Wastewater

Pollution restrictions are a major focus in today’s finishing industry. Unlike the year 1929, when Reliable Plating Works (RPW) was founded, today’s business has to answer to the EPA.

Toxic heavy metals found in wastewater have health and safety ramifications for communities affected by pollution. 

The EPA released its long-awaited proposed rule limiting concentrations of six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) or “forever chemicals,” in public drinking water.

The requirement to improve environmental quality is a force that will shape the national conscience as the decade unfolds.

The February meeting of the FinishingAndCoating.com Wastewater Treatment Users Group will be held on Feb. 2 and feature a guest speaker from the regulatory side.

Cyanide chemistries in mining, as well as industrial process wastewaters, including plating operations, have been used since before the start of the industrial revolution.

Wastewater treatment at finishing and coating facilities is increasingly becoming a more complex task for many operations.

Removing metals from wastewater is a major concern of almost any metal finishing operation in order to meet local and state regulations.

Short-circuiting is a condition that occurs when water flows along a nearly direct pathway from the inlet to the outlet of a tank or basin, often resulting in shorter contact, reaction, or settling times in comparison with the calculated or presumed detention times.¹

In this episode of “Seen and Solved,” Robin Deal Product Leader – AquaPure, discusses metal removal from industrial wastewater treatment systems.

FinishingAndCoating.com is hosting a free webinar: “7 Things I Wish I Knew About Wastewater Treatment,” on July 21 at 2:00 p.m. ET

It’s easy to imagine that the days of widespread use of cyanide, hexavalent chromium, and cadmium were a dark era in the history of surface finishing.

Question: We struggle with making down our flocculant to the proper percentage/ppm range.

An electroplater was having an issue treating metals, particularly zinc, that was affecting their continuous flow system.

Whether a finishing shop is scaling up production — or just wants to ensure their wastewater system is running smoothly for the next five years — planning is crucial. A free webinar on November 16 will help with that.

Robin Deal is the Product Leader for the Aquapure line at Hubbard-Hall.

Question: We have a chance to expand our business by adding a new production process.

Water consumption in the metal finishing and electronics industries has become an increasingly expensive commodity.

As a new owner of a company, you never want to find out that the wastewater system is not operating within its design parameters.

Filtration is the mechanical process to separate unwanted materials from the cleaner. The filtration unit is a medium through which only the cleaner can pass.

Q: We are a zinc-chloride plater and flow 15,000 gallons per day through a membrane system. We struggle with keeping the membranes running properly. We average between 36 and 48 hours of run time before we must stop and clean the membranes. What can we do to improve the run time?

A question from a customer: “We are a zinc-nickel plater with a discharge of 80,000 gpd. While we are able to meet our zinc and nickel discharge numbers, we struggle with our total suspended solids (TSS). We have a small floc formation with slow settling. We have solids coming over our weir. What can we do to help solve this problem?”