Frequent Questions

EVAPORATION METHOD:

• Low capital cost.
• Small square footage requirements for equipment and little storage space needed.
• Minimal labor requirements, extremely simple to operate and maintain.
• Able to handle a mixed and varied waste stream.
• Ending residue is dramatically smaller than beginning, as little as 1% of original volume.
• Eliminate meeting requirements for sewer or ground water discharge.
• Permits flexibility of fluids needed for production.
• Economical operation, generally has cost advantages over other fluid management systems.
• Can provide for water recovery for re-introduction into process for closed loop application.
• Limits long term liability for waste generator.

FILTRATION, ULTRAFILTRATION, REVERSE OSMOSIS METHOD:

• High initial capital expenditure.
• Original volume not reduced but merely segregated into two separate waste streams.
• Oil stream is either shipped as oily water or requires secondary operation.
• Water portion must still meet sewer or ground water standards.
• Filtration capability of the equipment unable to meet trends toward zero ppm oil discharge, lower BOD/COD levels, etc.
• Membrane sensitivity -- waste stream specific, inflexible system.
• Not compatible with high total solids, metal particulates, and various pH levels.
• Can allow day-to-day discharge fluctuations that are out of compliance.
• High cost for membrane replacement.
• Tanks for presettling and gross oil removal required for sustained performance and protection of expensive membranes.

WASTE HAULER METHOD:

• High cost of disposal.
• Requires large storage or warehouse space to store waste.
• On-going liability for waste.
• Dependence on the skill and reputation of an organization outside your control.

RECYCLING METHOD:

• High initial capital expenditure.
• Heavy commitment to the management of coolant chemistry.
• Additional storage and handling of chemicals to control pH, bacteria, etc.
• At best a 75% disposal reduction, even if all conditions can be consistently met.
• Lacks flexibility - will handle only coolant waste streams.
• Forces production to reduce the number of coolants used to make the process practical.
• High labor, manpower, discipline and training costs, and internal commitments often do not justify results nor produce true savings.

CHEMICAL TREATMENT METHOD:

• High volume usage required for justification of large capital expenditure.
• Requires commitment of management to system - expertise, labor, chemicals, testing.
• Discharge water still subject to sewer regulations and surcharges.
• Permanent threat of not meeting sewer discharge standards and permit requirements.
• One system cannot easily handle different type streams simultaneously.
• Requires large floor space.
• Additives can create a significantly greater solids volume than in the original waste stream.

industries

applications

1. A heavy duty, NEMA 4 rated control panel with an industrial safety disconnect functions as the control center for the entire evaporation process. All burner controls, fill controls, level controls, temperature controls, and safety devices are installed and factory tested for an assurance of safe and efficient operation.
2. Water based waste is pumped into the evaporator tank until the operational level has been reached. If operating in an automatic mode the unit will fill itself through the mounted fill pump, automatically controlled by fluid level controls. In automatic operation, fluid level is consistently maintained by continuous flow/fill controls which operate the evaporator mounted transfer pump. If operated in a batch mode, filling may be accomplished by another method.
3. The water based waste is heated to boiling by one of the following methods --
   • Hot Tube -- a burner fired, submerged heat exchanger tube that is elevated above the bottom of the tank. This allows solids and sludges to fall past the heat exchanger to the bottom of the tank. A power burner which is unaffected by ambient building pressure is used to provide the heat. With the double wall stack, the water vapor exhausts through the inner stack and the burner exhausts through the outer stack.
   • Hot Bottom -- high pressure steam is supplied by a plant boiler or packaged boiler system dedicated for evaporation. Steam heat is almost always the lowest cost heat energy source. The efficient heat transfer and relatively low temperature of steam is ideal for evaporation of wastewater because of the reduction of solids sticking to the heating surfaces. Because of this advantage, a flat bottom heating surface can be utilized offering further benefits:
     1. The ability to boil down to a maximum concentrate in the evaporator.
     2. Minimal volatilization of organic compounds such as suspended oil and emulsions.
     3. A clutter free tank interior for ease of maintenance.
     4. Heat exchanger fouling does not increase energy consumption like other energy sources, but only reduces evaporation rate.
     5. Simplicity of evaporator design contributes to maximum reliability.
   • Hot Shot -- external, side mounted electric strip heaters never contact the wastewater, assuring long heater life. Side mounting allows for efficient heat transfer without any insulating effect from sludge accumulating on the bottom of the tank.
4. As the water vapor rises off the surface of the wastewater, it is drawn out of the evaporator by a special design blower that exhausts the water vapor through a stack to the atmosphere. In the Hot Tube model, the water vapor exiting the evaporator and exhaust gases exiting the heat exchanger can be combined to one stack exiting outside of the unit.
5. During the evaporation process free oils will float to the surface and emulsified oils that break out of solution with the addition of heat will also float to the surface where they can be skimmed off into a tank or barrel. Sludges, solids, and precipitates will fall to the bottom of the tank where they can be removed through the large diameter clean out port. Both final waste streams, those that settle out and those that float, can be more easily eliminated through a skimmer/sludge pumping system facilitating clean out and evacuation of oils and sludges.