Question: Stricter wastewater regulatory environments and water availability continue to drive water reuse and recycle in the chemical and petrochemical industries globally. What should companies consider when evaluating water reuse as part of the manufacturing and wastewater process? Answer: While…
The delayed coking process is a fundamental part of the petroleum refining and petrochemical industries, and is among the main technical means for transforming inexpensive heavy oil into more valuable, light-oil products. Delayed coking units are common in petroleum refineries,…
Last month, a total of 17,722 visitors and 995 exhibitors attended WEFTEC.09, the Water Environment Federation’s (WEF) 82nd annual technical exhibition and conference held in Orlando, Fla. Particularly in this time of economic concerns, the strong showing reinforces the importance…
In more and more locations, the availability of fresh water resources is limited and water reuse is becoming increasingly important. For many industrial applications, the availability of water is essentially a “license to operate”. A large component of the water…
Cooling water systems that rely on cooling towers are a critical component at chemical process industries (CPI) facilities. However, during operation, these open recirculating systems concentrate the contaminants in the makeup water, and as a result, scale formation and biological…
An energy-autonomous process for capturing air humidity for drinking water has been developed by scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology (IGB; Stuttgart; www.fraunhofer.de) and Logos-Innovationen GmbH (Bodnegg, both Germany; www.logos-innovationen.com). The concept is suitable for supplying…
Globally, water reuse and recycling are not uncommon — with parts of Australia, South Africa and the Middle East rather heartily embracing the practice. Even in Europe, it is estimated that 75 to 80% of water is reused. However, because…
For wastewater treatment, membrane bioreactors (MBRs) provide superior effluent quality in a small footprint compared to alternative activated-sludge treatment methods. However, MBRs are prone to fouling, and thus may require frequent membrane cleaning with the associated manpower and chemical costs.…
China Energy Recovery, Inc. (CER; Shanghai; www.chinaenergyrecovery.com), in alliance with CMIIC Engineering and Construction Corp. (Beijing; www.cmiic.com), plans to design and build what is claimed to be the world’s largest straw-pulp-alkali recovery system. The $11.6-million contract is a key part…
This month’s cover line "Approaching Zero Liquid Discharge" (see Cover Story, pp. 60 – 68) includes part of a growing vernacular that applies to water use in the chemical process industries (CPI) and beyond. Regardless of how differently the situation…