Treatment of Water for Industrial Use

Water is widely used in various process applications in industry. Other major industrial uses are boiler feedwater and cooling water. The kind and degree of treatment of water in these applications depend on the end use. As examples, although cooling water may require only minimal treatment, removal of corrosive substances and scale-forming solutes is essential for boiler feedwater, and water used in food processing must be free of pathogens and toxic substances. Inadequate treatment of water for industrial use can cause problems such as corrosion, scale formation, reduced heat 

Numerous factors must be taken into consideration in designing and operating an industrial water treatment facility. These include the following factors  

The various specific processes employed to treat water for industrial use are discussed in Sections 5.6 through 5.11. External treatment, usually applied to the plant s entire water supply, uses processes such as aeration, filtration, and clarification to remove material that might cause problems from water. Such substances include suspended or dissolved solids, hardness, and dissolved gases. Following this basic treatment, the water can be divided into different streams, some to be used without further treatment and the rest to be treated for specific applications. 

Internal treatment is designed to modify the properties of water for specific applications. Examples of internal treatment are as follows  

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DOM is ubiquitous in rivers, lakes, groundwater, and oceans. It therefore plays a dominant role in the biosphere as well as in treatment of fresh water, for industrial use and human consumption. The main aspects in addition to the function as microbial nutrients are (a) the interactions with other water constituents like metals and xenobiotics and (b) the reactions with chemicals that are used for water disinfection (e.g., chlorine). The latter leads to the problem of disinfection by-product (DBP) formation, which is of toxicological relevance. 

Checklists by their very nature tend toward being facility or process specific. They do, however, have the advantage that they can be prepared by experienced staff but implemented by those with less experience. They can be customized to specific industries, processes, or companies. A specific example of this would be the development of a checklist relating to the use of chemicals, particularly chlorine, in the treatment of water for swimming pools. 

Wastes from waste management facilities, off-site waste, wastewater treatment plants, and the preparation of water intended for human consumption and water for industrial use ... 

The individual membrane filtration processes are defined chiefly by pore size although there is some overlap. The smallest membrane pore size is used in reverse osmosis (0.0005—0.002 microns), followed by nanofiltration (0.001—0.01 microns), ultrafHtration (0.002—0.1 microns), and microfiltration (0.1—1.0 microns). Electro dialysis uses electric current to transport ionic species across a membrane. Micro- and ultrafHtration rely on pore size for material separation, reverse osmosis on pore size and diffusion, and electro dialysis on diffusion. Separation efficiency does not reach 100% for any of these membrane processes. For example, when used to desalinate—soften water for industrial processes, the concentrated salt stream (reject) from reverse osmosis can be 20% of the total flow. These concentrated, yet stiH dilute streams, may require additional treatment or special disposal methods. 

RO is widely used for desalinization of brackish water to produce a potable water source. Special membranes have been developed for industrial uses and for purifying wastewater. Metal compounds are readily removed. RO is a commercially mature technology available for many special applications including the treatment of process water from metal finishing, pulp and paper, semiconductor, and electroplating industries. 

The intent of Figure 4.3 is to show how polyurethane can serve as an important tool in the remediation of industrial and agricultural wastes. We will review the work of a host of researchers who recognized the benefits of polyurethane as a scaffold for colonization of pollutant-degrading organisms. While we focus on the treatment of water, bioreactors are also used to treat air emissions. The treatment of wastewater... 

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