Abstract
Decreasing water supplies and increasing regulations force industry to examine water reuse more closely. Decisions to pursue a water recycle and reuse project are based on many pieces of information. New practices are being considered not only for economic and environmental reasons, but also from an operational point of view; treating water for reuse increases plant control over water quality.
Organic and inorganic contamination can pose problems during water reuse. Common treatment methods such as precipitation, used alone, are not always adequate to meet new requirements imposed by recycle considerations. Destructive treatment technologies and separation techniques offer new ways to meet the technical challenges of changing regulations and water reuse.
A critical first step in developing a water recycle strategy is a water audit including analysis of available water sources and defining customer and overall plant goals. This is typically followed by evaluation of potential treatment technologies, laboratory treatability studies and pilot testing. Process modeling is also used to shorten development time, and optimize processes.
Case studies show the use of various destructive and separation treatment methods to achieve water recycle and reuse in industry.
