INDUSTRIAL WATER

QUALITY AND
QUANTITY
REQUIREMENTS
Sources of Industrial Wastewater
Industrial wastewater means used up water from industries.
The characteristics of waters depend on the nature of industry.
Agricultural Waste
Textiles Mills
Iron and Steel Industry
Mines & Quarries
Complex Organic Chemicals Industry
Power plant
Sugar Industry
Nuclear Industry
Food Industry
Fertilizer industry
Brewery Industry
USES OF WATER IN INDUSTRIES
In industries, water is used for many purposes.
Example:
 Boiling
 Coolant
 Cutting
 Cleaning
 Sanitation
 Gardening
Agricultural Waste
The agricultural sector produces an enormous volume of
wastewater every year. The two main sources of wastewater in
agriculture are:
a) non-point source pollution and
b) point source pollution.
Non point source pollution - surface run offs from fields-
excessive rainfall
Run offs in non point source may also include nutrients,
pesticides and soil sediments that cause high levels of turbidity in
water bodies, encouraging the growth of aquatic plants, clog fish
gills and smother animal. (Eutrofication)
point source pollution in agriculture is a localized source
constituting animal waste, treatment, piggery waste, firewater,
silage liquor, milking parlor wastes, slaughtering wastes and
vegetable washing wastes.
Textiles Mills
The Fibres used in the Textile Industry may be broadly classified
into four groups :
cotton, wool, regenerated and synthetics.
The textile industry is very water intensive.
Water is used for cleaning the raw material and for many flushing
steps during the whole production.
Produced waste water has to be cleaned from,fat, oil, color and
other chemicals, which are used during the several production steps.
The cleaning process is depending on the kind of waste water (not
every plant use the same way of production) and also on the amount
of used water. Also not all plants uses the same chemicals,
especially companies with a special standard (environmental) try to
keep water cleaned in all steps of production.
So the concepts, to treat the water can differ from each other.
Iron and steel industry
The iron and steel industry consumes water mainly for cooling, washing, gas
transfer, matter removal, etc.
Right from the mining process to the fabrication of steel, the entire iron and
steel manufacturing process incorporates powerful reduction reactions in blast
furnaces.
The water used for cooling is therefore begrimed by chemicals such as
ammonia and cyanide.
Contamination of waste streams includes gasification products such as
benzene, naphthalene, cyanide, ammonia, phenols and cresols, along with a
wide array of more composite organic compounds collectively known as
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).
Even during other stages, e.g., in the final treatment stage where pickling is
done in strong mineral acids for rust removal and preparing the surface for
surface treatments such as galvanization or painting, large amount of water is
generated which is contaminated by acids like hydrochloric acid and sulfuric
acid.
Mines & Quarries
Contaminants of mining and quarrying consist mainly of slurries
of rock particles that arise mainly from rainfall washing exposed
surfaces and haul roads.
At times, they are also formed during rock washing and grading
processes. These inert contaminants are abundantly generated
during the extraction and on-site processing of materials such as
coal, china clay, slate, metalliferous and vein materials.
Although the waste generated is normally chemically inert and
stable enough to be easily deposited on the land without pre-
treatment, it has to be noted that some waste may contain high
levels of metals that can have a harmful effect on wildlife and
plants.
Oils and hydraulic oils are also common contaminants of mine
and quarry waste water.
  
Complex Organic Chemicals Industry

Chemical pollutants include a wide variety of contaminants

ranging from simple inorganic ions to complex organic
molecules. Organic compounds that are dangerous to the
environment are all man-made and have only existed during
the last century. Apart from the organic chemical
manufacturing plants, a lot of other industries also work with
complex organic compounds regularly. These include
pesticides, pharmaceuticals, paints and dyes, petro-
chemicals, detergents, plastics, paper pollution, etc. These
industries generally deteriorate the quality of water by
contaminating it with feed-stock materials, by-products,
product material in soluble or particulate form, washing and
cleaning agents, solvents and added value products.
Boiling is the most effective heat transfer method
because of its high performance due to latent heat
transport(constant temperature) and improve the
thermal performance of components for the
process industry and power plants
Coolant is a substance, typically liquid or gas, that
is used to reduce or regulate the temperature of a
system.
Water is the most common coolant. Its high heat
capacity and low cost makes it a suitable heat-transfer
medium
Cutting fluid is a type of coolant and lubricant (i.e.,
reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact)
designed specifically for metalworking processes,
such as machining and stamping. There are various
kinds of cutting fluids, which include oils, oil-water
emulsions
The properties that are sought after in a good cutting fluid
are the ability to:
keep the work piece at a stable temperature. Very warm
is acceptable, but extremely hot or alternating hot-and-
cold are avoided.
maximize the life of the cutting tip by lubricating the
working edge and reducing tip welding.
ensure safety for the people handling it (toxicity, bacteria,
fungi) and for the environment upon disposal.
prevent rust on machine parts and cutters.
Cleaning:
In textile industry water is very intensive. Water is
used for cleaning the raw material and for many flushing
steps during the whole production.
Cleaning operations must be performed strictly
according to a carefully worked out procedure in order to
attain the required degree of cleanliness

Example: cleaning in dairy

industries
Sanitation refers to public health conditions related
to clean drinking water and adequate treatment and
disposal of human excreta and sewage.
A sanitation system includes the capture, storage,
transport, treatment and disposal wastewater.

 Gardening is the practice of growing and

cultivating plants as part of horticulture. It involves an
active participation in the growing of plants, and tends
to be labor-intensive
 Quality criteria of water
The principal function of much industrial water is to
remove heat from process operations.
if water is used directly in the manufacturing
process as in chemical industries, food and beverage
industries the water requirements may be higher.

• Quality of water used in processing depends on the

type of process also.
For example:
a) Manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and
semiconductors demands high purity waters.
b) Manufacturing of high quality art papers demands
potable water completely free from turbidity and
colour.
The quality of industrial water is addressed in terms
of the norms listed below
Its potential for causing damage to equipment
Problems it may cause in the manufacturing process
Impairment of product quality
Complexity of waste handling as a result of using
water of the quality available
We provide, Only for guidelines that can be used for
preliminary judgements not valid as absolute limits.
They may vary widely, depending on other chemicals
present in water, action between chemicals, temperature,
pH and other environmental factors.

With the safety margins included in criteria, the values in

the table may be viewed as concentrations that usually
promise safety across a wide range of circumstances found
in practise.
 Maximum concentrations of constituents in raw waters (mg/l)
Characteristics Boiler Cooling Textile Pulp and Chemical Petroleum
water water plants paper Industry
Silica 150 50 - 50 - 85
Aluminum 3 3 - - - -
Iron 80 14 0.3 2.6 10 15
Manganese 10 2.5 1.0 - 2 -
Calcium - 500 - - 250 220
Magnesium - - - - 100 85
Ammonia - - - - - 40
Bicarbonate 600 600 - - 600 480
Sulfate 140 680 - - 850 900
Chloride 19000 600 - 200 500 1600
Nitrate - 30 - - - 8
Dissolved solids 35000 1000 150 1080 2500 3500
Suspended solids 15000 5000 1000 - 10000 5000
Hardness 5000 850 120 475 1000 900
Alkalinity 500 500 - - 500 500
A single industrial plant may often include several
operations and processes each may have their own
requirements
As an example consider a plant that produces a chemical
product. This could require several different water
qualities, including
1. boiling water
2. cooling water
3. Water to satisfy the needs of the chemical process
4. Water for drinking
5. Water for housekeeping and sanitary services for the
employees
 INDUSTRIAL WATER DEMAND
75% of industries use only 2% of total water demand
where as 5% of industries utilizes 75% of total water
demand.
The major water users are steel, petroleum products,
paper, and beverage industries.
The water used for cooling, steam generation, processes,
product, utilities, and wash water in industries.
Out of these 95% of water is used for cooling or
condensation purposes of total industrial intake for the
industries like thermo electric power industry.
In industries other than thermo electric, 65% of total
intake used for cooling, 30 % for processing, 5% for
boiler feed waters, sanitary services and other purposes
The proportion of water use varies with the nature of
industry.

For example, leather industry uses 5% for cooling and

whereas petroleum and coal industries use 85% for
cooling
In additional water demand is met through recycled flows
within industrial plants.
In general, Recycled water average is 35% in any
industry. which varies from industry to industry
Increasing water consciousness, regulatory norms in all
industries reduces the water intakes and waste water
discharges
The variations can be attributed to many factors,
including differences, in process used even to make
similar products
Technology also plays an important role in water demand
Latest technology provides less intake of water and
reducing waste water discharges
The industry demand will fluctuate with the nature and
magnitude of such industry and quantity of water required
for unit production.
The potential of industrial expansion should be carefully
investigated, so that adequate water supply can attract
such industries and add to economic property of the
community.
The industrial demand affected by many factors such as
cost and availability of the water, waste disposal
problems, management and types of processes involved.
Industrial studies of the water requirement of a specific
industry should be depending on their location.
Losses and wastage: A significant quantity portion of
water that enters the distribution system at the water
treatment plant that does not finally reach the consumer.
This is due to leakage of faulty pipe joints, faulty valves
etc.
 The quantity of water used by Industry/unit
Industry Unit of Water requirement
production kilo liters/unit
Automobile Vehicle 40
Distillery Kilo liter alcohol 122-170
Fertilizer Tone 80-100
leather 100 Kg Tanned 4
Paper Ton 200-400
Special paper Ton 400-1000
Straw board Ton 75-100
Petroleum Refinery Ton crude( crude) 1-2
Steel Ton 200-250
Sugar Ton (cane crushed) 1-2
Textile 100 kg (goods) 8-14
Industrial Consumptive Water use,1995,
2010 and 2025
  Industrial (km3) Livestock (km3)

1995 BAU Projections 1995 BAU Projections

baseline baseline
estimates estimates

2010 2025 2010 2025

India 7.2 13.8 15.7 3.3 5.3 8.1
World 156.9 211.0 235.2 37.0 49.0 63.4
Source : Rosengrant etal.,(2002). World Water and Food to 2025, IFPRI,
Washington
Notes : BAU indicates business-as-usual scenario;km3, cubic kilometer