Both from an environmental and personal standpoint, wastewater treatment is very important. Complex processes are used to treat wastewater to remove contaminants and organic compounds.
Water treatment plants employ a variety of processes, including chemical and biological processing. These require the use of different chemicals to disinfect water and balance its PH level. Let’s talk about the primary chemicals that wastewater treatment plants use depending on their application.
pH Neutralization of Water
You can adjust the pH of wastewater by adding basic chemicals to it. This includes alkalis or other acidic acids.
Chemical Precipitation to remove heavy metals
Chemical precipitation is a process that helps to remove heavy metals in wastewater. To remove contaminants, you can add the precipitation agent to the water. The precipitation reagent ions heavy metals to form solid particles. The solid particles are then separated from the water through filtration.
Chemical Coagulants
Chemical coagulants can be either aluminium hydroxide (or iron-based chemicals) that aid in the removal of pathogens, fluoride, and organic compounds. They destabilize wastewater particles through the introduction of a positively charged coagulant, which reduces the particle’s negative charge. The waste particles are formed into larger bodies that can then be filtered.
Flocculation of Wastewater
By using charge bridging or magnetic neutralization, flocculants can remove extremely fine particles from wastewater treatment plants. The addition of flocculants encourages waste particles to form clumps or flocs which can settle during the sedimentation process.
Eliminating Odour
Water can often smell bad from certain toxic contaminants. There are many options for wastewater treatment that can be used to remove toxins, iron salts, biofiltration, and other technologies to maintain a fresh, clean odor.
Cleaning and degreasing chemicals
The water from wastewater treatment plants contains oily and grease residues that must be treated before it is released back into the environment. Solvent chemicals can be used to dissolve the grease.
Chemical Oxidation Process
Chemical oxidation is used in wastewater engineering to transform pollutants into less harmful compounds. This is a method that purifies surface water.
To reduce the effects of chlorine antibiotics, hydrogen peroxide, and other compounds in water, you can use sodium bisulfite, salt hydrosulfite, and other chemicals.
Use of Antifoamers and Defoamers to Treat Wastewater
A defoaming chemical additive is a chemical addition that reduces the amount of foam and trapped air during wastewater treatment. Antifoam agents prevent the foam from returning and defoaming agents remove the foam. Most commonly, silicone is used as a foaming agent.
The bottom line
For wastewater treatment plants as well as industrial water treatment plants, many different technologies and chemicals can be used to treat the wastewater and make it reusable. It is important to understand the science behind these methods as they require the careful handling of many chemicals to treat wastewater.
Additionally, industrial wastewater plants must adhere to all applicable government regulations when treating wastewater. It is a good idea to hire a professional to help you navigate the various chemical processes.