Water Management for Modern Industrial Facilities
Managing water at industrial sites is increasingly complex as facilities balance aging infrastructure, evolving regulations, water reuse, resource and energy recovery, and new digital technologies. Staying current on these challenges is critical to improving efficiency, reliability and sustainability. Chemical Engineering brings together practical insights and industry developments to help professionals navigate today’s most pressing water and wastewater management issues.
Notes from the Editor
This collection of assets offers a range of information related to water-related challenges. Covering industrial water reuse, treating boiler-feed and cooling-tower water, pump seals and other topics, these articles offer valuable insights for solving water and wastewater challenges.
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- Self-Neutralization of Nitric Acid Wastewater in a Wastewater Treatment Plant
- What’s Inside Your Flow Meter Matters More Than You Think
- PFAS Compliance Is Changing: Is Your Treatment Strategy Ready?
- Design Tips for Raw-Water Pumping Systems
- Makeup Water Treatment: Sodium Softening and Reverse Osmosis
Self-Neutralization of Nitric Acid Wastewater in a Wastewater Treatment Plant
Harnessing the alkalinity generation during denitrification in the treatment of acidic wastewater from a chemical-manufacturing facility in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) results in self-neutralization, offering cost savings and other benefits Facilities throughout the chemical process industries (CPI) produce large volumes of wastewater, most of which is treated in biological wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Since the optimum pH for the biological activity within the WWTP is in the range of 6.5–8.5 [1], it is standard practice that wastewaters that are originally acidic or basic be neutralized to pH of about 7 before they are directed to a biological WWTP. This common practice consumes large volumes of neutralizing chemicals. read more
What’s Inside Your Flow Meter Matters More Than You Think
Reduce liner wear, maintenance demands, and unplanned downtime with a PFAS-free PEX liner engineered for challenging water and wastewater applications. Its crosslinked molecular structure provides high abrasion resistance to withstand grit, sludge, entrained solids, and high-flow conditions, helping extend liner service life and maintain reliable measurement. Broad chemical compatibility supports chlorination, coagulation, treatment, and dosing processes, while temperature tolerance up to 203°F (95°C) provides additional application flexibility. NSF-61 Drinking Water certification supports potable water use. By covering both abrasive and non-abrasive water applications, PEX can also simplify liner selection, reduce over-specification, and decrease the number of materials facilities need to stock across treatment, distribution, utility water, waste activated sludge, and return activated sludge processes. read more
PFAS Compliance Is Changing: Is Your Treatment Strategy Ready?
As federal and state PFAS requirements expand, municipalities, wastewater operators, industrial facilities, airports and fire departments, among others, face a growing challenge: managing PFAS in a way that addresses today’s compliance requirements while preparing for tomorrow’s liabilities. PFAS regulation in the United States has entered a new era. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established drinking water standards for certain PFAS, designated PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under CERCLA, and increased reporting requirements for PFAS releases. States are also implementing restrictions and phaseouts affecting PFAS-containing aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF). For municipalities, industrial facilities, wastewater operations, airports and fire departments alike, compliance increasingly requires looking beyond simply removing PFAS from water or taking legacy AFFF out of service. Organizations… read more
Design Tips for Raw-Water Pumping Systems
While chemical engineers are well-versed in designing plant piping and long-distance pipelines, the design of raw-water pumping systems is often overlooked, because civil engineers are normally commissioned to design such systems. However, it is important for chemical engineers to understand raw-water systems thoroughly, especially when considering raw-water pumping systems in hilly terrains, where there is much risk at stake when designs do not meet practical process requirements. Any chemical process requires water for its operations. Raw water is often brought into processes from water bodies like rivers or canals using pumps and raw-water pipelines. read more
Makeup Water Treatment: Sodium Softening and Reverse Osmosis
Conscientious operation and maintenance is critical for steam-generator system reliability. Here, important details for softening and reverse osmosis systems are explained and compared As steam generation technology and higher pressure and temperature boilers evolved in the 20th century, improved makeup-water-treatment methods became mandatory. The development of synthetic ion exchange (IX) resins represented a great step forward, with sodium softening becoming the standard for lower-pressure (<600 psi) industrial units. Softening, combined with downstream forced-draft decarbonation, removes hardness and carbon dioxide, which otherwise can generate boiler scale and corrosive condensate. read more