Project Synopsis
Perform a technical evaluation of existing processes and WWTS to identify treatment technologies that would meet the goals of the plant to avoid future zinc limit excursions at a polymers specialty additives production facility.
Project Summary
The client, a world-wide producer of specialty additives for the polymer industry, currently discharges treated wastewater to a local municipal treatment facility. The client’s existing on-site wastewater treatment system (WWTS) struggles with consistently meeting the discharge limit for zinc. PROCESS was contracted to perform a technical evaluation of the existing processes and WWTS to identify treatment technologies that would meet the goals of the plant to avoid future zinc limit excursions.
Project tasks included:
- Development of a Preliminary Design Basis document that defined all the wastewater sources, the expected hydraulic loading from each source (peak and average), and the pollutant profile from each source. As part of this task, PROCESS prepared a detailed wastewater sampling/test plan for the client to identify specific sampling points, sampling frequency, and required analyses to be performed to establish the source wastewater profiles. This allowed for both the source hydraulic loading and pollutant loading to be well defined.
- Preparation of As-Built P&IDs for the existing WWTS, as well as preparation of a Block Flow Diagram (BFD) and mass balance data for the existing wastewater collection and treatment system, to establish a basis for the technology evaluation and future modifications.
- Performing a technical evaluation of available treatment technologies for zinc removal. This included evaluation of chemical precipitation, electro-coagulation, ion exchange, membrane filtration, and carbon adsorption for treatment of zinc from the client’s wastewater. In this specific application, the initial approach was to (1) separate non-zinc and high-zinc bearing wastewater in the collection scheme as much as feasible, and (2) remove as much of the insoluble zinc as possible in the initial treatment steps prior to implementation of a treatment technology for soluble zinc removal.
- Preparation of Preliminary Block Flow Diagrams (BFDs) and Equipment Lists for the two (2) technologies identified as technically feasible for this specific application; Chemical Precipitation (CP) and Electro-coagulation (ECG). The equipment list provided rough sizing information and identified reuse of existing equipment as appropriate.
- Generation of a budget-level equipment cost summary table for both the CP and ECG treatment alternatives.
- Preparation of a Wastewater Treatability Test Plan to be executed by the client to further refine the design and cost estimates (capital and operating) for both alternatives so that a treatment technology can be selected.
PROCESS is currently working with the client on a subsequent phase 2 effort to complete the treatability testing and, once completed, to develop a process design package (PDP) for an upgraded WWTS.
Industry Type
- Specialty Chemicals Manufacturing
- Polymer Additives Manufacturing.
Utilized Skills
- WWTS evaluation and performance analysis
- Technical alternatives evaluations
- Industrial wastewater sampling/test plan
- FEL-1 preliminary process design
- Industrial wastewater treatability test plan.