes of raw materials, facilities, equipment and in the hygienic needs of personnel.
In this case, industrial waters serve as thermal vehicles, either to extract heat from a process or to transmit it to it. For example, use as a refrigerant in the metal processing industry and for cooking in the food industry.
Water steam is used to drive steam turbines as well as in sterilization, heating, cleaning, hydration and humification processes..
Industrial water is used directly as a raw material, especially in the food and beverage industry, and most of it leaves the system as part of the product..
The character of water as a universal solvent makes this an important use of industrial water. In many processes in the chemical, food, paper, textile industries, among others, it is used for this purpose and generates large amounts of industrial wastewater..
Water is also used to generate hydraulic energy, in the hydroelectric industry. It has low levels of chemical contamination, but thermal contamination is important.
In the wastewater treatment process, a final residue is generated that can be recycled in the same process. However, a certain amount is not recoverable as in sedimentation treatments where up to 75% of the weight of the final sludge is water..
Industrial waters can also be classified as branches of different industries such as petrochemical, food, paper, textile, metalworking, mining, among others. In each case in turn, the classification of industrial waters can be subdivided according to the specialization of the specific industrial plant.
Depending on the type of industry, the processes and the raw materials used, the quantity and characteristics of industrial wastewater will depend. The selection of treatment to purify them is associated with the type of wastewater and the degree of purification required.
Both prior to any treatment, and later, it is necessary to evaluate certain quality parameters of industrial wastewater. These include chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS) and the presence of specific compounds..
It is the most prominent parameter in the evaluation of water pollution, by measuring the amount of oxidizable substances present in the water. It is aimed especially at establishing the amount of organic matter present as a consumer factor of dissolved oxygen.
This parameter is very important in industrial wastewater that has been used as a solvent or cleaning. The amount of solid non-sedimentable particles contained in industrial wastewater is measured.
Depending on the nature of the industrial wastewater, it is tested for specific elements or compounds. For example, the presence of heavy metals, organohalogen compounds, dioxins, among others.
There are primary treatment procedures that include sedimentation and flotation phases that allow a portion of pollutants to be separated. In this case, it is about those material particles that either settle due to their weight or float due to their density..
For non-sedimentable particles, coagulation-flocculation or chemical precipitation is used..
To achieve sedimentation of non-sedimentable suspended particles, a coagulant is added to industrial wastewater. This is a compound that attracts said suspended particles forming flocs or clots that are extracted in a sedimentation tank..
There are many specific processes, for example lime softening to remove calcium and magnesium salts from industrial waters.
Once the previous treatments have been applied, the industrial waters are subjected to different secondary treatments. These include activated sludge or sludge (aerobic biodegradation), anaerobic biodegradation, chemical oxidation, among others..
Finally, third-order treatments such as filtering, ion exchange or extraction are applied to industrial wastewater. There is also reverse osmosis, incineration or electrochemical treatments..
Other disinfection treatments are ozonation, ultraviolet radiation, heat, or chlorination. Some are very specific like degassing or stripping, to separate hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, alcohols, phenols and sulfides.
Yet No Comments