News > Siemens Article: Reduce Point Source Pollution
Siemens Article: Reduce Point Source Pollution
19/11/2009
The traditional approach to wastewater treatment in refineries and petrochemical plants is to discharge wastewaters from almost all sources into a common sewer system. The blended wastewater is then treated at a central wastewater treatment plant (CWWTP). While this has been a satisfactory approach in the past, a modern plant must use a different approach to most economically achieve the current Environmental, Health and Safety (EH&S) standards, wastewater discharge criteria and water recycle objectives.
In a refinery or petrochemical plant, wastewater is generated in a number of process units or other point sources, including desalters, sour strippers, degassers from isomerisation units, cracking quench processes, stormwater, boiler condensate, cooling water blowdown and washwater drains.
By utilising a point source wastewater treatment process in refineries and petrochemical facilities, numerous benefits can be achieved. It reduces load and enables optimum performance on the CWWTP which, in turn, results in lower wastewater treatment and handling costs. The treatment method also enables sustainable water recycle and reuse within facilities, and is an environmentally green approach to conserving energy and low emissions and carbon footprint. Finally, point source process wastewater treatment improves workers' health, safety, and hygiene in plant environment.
In a TEDx WWF session held in Geneva, Switzerland, Stuart Orr talked about water which is a solvable crisis. Stuart Orr is freshwater programme director for WWF International.
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