When people think of wastewater management more often than not the smell of a sewage treatment plant comes to mind. On the other hand, the thought of industrial wastewater brings to mind pictures of green luminescent radioactive liquids leaking into water supplies causing mutations and illness. Fortunately, the latter is not the case as industries that generate large amounts of wastewater typically have their own on-site treatment systems. For plants without their own system it is common to have a pre-treatment system to remove toxins before sending the water to municipal wastewater plants. In either case, it is important to make sure wastewater assets are properly maintained with a CMMS to avoid contaminating groundwater supplies.
Sources of Industrial Wastewater
Major industry producers of wastewater requiring pre-treatment or on-site wastewater treatment are usually industries that require water for cooling or processing. Major industrial waste industries include:
- Iron and Steel: Water is used as a lubricant and as a coolant and can pick up a variety of toxins including benzene, hydraulic oils, particulate solids, and acids.
- Mining and Quarry Operations: Water is used to wash minerals which becomes contaminated with slurries of rock particles, hydraulic oils, discarded metals, arsenic and other particulates that form very fine slimes which are difficult to separate. In addition, rainfall on terrestrial mining surfaces wash unwanted particles into water.
- Food Industry: The processing of food requires a lot of water to wash away organic particulate matter and organic residue. In addition, when animals are slaughtered the water used to clean the parts becomes contaminated by hormones, parasites and antibiotics.
- Chemical Plants: Chemical plants produce the widest range of contaminants depending on what is being produced. Contaminants can range from oils to pesticides to complex compounds byproducts.
- Nuclear Power Plants: Nuclear power plants use enormous amounts of water to cool radioactive rods. This water is contaminated by radium and other decay products. In addition, nuclear facilities produce enormous amounts of spent fuel that must be stored until the threat of radiation has been neutralized. Improper storage can result in leaks which is an environmental disaster.
- Water treatment: Many industries demand water that is of very high quality to reduce impurities or enhance production. An example would be the use of water in Boilers. This waste generated from such operations produces organic and mineral sludges high in calcium, magnesium and carbonates.
- Water purification: Desalination is an example of a water filtration process designed to produce drinkable water from sea water. Naturally, putting back high levels of salt into the environment can have a negative impact on the eco-system.
Treatment of Industrial Wastewater
The treatment of industrial wastewater will obviously vary depending on the type of contaminants and treatment is asset intensive. Each method or process is performed by specialized equipment. Some equipment may be straightforward to operate and other equipment may require IT support. However, the most common forms of industrial wastewater treatment include:
- Solids removal using sedimentations and filters.
- Oil and Water Separators often using heat intensive skimmers that keep grease fluid.
- The removal of biodegradable organic material using biochemical components and a myriad of tanks used for aeration or settling and trickling filters.
- Advanced oxidation process, adsorption,vitrification, distillation and incineration.
- Acid neutralization
- Advanced Oxidation Process
- Aerated lagoons
- Fermentation
The object of wastewater management is to reduce the amount of contaminants that can find their way back into the groundwater or reclaimed water. There is a growing need for reclaimed water in industry, as reusing water for other purposes can lower energy costs. For example, cooling towers do not normally require the same quality of water as a boiler. Water could also be used for toilet flushing or any other purpose that does not require drinking water.
CMMS Software Can Ensure Energy Efficiency
The treatment of wastewater produced through industrial activities requires a fair amount of energy. This is because the equipment needed to perform the detoxification needs power to operate and with some equipment like, oil and water separators, may require intensive heat generation. In addition, wastewater systems components are subject to accelerated corrosion due to particulate matter reacting with water and other chemicals. Equipment left uninspected for damage or lacking regular preventive maintenance can deteriorate quickly.
Deteriorating assets causes the assets to try and draw more power to accomplish the same results as well as subject them to excessive repair and downtime losses. A CMMS solution reduces this outcome by automating work order processes eliminating manual tracking systems. More importantly, CMMS software provides wastewater maintenance teams with a powerful scheduling tool that ensures inspections and preventive maintenance are performed routinely. Combination automation and scheduling frees up valuable time for inspections and preventive maintenance allowing maintenance teams to operate in a proactive environment resulting in greater asset energy efficiency.
Wastewater efficiency is important to everyone, share with us how your plant is addressing wastewater maintenance issues. If you liked this article, you may also enjoy reading:
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Every industry can benefit from better organization and maintenance of its assets. This is especially true of the Hotel and Lodging industries where image creates the consumer desire to stay at a particular facility. As a result, it is critical that maintenance management both at the local and corporate levels employ the use of CMMS tools to ensure all assets are maintained. We hope everyone had the opportunity to read our blogs and check out our website, but just in case you did not have the time to see our blogs and voter links as they were published, we have summarized them for you here. Please enjoy them and be sure to check back for new articles during the week. You can find a complete listing on the Mintek Blog.
The most popular post of the week covered 10 advantages of a CMMS for Hotels/Resorts. Interestingly enough, the article did not focus on the local maintenance use of a web-based CMMS but rather on the advantages to corporate decision makers by discussing the impact of multi-location standardization of maintenance operations as their positive impact on the customer experience.
1. Should the Lodging Industry be using a CMMS
Author: Stuart Smith
This post talks about how a CMMS can benefit the lodging industry by bridging the gap between the need to lower costs and the need to remain competitive with market offerings. As in any industry "Cash is King", CMMS maintenance software lowers maintenance costs by lowering reactive repairs with proactive scheduling of inspections and preventive maintenance. The faster response times to customer issues using a proactive maintenance approach also give customers a greater level of satisfaction when problems are reported.
Key Point: Proper preventive maintenance is proven to lengthen asset lifecycles. The result is fewer capital expenditures freeing up needed monies for marketing programs.
2. 10 Advantages of a CMMS for Hotels/Resorts
Author: Stuart Smith
A web-based CMMS has advantages for both hotel management as well as hotel corporate management. The article lists 10 advantages hotels/resorts have by having a CMMS system solution. Most notable of these advantages is the knowledge of maintenance issues across all properties and ensuring that all corporate maintenance policies such as inspections are being performed.
Key Point: Good maintenance management can significantly impact the bottom line of an organization. Best results for hotels and resorts are achieved with a web-based CMMS.
Read Relevant Articles That We Found Last Week
But wait there is more. We have found several more articles that you might find to be interesting and even put them on our website for you to vote on. The 5 best this week are:
1. Are LED Fluorescent Tubes Ready for Prime Time?
Author: Houston Neal
Very nice article by Mr. Neal comparing the pros and cons and a cost comparison of LED and fluorescent tubes. The article discusses the difference between the technologies and articulately compares the two in terms of lumens, watts, lifespan, color temperature and costs. Since the articles posting there has been a lot of comments posted. Good reading for those wanting to know what the debate is all about.
Key Point: As the costs to manufacture LEDs continues to decline, they will eventually replace fluorescent lighting in much the same way that fluorescent lights have been replacing incandescent bulbs. Energy efficiency will be the driving factor.
2. Money talks in quest to reduce waste
Author: Robert Apelgren
This was a relatively short article that my attention because it makes mention of a proven traditional business incentive to achieve adoption of a company program. In this instance the program revolved around increasing awareness within a company to reduce waste by offering monetary bonuses based upon the amount of waste was reduced. Everyone wins in this situation, reducing waste increases cash flow, it helps the environment and most importantly is actively engages employees to take action. I have seen similar programs set up in companies to encourage productions gains or even customer service ratings. When cash is not available, other methods of encouragement such as employee recognition, comp. time (where permitted), lunch with the boss etc. may be used.
Key Point: When trying to accomplish a corporate objective of actively engaging employees for improvement, incentives can work like a charm. For example, increasing the adoption rate of an EAM/CMMS by offering a bonus to the maintenance team member that completes the most work orders using mobile handheld devices.
3. Energy Perspective
Author: Posted on Green Econometrics
This article reviews the concern for dependence on oil for energy production. The article suggests that the USA dependence on oil will not go away without a new energy strategy that can dramatically decrease energy consumption.
Key Point: "Even if solar and wind supplied all of our electrical energy needs, it would still only be 30 percent of our energy needs.
4. Best practices for installing safety valves
Authors: Kelley Paffel
The first of two articles by Kelley, this post provides some good guidelines to follow for installing safety valves. Included are detailed sections for how to size a pipe properly, doing the install and vent piping guidelines. Once installed it is important valves and fittings are regularly inspected for leaks, corrosion or other items requiring preventive maintenance.
Key Point: A poorly installed or faulty valve can cause catastrophic issues. Proper installation takes skill and knowledge. "The proper selection, installation and use of safety valves require a complete understanding of ASME code and any additional requirements insurance companies or local jurisdictional authorities adopted"
5. Why return condensate to the boiler?
Authors: Kelly Paffel
An excellent article identifying the advantages of reusing/recapturing steam generated by boilers that is currently going to waste. The advantages include increasing efficiency as well as decreasing chemical and sewer systems costs. Although reusing steam may seem to be obvious, there are several factors that can prevent capturing this energy properly including corrosion, having proper steam vents, insulation and pumps.
Key Point: With energy costs continuing to rise, plants must evaluate all assets for methods to recover lost energy waste.
What We Learned This Week
This weeks Voter Links put the spotlight on some of the methods, ideas and technology that can be used to address awareness or improvement of energy efficiency. Successful programs have incorporated technology such as LED lighting, monetizing energy/waste savings for employees as well as identifying areas to reuse lost energy. The national spotlight on energy efficiency has gone beyond simple awareness and has resulted in a call to action in many business cultures.
Too read more visit our Vote on Links page.
Register for your chance to win a Free EAM & CMMS Worth $23,000
If you want a EAM & CMMS system, but can't afford to implement one this budget year; then this contest is perfect for you. We are offering a chance to win a FREE EAM & CMMS software suite. Contest includes a 1-year site license, 10 web/mobile licenses and support, as well as, training and implementation.