Tuesday, November 14, 2023
Technical Sessions
T5: Making it Work – ZLD Objectives, Operations, and Optimization
IWC Rep: Ed Greenwood, WSP, Barrie, ON, Canada
Session Chair: Krystal Perez, Brown & Caldwell, Seattle, WA
Discussion Leader: Kirk Ellison, EPRI, Charlotte, NC
Time 1:15 – 5:00 PM
This session will share knowledge from four zero liquid discharge (ZLD) facilities and the management and treatment strategies used to successfully achieve ZLD objectives. The presentations will share water quality data and process design approaches used at several operating ZLD facilities. We’ll learn how each of these ZLD systems function as the authors share operations and performance data. We’ll also learn about water/wastewater management challenges faced by ZLD facilities and potential ways to optimize through system improvements and resource recovery.
IWC 23-45: Wastewater Reuse and By-Product Recovery at the First ZLD in an India Viscose Plant
Suresh Kodali, Grasim Industries LTD, Nagda, India; Thentral N, Veolia WTS, India; Wing Cho and David Ciszewski, Veolia WTS, Bellevue, WA
Grasim Nagda is the world’s largest producer of spun-dyed specialty fibre. Grasim specified and implemented a large multi-step ZLD wastewater treatment system to maximize water reuse and by-product recovery.
The plant was commissioned and fully operational in 2022. The paper describes the plant design and examines operation and performance. The paper presents data on recovered water quality, salt product purity, and process interface.
Discusser: Raquel D. Onsurez, El Paso Electric Company, El Paso, TX
IWC 23-46: Techno -Economic Evaluation to Optimize a ZLD Wastewater Treatment System at a Western US Utility
Ren Farmer, E.I.T., AECOM, Austin, TX; John Krinks, AECOM, Columbus, OH
Results of a technoeconomic assessment for optimization upgrades to a ZLD WWT system at a combined cycle facility in the western US will be presented. Due to changes in total dissolved solids content of freshwater makeup, the ZLD system historically underperformed relative to design and required discharge to an emergency pond undersized for sustained flow. Capital investment options to reduce volume of concentrated brine as cost effectively as possible were assessed for suitability.
Discusser: Brad Berles, Arizona Public Service, Tonopah, AZ
IWC 23-47: Zero Liquid Discharge Evaluation of Pharmaceutical Wastewaters in India
George Hollerbach, P.E., BCEE and Joseph Cleary, P.E., BCEE, Geosyntec Consultants, Lyndhurst, NJ
ZLD is a rising technology in India as the preferred technology. In the pharmaceutical industry, ZLD is incorporated in many industrial parks. For the pharma industry, ZLD dovetails with pharma’s effort to reduce pharmaceuticals in the environment (PiE), specifically the goals of the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) Industry Alliance. A technical assessment of six ZLD units will be presented. We evaluate operation, but the primary objective is to assure operation as a zero discharge unit and that all residual salts are properly disposed in a secured landfill.
Discusser: Malynda Cappelle, Bureau of Reclamation, Alamogordo, NM
IWC 23-48: Using Economic Modeling to Evaluate Recovery of Product Water and Mineral Salts from Brine Streams
Tamim Popalzai, Sugar Land, Fluor, TX; Craig Bartels, Hydranuatics, Oceanside, CA; Marta Vanturova, Fluor, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Sustainable water management is now an essential necessity as water resources are highly stressed across many parts of the world and global water demand is projected to increase by more than 40% by 2030. This water crisis is a risk that can significantly impact a project’s financial success based on factors such as availability of water, the quality of water, transport distance of project’s water source and reject disposal location, as well as overall water capacity required.
A wholistic water management approach needs to be considered to mitigate the risk of water scarcity. This requires utilizing the most efficient technologies that reduce water consumption, increase recovery, lower energy usage, and minimize costly waste streams. Design strategies incorporating minimum liquid discharge (MLD) or Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) are such approaches. Newly developed water technologies such as Brine Concentration Membranes (BCMs) can be used for MLD/ZLD applications which can provide higher water recovery at lower costs and energy consumption.
BCMs are a new type of membrane that can achieve remarkably high brine salinities. BCMs can concentrate softened brines to a range of 100,000 – 250,000 mg/l of dissolved salts (TDS). This in turn translates into a higher water recovery, more product water produced, as well as potential recovery of salts such as sodium chloride which can be sold as product.
Discusser: Thomas Popple, AEP, Columbus, OH
T6: What’s new with the Cooling water Trilemma
IWC Rep: Max Brefeld, Toyota Motor North America, Georgetown, KY
Session Chair: Swamy Margan, Halliburton, Conroe, TX
Discussion Leader: Rena Bae, Stantec, Charlotte, NC
Time 1:15 – 5:00 PM
Corrosion, Scale and Microbiology pose the fundamental challenges for industrial water consumers. Treatment approaches have evolved over the decades. This session presents 4 papers with current approaches to address today’s water treatment challenges – effective corrosion control with the Non-P chemistries, the versatility of Chlorine dioxide to manage microbiology and the modeling on the evolution of scale inhibition.
IWC 23-49: Factors that Influence the Successful Treatment of Cooling Towers with ClO2
Greg Simpson, Pureline Treatment Systems, Houston, TX
Factors dictating the treatment of cooling towers with ClO2 include process leaks of one kind or another, vaporous contaminants drawn into the tower, the quality and consistency of the makeup water, and design features of the cooling tower. The impact of each of these factors on the methodology of treatment, including injection point, applied dosage, frequency and duration of treatment are all discussed, with case histories.
Discusser: Juan Meneses, Nalco Water, an Ecolab Company, Minneapolis, MN
IWC 23-50: The Evolution of Scale Inhibitor Models – An Update
Robert Ferguson, French Creek Software, Valley Forge, PA
Papers published in the 1980’s and early 1990’s delineated correlations for modeling the minimum effective scale inhibitor dosage as a function of water chemistry and critical system parameters. Subsequent correlation models have been expanded to include sophisticated driving forces and cover additional factors such as inhibitor speciation state and active form, induction time, the presence of an existing scale, and synergy. This paper discusses the evolution of the models to the current state of the art, and provides examples of dosage models developed using different levels of correlations as they evolved.
Discusser: Jasbir S. Gill, Ph.D., Water Energy Solutions Inc., Naperville, IL
IWC 23-51: NPDES Compliance and Dechlorination of Cooling Tower Blowdown
Andrew Gomes, Chris Lyon, Curtis Deng, Abdul Bhuiyan, and Victor Torres, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
The NPDES program regulates water pollution from point source discharges. Cooling towers dissipate heat using evaporation and convection, but their blowdown can contain high levels of total residual chlorine (TRC), harmful to aquatic life. Dechlorination is necessary for NPDES compliance. This paper reviews NPDES regulations for cooling tower blowdown, discusses dechlorination techniques, and presents an optimization strategy using real-time data for a central utility plant.
Discusser: Rangesh Srinivasan, Tetra Tech, Houston, TX
IWC 23-52: The use of Definitive Screening Design (DSD) to Understand the Impact of Water Composition, Operating Conditions and Non-Phosphorus Corrosion Inhibitor Dosages on Carbon Steel Corrosion in Circulating Cooling Water Systems
Stan Barskov, Halliburton Multi-Chem
Definitive Screening Design (DSD) was used to better understand the effects of temperature, pH, calcium and magnesium hardness and various concentrations of chlorides and sulfates on the inhibition effectiveness of non-phosphorus, corrosion inhibitor on mild steel. Statistical analysis indicates that temperature and pH are the only variables that significantly impact the rate of corrosion of mild steel. No significant difference in corrosion rate was detected during studies under various hardness, chlorides and sulfates concentrations.
Discusser: Almadoria Rettinger, Michael Baker International, Pittsburgh, PA
T7: Heavy Metal; It’s not just Hard Rock
IWC Rep: Jonathan Shimko, Michael Baker International, Pittsburgh, PA
Session Chair: Donna Murphy, DuPont Water Solutions, Bend, OR
Discussion Leader: Joe Tamburini, P.E., P.Eng., AWC Solutions, Englewood, CO
Time 1:15 – 5:00 PM
While it isn’t a Rocky Mountain High, it is still more than A Mile High In the city of Alamosa Colorado where they are preparing for more stringent Arsenic removal. And while we won’t be talking about the late great Freddy Mercury, we will be discussing a paper on meeting new compliance limits for Total Mercury in surface runoff. And no, Trace Adkins won’t be here singing about Chrome and pink and purple paisleys, but you can groove to some Hex Chrom reductions using Pickle Liquor. And Bob Dylan may be lying by the Juniper in the pale moonlight with his Copper Kettle, but we will be talking about copper (and lead) reduction in potable water and nothing about corn mash.
IWC 23-53: Corrosion Inhibitor Testing in Potable Water Systems
John Van Gehuchten, P.E., and Nicole Bartolleta, McKim & Creed, Sewickley, PA
New regulations under the EPA’s updated Lead and Copper Rule it is necessary to have a compliance plan in the event that elevated levels of lead or copper are detected in the distribution system. A major part of these compliance plans includes the use corrosion inhibitors in the water to reduce the propensity for the supplied water to dissolve these metals in the distribution system. For this project two chemical additives, zinc orthophosphate and a proprietary chemical, were evaluated on a drinking water system west of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. The testing included varying pH and additive dose and compared to a control group. The test included immersion testing of pipe samples and included testing from a loop test rig, using harvested lead pipe samples, in order to perform a test reflecting real world conditions. Test rigs were custom designed to allow for a flushing period and a holding period using automated valves and chemical a chemical feed system. Low level metal sampling and analysis was used to determine content after a stagnation period. This paper will review data from both test methods and provide discussion on the sometimes surprising results.
Discusser: Chris Baron, ChemTreat, Newark, DE
IWC 23-54: Removal of Hexavalent Chromium from Existing Steel Mill Heavy Metal Wastewater using Spent Pickle Liquor (SPL)
Srikanthreddy Muddasani and David Larson, Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc. (CEC), Moon Township, PA
A Steel Mill located in Midwest, US generates heavy metal wastewater from Tin Mill Chrome plating and Tin plating process. The existing heavy metal wastewater treatment plant utilizes sulfuric acid, sodium bisulfite and magnesium hydroxide to precipitate hexavalent chromium from wastewater. To reduce the operating cost, CEC in collaboration with Steel Mill developed an alternative to sodium bisulfite for treatment of hexavalent chromium. The paper discusses the alternative chemical, bench scale study and operating cost analysis.
Discusser: Jaron Stanley, WesTech Engineering, Salt Lake City, UT
IWC 23-55: Treatment of Surface Runoff Using TMT15® to achieve Parts Per Trillion Levels of Mercury
Ramtin Jahani and Bill Malyk, WSP, Cambridge, ON, Canada; Edward Greenwood, WSP, Barrie, ON, Canada
An existing on-site pump and treat system comprised of cartridge filtration, GAC filtration, and adsorption media (TiO2 based) is facing difficulty meeting a newly established stringent effluent compliance limit of 0.026𝜇g/L for total mercury. A treatability study was completed to evaluate whether retrofitting a chemical system to dose a 15% (by weight) solution of Trimercapto-s-triazine, trisodium salt (TMT15) could meet the newly established limits without undertaking any major system modifications.
Discusser: Ben Zhang, Ph.D., P.E., Burns & McDonnell, Chicago, IL
IWC 23-56: City of Alamosa Evaluates In-Situ Electrogenerated Ferrous Reagent to Support Arsenic Removal and Replace Bulk Ferric
Vladimir Dozortsev, Ph.D., Aqua Metrology Systems, Sunnyvale, CA; Roy Sanchez, CWP, City of Alamosa, Alamosa, CA
To meet current and future arsenic MCLs, while reducing its reliance on bulk chemicals, the City of Alamosa evaluated a novel technology that generates a ferrous regent in-situ to replace the use of bulk ferric chloride. The evaluation demonstrated the technology’s ability to provide effective and reliable arsenic removal below 5 ppb with a ferrous dose of 6.5-8 mg/L. Results will be presented.
Discusser: Diane Martini, Burns & McDonnell, Chicago, IL
T8: Texans Take their Boilers Seriously
IWC Rep: Derek Henderson, P.E., Duke Energy, Raleigh, NC
Session Chair: Tom Gurley, ChemTreat, Glen Allen, VA
Discussion Leader: Rebecca D. Osteen, Southern Company, Birmingham, AL
Time 1:15 – 5:00 PM
Everything is bigger in Texas and this session is no different! Boilers are at the heart of any process, but come with a wide assortment of problems, side systems, and even unique opportunities. In this session, we will chili up some methods in iron deposition, herd us up some produced water, rassle with deaerators and even woo some steam and condensate systems. So bring your favorite coffee pot and blanket for this fun (and informative) rodeo boiler session.
IWC 23-57: Pressure Deaeration – Alpha to Omega
Robert Holloway, Holloway Associates, Toronto, ON, Canada
Poor deaerator performance results when there is lack of knowledge as to how the unit and process is designed to work making it difficult to correct problems. Influencing ancillary equipment is frequently neglected. This document includes information to help users and operators in the daily operation of scrubber (spray), atomizing and tray units. It includes detailed descriptions of each type of unit along with illustrations and service limitations of each.
Discusser: Emma N. Wolff, P.E., GAI Consultants, Pittsburgh, PA
IWC 23-58: Modeling Software for Predicting Steam System Chemistry in Today’s Applications
Jacob Tilley, Veolia and Robin Wright, Veolia WTS, Tomball, TX; Wah Siong, Veolia WTS, Oakville, ON, Canada
The proprietary Condensate Modeling System (CMS) software has been available for many years and has been successfully used in industry to evaluate, troubleshoot and optimize both steam and condensate system operations. The CMS program has evolved and been upgraded with improved input controls, new product databases and added functionality that allows the program to go beyond just steam and condensate applications. This new version can now be used to model, design, optimize and troubleshoot both boiler feedwater and boiler water treatment programs.
Discusser: Evan Grimm, EPRI, Charlotte, NC
IWC 23-59: A Holistic Approach to Iron Transport Using FFA and its Comparison to Polymeric Iron Transport
Dale Stuart, Chemtreat, Glen Allen, VA
Boiler systems returning a large percentage of condensate frequently have high concentrations of iron in the boiler. Specialized polymers are frequently used to transport this iron through the boiler. A significant amount of this iron is colloidal iron from the condensate system. Adding a film forming amine to the system has been observed to help reduce iron from condensate systems.
Discusser: Aaron Drake, Nalco Water, an Ecolab Company, Naperville, IL
IWC 23-60: Successful use of Produced Water Distillate as Feedwater for High Pressure Drum Boilers
Martin Godfrey, ChampionX, Eagan, MN; Corbin Ralph, ChampionX, Calgary, AB, Canada; Darrell Gillespie, Kevin Wakulchyk, and Chad Orbeck, Strathcona Resources Ltd., Calgary, AB, Canada
The steam assisted gravity drainage enhanced oil recovery process (SAGD) requires large amounts of high-pressure steam. Virtually all the steam is injected downhole to stimulate oil production so the boilers operate on 100% makeup water with no condensate return. Water separated from the recovered oil, so called produced water, is the source of the boiler feedwater. Produced water contains high concentrations of salt, hardness, alkalinity and silica. Without extensive pretreatment it would be unsuitable for operating high-pressure drum boilers. This paper gives two examples of successful operation of high-pressure drum boilers on produced water that is pretreated by evaporation. Both systems use mechanical vapor recompression evaporators to produce a distillate of sufficient purity for direct application as boiler feedwater. One system uses an all-polymer internal treatment program that has produced clean boilers that operate at a very low corrosion rate. Indeed, we discuss subtle changes in the iron release caused by the use of different burners in otherwise identical boilers that would have been undetectable if the boilers were not operating under such remarkably stable conditions. The second example is a system that operates sophisticated high efficiency boilers and combined cycle electric generation units with 100% produced water distillate feedwater. These boilers use a buffer phosphate internal treatment program that is particularly easy to apply and control because of the consistency of the produced water distillate.
Discusser: Ivan Morales, Nalco Water, an Ecolab Company, Calgary, AB, Canada