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Waste water chemical conditioning

GlenFarrow offers advice, testing and chemical solutions for waste water treatment.

All organisations have a responsibility when discharging waste water into either sewerage systems or watercourses to ensure it meets local and national requirements. A company’s trade effluent consent will require the composition of waste water adhering to specific criteria. Certain authorities will also specify how often water should be tested and systems audited.

GlenFarrow offers advice on all elements of waste water planning – including testing, advice on local requirements and chemical treatment. Our experienced team will advise on the best solutions to meet your regulatory and environmental requirements.

Types of chemicals for waste water treatment

Waste water being discharged directly into rivers, lakes or other water courses needs to be correctly treated to ensure natural wildlife and ecosystems are not harmed. The four main types of chemicals used for waste water treatment: coagulants, pH neutralisers, flocculants and foaming agents.

Coagulants

Coagulation is the process by which colloidal and finely divided suspended matter is caused to coalesce, leading to the formation of flocs and agglomeration of the flocculated matter – often referred to as ‘cracking out’. The coagulant would normally be either aluminium or iron salts. The mechanical flash mixer in the contact chamber ensures that thorough mixing of the coagulant and waste water is achieved and the volume of the chamber ensures sufficient dwell time is available for coagulation to be completed.

Flocculation

Flocculation is the coagulation and agglomeration of colloidal and finely divided suspended matter to form flocs. The pH-corrected waste water is displaced into the third section of the chemical conditioning chamber where polymer is added on a volume-to-volume ratio.The slow speed mechanical mixer ensures adequate mixing is achieved and the volume of the chamber ensures sufficient dwell time is available for floc formation to be completed.

pH neutralisers

Many industrial and manufacturing processes rely on acidic or basic chemicals – from acidic etching of metal parts to the use of bleach to wash down food production installations – these are then flushed down the drain. pH adjustment (normally from acidic or basic) can be used in post process water treatment to precipitate out dissolved contaminants, such as heavy and toxic metals – these then need to be neutralised before discharge. The use of carefully controlled doses of compounds such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or strong acids during waste water processing is a simple way of ensuring the pH of the effluent discharged to the sewerage system is controlled.

Anti – foaming agents

Foam is caused by the formation of air bubbles in the waste water. These can cause problems for industrial processes such as increased mechanical wear on pumping systems and problems by blocking sieves and filters. Foams can also increase the formation of deposits in storage tanks and processing vessels – which have the knock-on impact of increasing cleaning requirements. There are a wide range of anti-foaming agents available – many from the GlenFarrow Trade Counter. These include alcohols, silicones, stearates, glycols and insoluble oils. Selecting the correct chemicals and levels of dosage can have a significant impact on the efficiency of water treatment works.

Get in touch

For more information about chemical conditional call Andrius on 01775 722327.

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Waste water plant design

GlenFarrow specialises in designing waste water treatment systems for food production and processing plants.

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Plant maintenance and monitoring

GlenFarrow has over 30 years experience supporting and maintaining effluent treatment plants.