Problem: Nitrate, the most stable form of nitrogen in water, is found in both ground and surface water and originates from both natural and anthropogenic sources. Due to its high solubility in water, nitrate is not filtered out from groundwater like other contaminants. Removing nitrates from source water is important as elevated levels in drinking water can cause serious health effects when ingested.
Problem: A challenging aspect of drinking water treatment is often predicting or monitoring the changes that occur with incoming water quality. Seasonality, weather events, agricultural practices or upstream discharges can influence the quality of both ground and surface water over time. With multiple variables impacting source waters, monitoring historical trends may not be sufficient to predict raw water changes or detect uncharacteristic events.
Problem: Drinking water plants that use surface water or ground water under the influence of surface water are susceptible to high levels of organic matter in the raw water. Reduction of organic matter through coagulation/sedimentation and filtration is important to lower the potential for disinfection by-product formation (DBP) and limit operational problems. In addition, organics in water consume the polymers used for the coagulation process, which reduces the efficiency of the treatment. Therefore, optimizati...
Problem: Organic matter (UV254/TOC) in drinking water can react with chlorine to form harmful disinfection by-products (DBPs). Some removal of TOC is achieved through the conventional drinking water treatment processes, while carbon absorption may be used to further enhance the removal of TOC prior to chlorine disinfection.
Problem: Waterborne pathogens can cause serious disease outbreaks. Drinking water disinfection forms the final barrier between these pathogens and humans. For drinking water disinfection, ultraviolet (UV) light has proven to be the best method for inactivation of Cryptosporidium parvum and Giardia lamblia parasites found in natural waters. Organic matter and suspended particles in water absorb and scatter UV light, interfering with pathogen inactivation by UV irradiation.
Problem: Industrial manufacturers face stringent regulations for discharging wastewater to the environment and municipal sewer systems. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) is a primary concern for many discharge limits, as wastewaters high in BOD can have adverse impacts on the aquatic environments by leading to oxygen depletion. In some cases, as a means to supplement BOD, it is also desirable to monitor chemical oxygen demand (COD) of industrial effluents. Both of these tests, are time and labour intensive...
Problem: A significant portion of the operational costs of a conventional municipal wastewater treatment plant employing an aerobic biological treatment unit comes from electricity costs associated with aeration. In many cases, the aeration rates are kept at the maximum level to ensure that the plant’s effluent is in compliance with the regulations. The critical parameter for regulatory purposes and treatment efficiency, BOD, takes 5 days to measure through standard methods providing almost no value to...
Problem: Prior to environmental discharge, wastewater is disinfected to ensure pathogens present in the water are inactivated. Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection is becoming a widely accepted treatment technology for wastewater disinfection due to the deleterious effects of chlorine on aquatic life. The ability for the UV light to penetrate the water is directly related to the concentration of suspended particles and organic matter in water that absorb or scatter the light.
Problem: To operate safely and efficiently, cargo ships take in water to provide stability. This water, referred to as ballast, carries all kinds of bacteria, microbes and micro-algae. The ballast water must inevitably be discharged when the ship takes on cargo, often thousands of kilometers away from the port of origin, transferring pathogens and aquatic organisms that can cause serious environmental, economic and health problems.
Problem: Water is fundamental for numerous manufacturing processes. Contaminated or poor quality process water can cause significant operational problems and compromise the quality of the product.
Problem: Large quantities of water are used for cooling in industrial manufacturing. To prevent scaling, corrosion and biofilm in the cooling system, inhibitors and biocides are regularity dosed. Make-up water is continuously added to the system to balance the loss of water from evaporation. As water is added, the concentration of chemicals is diluted and the quality of water changes.
Problem: Poor water quality can result in significant operational problems and possible shut down of boiler systems. To limit the potential for scaling, deposition and corrosion, most boiler water is treated physically or chemically to remove impurities and improve efficiency in the system.
Problem: Trace contamination in ultrapure water (UPW) can have detrimental effects on a manufacturing process in Semiconductor, Power Generation and Pharmaceutical industries. Onsite treatment is conducted to further remove trace impurities from source water.
Problem: With rising water costs, greater water scarcities and increasing environmental compliance regulations, reuse of water is becoming widely practiced in the manufacturing industry. For most industries, some form of treatment is required to ensure water meets standards for reuse.
Real Tech offers solutions that can provide substantial benefits to drinking water treatment plants. Continuous online monitoring can ensure water quality standards are met without the need for chemical overdosing while maintaining high confidence in the safety of the treated water. Significant cost savings can be achieved by optimizing coagulant dosage, reduced sludge production and reduced energy requirements.
In industrial operations, a significant quantity of product can be lost into the waste stream. The reason for the product loss can vary from leaky or faulty valves, to vessels overflowing, or to operator errors. Washing processes also create unavoidable product loss. Most of these losses are not large spills and it may take a while for the operators to detect them. In fact, frequent small losses can account for more than 50% of total losses.
Significant benefits can be derived from continuous water quality...
Chemical plants that produce high quantities of phenols (plastics, pesticides and pharmaceutical industries) and other aromatic organic compounds are excellent candidates for wastewater characterization via spectral analysis. Chemicals that contain conjugated double bonds absorb UV radiation remarkably well. The benefits include higher precision in process control as well as optimization of wastewater treatment.
Wastewater quality can change drastically and quickly – particularly in the case of industrial discharges – that generate shock loads within the wastewater treatment system. In addition to potential operational problems such as increased chemical and aeration demand, shock loads also have the potential to affect regulatory compliance if wastewater cannot be treated properly.
Real Tech’s BOD/COD monitoring systems provide continuous online measurement of COD and/or BOD, which are the most relevant parameters to...
Monitoring process streams and waste streams continuously in a brew house can provide many benefits to operations. Monitoring product in process for color or concentration provides consistency and quality measures. Product loss can be quantified by monitoring waste streams. Processes can be improved to increase efficiency and minimize effluent waste. Effluent waste streams can also be monitored for organic loading with BOD and COD correlations to ensure compliance for discharge.
Water is fundamental to the manufacturing process in a semiconductor facility. Electronic components are rinsed or washed several times during the producing process with ultrapure water (UPW) to remove residue. Continuous monitoring of organic constituents (TOC) on the influent city water assist with UPW production. Good quality waste streams for the manufacturing process can also be monitored for reuse potential.
Maintaining the quality of natural waters provides numerous economic benefits by preventing severe deterioration of water resources that would require expensive treatment operations to protect public health and the environment. For instance, monitoring nitrates in surface waters can possibly prevent algal blooms from happening by facilitating the necessary steps to stop pollution sources from discharging nitrogen nutrients into the water system.
In industries such as pulp and paper toxic or difficult to treat contaminants can end up in the waste stream. Not being able to detect these toxic release events or other unexpected events in a timely manner can disrupt the biological treatment system and cause compliance issues or permit violations.
Significant benefits can be derived from continuous water quality monitoring with an online sensor system. Real Tech provides practical, low cost solutions for continuously monitoring important industrial wastewater...
A clean and pathogen free water source is essential to prevent infections from being introduced and spreading in a hatchery. Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection of water for inactivation of pathogens is recognized as a safe and effective method for use in the aquaculture industry. Continuous monitoring of water quality by measure of UV transmission (UVT) ensures the UV light is able to penetrate the water effectively and achieve the optimal dose.
Wastes that are rich in starch such as those that occur in potato processing industries require a balanced addition of other macronutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. In order to optimize the dosing of these nutrients it is essential to have a good idea about the organic load entering the biological treatment reactor. Measurement of colour can help with quality control and flavour consistency.
Wastewater from a textile facility contains a variety of dyes and organic chemicals from the manufacturing processes that are often difficult to treat. Spectral analysis is well suited for monitoring waste streams to identify problematic dyes prior to treatment. Continuous monitoring of effluent wastewater for BOD and COD helps to ensure effective treatment and quality of effluent to ensure regulatory goals are met prior to discharge.