The Industry Reduces its Thirst for Water

Related Vendors

Pörner Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH

Italvacuum, Srl

ProMinent GmbH

DECHEMA e.V.

The integrated energy supplier Suncor Energy recycles more than 90% of the water contained in steam which the company uses to extract oil from oil sand. Instead of storing injection steam in underground disposal wells, recycled saline water is treated, the salts and solids are filtered out and the water is reused to produce steam again. This approach minimizes the extraction of ground water.

Gallery

Introducing „Zero Liquid Discharge“

What Wabag is currently doing is another example. At the beginning of 2014, the company was awarded a contract to build a wastewater treatment plant at the new industrial park in the city of Al Kharj in Saudi Arabia. Effluent from various production facilities at the site will be treated to the maximum extent possible for re-use as process water. The stages in the purification process are mechanical pre-treatment, chemical precipitation, sedimentation, retention basin, biological purification, filtration, activated charcoal filters and disinfection. The plant will have a capacity of 10,000m³/d.

Instead of purifying water to the extent possible prior to discharge, would it make more sense to eliminate water discharge altogether? Elimination of effluent from production (zero liquid discharge) is currently the subject of a highly controversial debate. 400 plants are already operating around the world. The motives can be very different, for example elimination of dependency on the local water supply particularly in regions where water is scarce, stringent environmental regulation of salt concentrations in effluent, recovery of re-usable substances or image enhancement.

ZLD – A Concept for the Future?

Experience shows that the approval process for zero liquid discharge plants is often simpler and faster, which is another interesting aspect. However treatment of the residual concentrates is problematic. Choosing a site with an abundant supply of water and implementation of an industrial water management program are generally preferable to the burdens associated with zero liquid discharge production which is very energy intensive. As a result, experts are pinning their hopes on tighter integration of water and energy management.

(ID:43316285)