The importance of efficient wastewater treatment

Costs

More efficient wastewater treatment processes result in lower overall costs. Higher efficiency leads to streamlined operations, faster treatment and equipment, and fewer required repairs and replacements. For example, a plant with inefficiencies due to high return flows from its equipment will find that it pays more in energy costs. It may also find that it must significantly increase the number of repairs performed on its blowers and potentially replace them more frequently.

Environmental

Environmental concerns have also led many plants to introduce as much efficiency as possible into their operations. If backflow or high head losses result in excessive power production from electric motors, this can lead to higher financial costs as well as ecological costs to the environment. Similarly, if wastewater treatment does not make effective use of heat recovery, then the plant will consume more heat and power. This overuse comes at the cost of greenhouse gas emissions and damage to the planet due to pollution from the textile industry. In addition, the outflow of inadequately treated waste pollutes the surrounding soil and water. Pollution prevention in the textile industry is the key to reducing this harm.

Heat recovery, in particular, is a key step in which wastewater treatment facilities can significantly improve the energy efficiency of their operations. Heat recovery is a technique for applying process water that has been previously used in textile manufacturing and has been warmed in place of electricity to heat cold fresh water. This step saves expensive energy costs and helps keep greenhouse gas emissions low to reduce the environmental impact of the textile industry.

Easy plant operation

Wastewater treatment is a complex process. Plant managers can improve efficiency in the process, and plant operations and maintenance will be easier.

Textile wastewater treatment involves many steps.

-Screening to remove small particles from the process water

-Oil removal

-Homogenization to evenly distribute contaminants

-Neutralization to change the pH of the wastewater

-Chemical-physical treatment

-Bio-purification, e.g. MBBR aeration

-De-inking to remove dyes

This multi-step process can be time consuming and requires many resources. It also requires precise calibration to be effective and can present many problems that can hinder the process. For example, if machinery or surfaces become clogged with sludge, this clogging can have many undesirable effects that can reduce the efficiency of the process. The more efficient a plant can be with durable equipment and state-of-the-art methods built into its system, the more efficiently the wastewater treatment process can operate and the easier the job of the plant operator becomes.