Treatment of oil and heavy metal contaminated water

Abstract

The presence of oil contaminated water in many industrial processes causes a need for the development of techniques to purify waste process water. Purified process water can be reused, which is an advantage from an ecological as well as a financial point of view. Reuse of process water enables a reduction in water consumption, reduces the use of chemicals and results in less water that has to be disposed of. These factors will motivate companies to invest in equipment for purification of waste process water even if the flow rates are low. TTM-produkter is a Swedish company based in Kalmar aiming at developing know-how and equipment for water treatment. The company is together with the University of Kalmar developing a modular system for purification of process- and wastewater. The system will be on a low investment level, easy to operate and therefore well suited for small and mediumsized companies. The system will be tailored for a number of defined applications, easy to install and require almost no construction work on the building. A standard installation consists of a sludge and oil separator in polyethene placed on the floor, a hydrocyclone to remove particles and two filter cartridges filled with smart/selective adsorbents. Until now about 30 installations of the system have been made in Sweden and Poland. The installations cover a wide range of different industries such as car and bus washes, car demolishing plants, laundry services and ceramic, metal and graphic workshops. The best results from an ecological as well as a financial point of view has been achieved in mediumsized operations with a low flow rate of waste process water, for example a plant where 1-5 buses are washed each day or a machine for washing spare parts at a car demolishing plant. New environmental legislation and voluntary certification in accordance with ISO 1 4001 Environmental Management System not only forces but also motivates companies to invest in systems for treatment of waste process water even if the flow rates are low.