Physical/Chemical Treatment Program Changes Make Wastewater Viable for Reuse

The Customer
An automotive components manufacturing plant whose manufacturing processes utilize approximately 30K gallons of fresh water per day and introduces metals (zinc, copper, lead) and oils and grease into their wastewater.

The Problem
30K gallons of wastewater per day was being discharged from their existing wastewater treatment system, but they were experiencing compliance issues.

The ProChem Solution
After completing the water analysis and assessing the facility’s production goals, it was concluded that the proposed treatment program would result in high-quality wastewater that is a good candidate for reuse. On-site pilot testing was performed to evaluate options that were identified during testing.

ProChem offered a new wastewater treatment solution with a water reuse system and system operations. The solution included a continuous flow treatment system, featuring oil-water separation and physical/chemical treatment to remove from the wastewater the residual metals, suspended solids, and organic contaminants (through ultraviolet treatment). The reuse system features ProChem’s own industrial high-pressure reverse osmosis (I-PRO™) technology, which further purifies the wastewater and then feeds it back into the manufacturing process.

Both systems are equipped with local monitoring and automation controls and ProChem’s web-based remote monitoring service, requiring minimal operator interaction.

A ProChem employee operates the wastewater treatment and reuse systems on-site daily. These responsibilities include testing equipment, calibrating instruments, and testing for water quality to ensure the system is meeting project goals.

With this Design, Build, Operate solution in place, the facility is reusing 75% of their wastewater and experiencing 100% compliance.

The Win

• 100% discharge permit compliance
• Cost savings on water purchasing, chemical/physical treatment, discharge permit, and operations (for the wastewater treatment system)
• 75% reuse rate of their wastewater
• Operational challenges alleviated