Water treatment is used in a large variety of industries for many reasons. With only 3% of Earth’s water being fresh water, there is a lot of water that needs to be treated. However, the type of treatment and the process that takes place depends on the situation at hand. Industrial water treatment is very different from home water treatments. Below are some examples of industrial types of water treatment processes and how they work.
1. Dissolved Air Flotation
Dissolved air flotation helps to clarify water by removing oils and solids from it. This is done by dissolving pressurized air in water and releasing it at an atmospheric pressure into basins called “flotation tank basins”. The air that is released will form bubbles that attach to the matter in the water and help the matter to float to the surface so that it can be skimmed out. This process is often used to deal with wastewater that comes from chemical plants or oil refineries.
2. Ultrafiltration
Ultrafiltration is another way of removing matter from wastewater. It provides efficient solids removal, but is also good for removing oil and other materials. This process is also pressure driven and utilizes a membrane to remove matter from the water. The membrane is semi-permeable which allows water to pass through while retaining unwanted solids and high molecular weight solutes. It is often used to purify macromolecular solutions and is a good way to maximize solids recovery.
3. Paper Bed Filters
This is a more basic form of water treatment that wouldn’t be used for separating things like oil from water. Instead, it uses a paper media filter to filter out items such as plastic, glass, metal, or rubber. They can handle 130 gallons per minute flow rates and can help to extend the life of coolants and tools.
4. Vacuum Filters
Vacuum filters are a great form of sludge removal and are a great way to save on production time and money. The vacuum chamber sucks out contaminated liquids through a filter and can handle up to 2,000 gallons per minute flow rates.
Some of these systems are often used to treat fluids such as coolants, but they can also be used to treat water as well. They all vary in speed, efficiency, and cost, and the type that a business uses will depend on the work at hand as well as their speed and cost needs. These are all the types of water treatment processes that can be found in industrial systems.
