Full Description

There are an estimated 29,528 facilities in the U.S. that discharge wastewater containing metal working lubricants (MWL). WasteMWL typically contain about 1 - 5% oil, 10 - 20% solids, and 80 to 90% water. MWL are made up ofmineral oil, fatty acids, tall oil, and additives such as surfactants, anti-corrosion agents, biocides, anddispersants. Stricter environmental regulations and increasing consciousness towards wastewater reuselead to reconsideration of the "conventional" wastewater treatment processes. The "conventional"wastewater treatment systems such as chemical emulsion breaking and gravity separation, chemicalemulsion breaking followed by dissolved air flotation (DAF) treatment, and free oil removal and ultrafiltration (UF) are typically used for treating oily wastewater in the automotive industry. All these systemsproduce effluent that is close to equivalent; however, none are considered as effective when treatingsynthetic or semi-synthetic MWL. To meet the regulatory standards for oily wastewater, biologicaltreatment using membrane reactors has been identified as the most common solution. A better understanding of the MWL chemistry, environmental health and safety issues, and review of existingtreatment technologies are important steps for assessing the effectiveness and associated costs for treatingthe oily wastewater. This paper discusses all of these elements and relates to the economic effect onindustry as well as the environmental effect on the natural resources. Includes 10 references, tables, figures.

Product Details

Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 11/01/2008 Number of Pages: 26File Size: 1 file , 1.7 MB