Industrial Water Reuse – Is Your Existing Program Still Working?

You are recycling your industrial process water. That’s great! You are among the growing group of environmentally and financially responsible companies who are enjoying the benefits of reusing water. In the time since you implemented your program, you have likely experienced benefits such as overall operational cost saving, better quality feed water back into your process, and extended equipment life. But when was the last time you evaluated the system to make sure that you are still getting the most benefit you can from it? Have you considered the reuse rate and how to get an even higher recovery? What about the equipment life or membrane life in your Reverse Osmosis equipment? Are you replacing equipment and membranes regularly?

If you notice a decline in the water quality or a drop in the recovery rate, this could be a clear indication that your program needs adjusting. For example, if a change is made upstream in production, it could impact the performance of the water treatment system. The program that was designed originally may not be optimal under the changed conditions. The adjustment could be a change to the chemical pretreatment, or it could require the addition of ultrafiltration equipment. Ultrafiltration equipment prevents solids from entering the Reverse Osmosis equipment, which can extend the life of your membranes dramatically and increase recovery rates. The more water you recover, the more you can reuse in the same point of use or a different one. Having more water on hand means you are purchasing less water and discharging less.

Perhaps the personnel you once had to operate the equipment have moved on or are not trained to make changes to the program. This can mean a risk to the success of the system itself and the water quality you require in your process. In these cases, training for your operators or even professional operators can be provided to you. Many water treatment companies outsource operations and maintenance services for this reason. Knowledgeable water treatment personnel is one of the key factors for ensuring a program’s success. If you are unsure about whether or not your operators are effective, you can bring in a professional to consult with them and assess where their expertise can be improved.

Water treatment systems are solutions to conditions that are known at the time that solution is implemented. Conditions do change, even if only slightly. Just as your production department tweaks its equipment and the product line in order to yield the best performance and the best results, your operations department should adjust the water treatment program.