European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva, Switzerland

EnviroChemie supplies wastewater technology for treating wastewater from electroplating shop

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) based in Geneva close to the Swiss-French border is the world’s largest and most important particle physics laboratory. It houses a particle accelerator (an underground circular tunnel measuring 27 km in length), which has been built to help solve scientific conundrums concerning the origins of the universe and the structure of matter.

The CERN site has its own electroplating shop, which gives rise to wastewater containing cyanide and chromate. The wastewater undergoes physico-chemical treatment in batches inside two Envochem DOX plants. Approximately 2 m³/d of wastewater containing cyanide and 30 m³/d of wastewater containing chromate are involved. The wastewater treatment plant can be operated without producing any wastewater at the end of the process. An evaporator may be retrofitted for this purpose.

Furthermore, ultrapure rinsing water is produced using a softening plant, reverse osmosis and electrodeionisation at a maximum rate of 4 m³/h.

EnviroChemie was the main contractor for the project, which included the new hall.

Plant completion date: 2009

fischer Edelstahl GmbH, Achern, Germany

Wastewater treatment using compact Lugan® dissolved-air flotation plant

fischer Edelstahl GmbH, a company based in Achern in Germany, has a hall for washing machine parts and transport equipment soiled with various substances, including cooling lubricant emulsions.

The assembly cleaning process, which involves a high-pressure cleaner, a part washing machine and floor cleaning machines, produces approximately 3 m³ of wastewater as a result of rinsing and cleaning each day.

Once the wastewater has undergone physical pre-treatment it is still contaminated by emulsions and heavy metals to such an extent that the prescribed values for safe discharge into the sewage system cannot be achieved. Therefore, the Lugan® 1500 emulsion separation plant is used to treat the wastewater physico-chemically following the metered addition of the Envifloc®  flocculating and neutralising agent and a small quantity of compressed air. The resulting flotate sludge is separated from the clean water and transferred to a sludge dewatering system. The clean water, which complies with the required limit values (KW < 20 mg/l in accordance with the German Wastewater Ordinance, Annexe 49 and with a pH value of 6.5 to 9.5), flows into the sewer.

The plant was designed in accordance with the following basic principles:
- High level of cleaning performance
- Central waste disposal
- Low investment and operating costs
- Minimal effort required for operation and maintenance
- Tried-and-tested plus robust plant design

Performance data

Technical data

Toyota Motor Corporation, St. Petersburg, Russia

Physico-chemical wastewater treatment for the automotive industry

The process used by the TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION to produce cars at its site in St. Petersburg results in various types of wastewater. This has to undergo treatment before it can be discharged into the sewage system.

The ENVOCHEM® COL wastewater treatment plant has been designed to allow the automatic and continuous treatment of three streams of wastewater containing heavy metal, oil or no contaminants. The total volumetric flow is 50³/h and treatment comprises the following processing steps:

• Wastewater equalising and aeration
• Precipitation/Flocculation
• Neutralisation
• Sedimentation
• Flocculation filtration
• Sludge dewatering using a chamber filter press

Performance data

Technical data     

 Van Gulik, de Meern, Netherlands

Water recycling and wastewater treatment system for wastewater from steel powder coating process

Van Gulik Coatings has installed a second powder coating line at its site in de Meern in the Netherlands. Per hour, the plant is capable of powder coating 18t of steel products measuring 14.5 m in length.

The quantity of demineralised water required for the pre-treatment stage is approximately 2 m³ per hour. The deionised water is used for rinsing the parts that are to be coated once these have undergone degreasing, pickling and passivation. EnviroChemie was awarded the contract for constructing a combined water recycling and wastewater treatment plant. A tailored plant solution was subsequently installed for the customer in the form of the company’s Envochem^® ION and Split-O-Mat^® 3200 plant technology. The Envochem^® ION water recycling plant (consisting of a dual-layer filter, an activated carbon filter, plus two cation and two anion exchange units) is used to turn the circulating rinsing water into deionised water (< 15 µS/cm).

The used concentrate baths and return flows from the Envochem^® ION plant are collected separately and treated in the Split-O-Mat^® SOM 3200 wastewater treatment plant. The water containing chromium (VI) is first decontaminated before undergoing precipitation and flocculation. The resulting flocs then undergo sedimentation in a downstream sedimentation tank. The thin sludge is dewatered in a chamber filter press.

Performance data