Manufacturing creates waste and waste costs money and doesn't help our planet so the reduction or even elimination of waste is a very high priority for many manufacturing companies.
Product finishing, such as painting, is a vital part of manufacturing but it creates waste, normally in the form of waste water that is generated when cleaning spraying or application equipment. We were contacted by a specialist manufacturer of timber cladding who wanted to reduce the space that was being taken up storing their waste water and wanted a better option than having thousands of litres of water taken away by a waste contractor.
The waste water was being produced when cleaning their paint application equipment. Spray guns, rollers and flood tunnels were cleaned two or three times a week or when a change of colour was required. They were producing around 1000 litres of waste water every week and stored it in IBC tanks until there was a full load for their waste contractor to collect. This resulted IBC tanks taking up space for many weeks, space that could be far better utilised. They were also concerned that the IBC tanks could, at some point, leak which would potentially cause an environmental issue.
They wanted our help to reduce or even eliminate the volume of waste water they had stored at any point which would give them more space and make an environmental issue less likely. They also wanted an easier option than having the waste water taken away by a contractor.
So, having established their requirements we recommended a solution which would eliminate the storage of waste water which also greatly reduce the chances of any environmental issues and eliminate the requirement for water to be disposed via a waste contractor.
Having tested their waste with our range of water treatment products we showed how we were able to separate the paint from the waste water. This could then be filtered, removing the paint solids, and the clear water treated so that it was of a quality where it could be disposed to their sewer. This meant that there was no water being stored (either dirty or treated) and the only waste, that required disposal, was the dry paint solids.
The system we recommended consisted of a Fusion 800 mixing tank, 2 x Bigfloc filtration units and an EpurWater PM micro filtration unit plus the required pumps & pipework.
After discussing the system with the local water authority and showing the test results of the treated water, we received their authorisation to dispose of the treated water into the sewer. With everything in place, the company proceeded to order the system which we installed on a beautiful, if very cold, Monday. The following day was taken up with training and testing the system then starting the treatments.
We are now a number of weeks into the life of the system and many treatments have been completed and water disposed. The water authority have undertaken their first test of the treated water (classed as Trade Effluent) and the sample passed with flying colours. The water was tested for three elements; pH, Suspended Solids and Chemical Oxygen Demand (Settled) and all three were well below the limits given, especially the Suspended Solids which had a limit of 1000mg/l and the sample had 51mg/l.
Our system has answered all of the questions asked of it. The customer has no waste water being stored and no waste water awaiting collection. The water is treated, filtered and disposed to drain. The customer is happy.
If you are producing waste water and think that we may be able to help improve its disposal then please get in touch. We have many different systems, whatever your requirements, we will have the system and chemical treatments to suit.
