What Is An Industrial Water Treatment

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What Is an Industrial Water Treatment System and How Does It Work?

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What Is an Industrial Water Treatment System and


How Does It Work?
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SEPTEMBER 29, 2017

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Industrial water treatment systems meet a variety of purification and separation treatment-system-process%
needs. They can range from relatively compact and straightforward to complex, 2F&redirect_url=APefjpEAGRQ6UqI67AgHz8YMc06uARTrY-
multiunit processes that serve a variety of applications. If you’re new to water 3a-
treatment, you might be asking “What is an industrial water treatment system and 07jVbxNIa4M1yroKWa91wvKGmVdiiKzo9Z4Ainij3zwOSgygi7UIQ
how does it work?” be6f-4442-aad9-
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Since industrial water treatment is a complex family of technologies and systems, this
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article will focus on giving a high-level overview of the technologies that are typically
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used and summarize how they work, helping you to better understand the best
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An industrial water treatment system treats water so it is more appropriate for a 2Fwww.samcotech.com%2Fwhat-
given use, whether for consumption, manufacturing, or even disposal. That said, is-an-industrial-water-treatment-
each system will vary depending on the facility’s needs and many of the technologies system-process%2F%26usg%
that make up these systems can be similar. In general, some of the most-needed 3DAOvVaw3aS_wLt-
industrial water treatment systems typically include: R6c0u9jDe5HOE4&__hstc=132892113.94c9d76c461291b357a0e4

• Raw water treatment systems


• Boiler feed water treatment systems
• Cooling tower water treatment systems Search … 
• Wastewater treatment systems

The technologies selected and in what order they appear in each water treatment
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system will vary depending on the contaminants that need to be removed, but it is
possible to narrow down what you might see in these four common industrial
treatment systems. The following is a breakdown of what might be included in a How Much Does an Industrial
typical water treatment system: Water Treatment System Cost?
(https://www.samcotech.com/how-

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What Is an Industrial Water Treatment System and How Does It Work? Page 2 of 7

Raw water treatment systems


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treatment-system-cost/)
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What they are What is Lithium Extraction and
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RawINDUSTRIES (https://www.samcotech.com/industries/) SOLUTIONS (https://www.samcotech.com/solutions/)
water (https://www.samcotech.com/common-problems-raw-water-treatment/)
(https://www.samcotech.com/what-
is any untreated water that occurs naturally in the environment, including sources
is-lithium-extraction-and-how-
such as rainwater, groundwater, wells, lakes, and rivers. In industrial settings, raw
does-it-work/)
water may be used(https://www.samcotech.com/technologies/)
TECHNOLOGIES for cooling, rinsing, product formulations, or even human
INNOVATIONS (https://www.samcotech.com/samco-innovations/)
consumption if it is properly purified.
What Is Ion Exchange Resin and
Raw water treatment systems (https://www.samcotech.com/raw-water-treatment- How Does It Work?
SERVICES (https://www.samcotech.com/services/)
system-process/) PROJECTS (/project-briefs)
are used for pretreatment and optimization LEARNING
of source water, CENTER (https://www.samcotech.com/ion-
usually
with an eye toward improving production efficiency and process performance for a exchange-resin-work-process/)
particular application. Examples include pretreating cooling tower/boiler feed water,
process/production water, and/or water for drinking. Often, raw water treatment is
focused on protecting downstream equipment from scaling, fouling, corrosion, and BLOG CATEGORIES
other forms of damage or premature wear due to contaminants present in the source
water (https://www.samcotech.com/treated-versus-untreated-raw-water-for-your- Biological Wastewater Treatment
plant/). Raw water treatment systems typically remove suspended/colloidal solids, (https://www.samcotech.com/category/biological-
silica/colloidal silica, iron, bacteria, and hardness. wastewater-treatment/)

How they work Boiler Feedwater Treatment


(https://www.samcotech.com/category/boiler-
Raw water treatment systems are designed around specific treatment goals and
feedwater-treatment/)
applications, therefore, the process may vary from one installation to the next.
Nonetheless, the following steps demonstrate how a raw water treatment system will
Brine Treatment Systems
usually work:
(https://www.samcotech.com/category/brine-
• Intake. Raw water is drawn into a plant through gravity and/or pumps. The treatment-systems/)
water is usually passed through a metal grate or mesh screen to prevent large
objects from entering the system. Cooling Tower Water Treatment
• Clarification. The water then continues for clarification, which is a multistep (https://www.samcotech.com/category/cooling-
process used to remove suspended solids from a solution. Clarification begins tower-water-treatment/)
with coagulation, where chemical and/or pH adjustments cause particles to
begin clumping together, followed by flocculation, which involves physical Demineralization
agitation to encourage formation of larger particles. Then comes a (https://www.samcotech.com/category/demineralization/)
sedimentation step, where the stream flows to a gravity settler that allows
Industrial Water Conservation
solids to settle to the bottom in what is known as a sludge blanket. Finally, the
(https://www.samcotech.com/category/industrial-
stream is filtered through a gravity sand filter to trap any small particles that did
not settle out. water-conservation/)
• Disinfection. If biological contamination and/or water potability is a concern,
Industrial Water Treatment
the water may then be disinfected to remove any pathogens. Disinfection may
Systems
be accomplished through the application of chemical disinfectants (e.g.
(https://www.samcotech.com/category/industrial-
chlorine), physical disinfectants (e.g. UV or heat), as well as some forms of
water-treatment-systems/)
membrane filtration.
• Lime softening. In some cases, a lime softening step may be added to reduce
Ion Exchange
hardness in streams with high mineral or sulfate content. The process involves
(https://www.samcotech.com/category/ion-
the application of lime or lime soda to raise the pH of the stream, which in turn
exchange/)
encourages mineral constituents to precipitate out of solution.
• Ion exchange (IX). In some cases, the raw water treatment system may include
Ion Exchange Resins
an IX unit for hardness removal, or other specialized treatment needs
(https://www.samcotech.com/category/ion-
(https://www.samcotech.com/project-briefs/superfund-site-achieves-us-epa-
exchange-resins/)
compliance-innovative-samco-groundwater-treatment-plant/). In IX softening, a
stream is directed through a strong acid cation resin that is “charged” with Lithium Recovery
sodium; as the water flows through, the resin captures the hardness-causing (https://www.samcotech.com/category/lithium-
calcium or magnesium ions, while releasing the sodium ions into the stream. recovery/)
• Distribution. Following treatment, the water is pumped or otherwise routed for
use elsewhere in the facility. Membrane Fouling
• Membrane filtration. As microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), and (https://www.samcotech.com/category/membrane-
nanofiltration (NF) systems have become more affordable in the last few fouling/)
decades, they are increasingly being used in place of conventional technologies
such as clarification and lime softening. Microfiltration/Ultrafiltration
(https://www.samcotech.com/category/microfiltrationultrafiltration

Boiler feed water treatment systems Municipal Water Treatment


(https://www.samcotech.com/category/municipal-
What they are water-treatment/)
Boiler feed water treatment systems (https://www.samcotech.com/what-is-a-boiler-
Raw Water Treatment
feed-water-treatment-system-how-does-it-work/) are used to protect boiler unit
(https://www.samcotech.com/category/raw-
components and piping from damage due to certain contaminants present in the
water-treatment/)
boiler and/or makeup feeds. These contaminants may include dissolved solids

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What Is an Industrial Water Treatment System and How Does It Work? Page 3 of 7

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suspended solids, and organic material, such as iron, copper, silica, calcium,
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osmosisnanofiltration/)

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magnesium, aluminum, hardness (https://www.samcotech.com/project-


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INDUSTRIES (https://www.samcotech.com/industries/) SOLUTIONS (https://www.samcotech.com/solutions/)
samco-ion-exchange-technology/), and dissolved gases. Without proper treatment, (https://www.samcotech.com/category/wastewater-
boiler feed water can cause scaling, corrosion (https://www.samcotech.com/scaling- treatability-studies/)
corrosion-why-it-matters-for-your-boiler-feedwater-system/), and fouling of the
TECHNOLOGIES (https://www.samcotech.com/technologies/) INNOVATIONS (https://www.samcotech.com/samco-innovations/)
boiler and downstream equipment, which can result in costly plant downtime, Wastewater Treatment
expensive maintenance fees, increased fuel consumption and boiler failure. (https://www.samcotech.com/category/wastewater-
treatment/)
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How they work Zero Liquid Discharge
An effective boiler feed water treatment system (https://www.samcotech.com/category/zero-
(https://www.samcotech.com/common-boiler-feedwater-treatment-issues-and-how- liquid-discharge/)
to-avoid-them/) works by both removing harmful impurities prior to entering the
boiler as well as controlling the acidity and conductivity of the water. While treatment
trains vary, a typical system will consist of primary treatment and possibly polishing First Name*
depending on the boiler pressure, steam use, and chemistry of the boiler feed and
makeup water. A boiler feed water treatment system will typically include some or all
of the following steps:
Last Name*
• Makeup water intake. As boilers are used, they lose water to steam
consumption, loss of condensate return, and leaks. This water must be replaced
with what is known as makeup water. Makeup water may be drawn from a
treated city supply or a raw water treatment system.
Email*
• Filtration. The stream is typically filtered through one or more filtration units
for removal of sediment, turbidity, and organic material. When used for
pretreatment ahead of IX and other equipment, membrane filtration units can
be a cost-effective means of preventing fouling and excess maintenance of
downstream equipment.
• Softening. IX is often used for removing hardness from boiler feed water, SUBSCRIBE TO OUR BLOG
including bicarbonates, sulfates, chlorides, and nitrates. This is accomplished by
using a softening resin, which is typically a strong acid cation resin that allows it
to effectively capture hardness ions from the stream.
• Dealkalization. Alkalinity can cause foaming and carryover in boilers, as well as
corrosion in piping. Therefore, boiler feed streams are often treated with strong
anion IX, or weak acid IX followed by degasification, which serve to remove
bicarbonate, sulfate, and nitrate ions, reducing pH.
• Reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF). RO and NF are not always used
for boiler feed water treatment, however, they can be useful for removal of
bacteria, salts, organics, silica and hardness. RO and NF are both types of
membrane filtration, meaning that they employ a semi-permeable membrane to
capture any contaminants too large to fit through their pores, while allowing
water molecules to flow through.
• Primary ion exchange (IX). For large volumes of water or high pressure boilers,
deionizers may be used instead of membrane filtration. IX typically produces
water of comparatively higher quality and resistivity, and better yields.
• Deaeration or degasification. Following all other treatment steps, the makeup
water and condensate from the boiler system are combined and degasified.
Deaeration/degasification is the removal of dissolved oxygen and carbon
dioxide from the liquid stream, which is important for preventing corrosion.
• Polishing. Depending on the boiler requirements, polishing technologies may be
required. This step can follow RO or primary IX. Typical polishing technologies
include mixed bed deionization (DI), electrodeionization (EDI), or offsite
regenerable DI.
• Distribution. Following all treatment steps, the boiler feed water is piped to the
boiler, where it is heated to form steam. The condensate can then be combined
with treated makeup water, and the cycle begins again.

Although these steps represent common boiler feed water system trains, it is
important to understand that an individual boiler’s unique makeup/chemistry is an
extremely complex calculation that will dictate the technologies needed. We
recommend consulting the boiler manufacturer for their water purification
specifications. You should also consult a water treatment specialist to conduct a
thorough treatability study (http://www.samcotech.com/raw-water-treatment-
system-process/), which can help determine which combination of these technologies
would best suit your boiler.

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[Download our free industrial water treatment e-book.]


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Cooling tower water treatment


systems
What they are
Cooling tower water treatment systems (https://www.samcotech.com/cooling-tower-
water-treatment-system-process/) are used to protect cooling tower components
from damage due to contaminants present in feed water, circulation water, and/or
blowdown water. These contaminants may include chlorides, hardness, iron, biological
materials, silica, sulfates, TDS, and or TSS. Untreated cooling tower feed water can
cause scaling, corrosion, biological growth, and fouling of cooling tower equipment,
which can result in costly plant downtime, reduced productivity, and excessive
maintenance or equipment replacement costs over time.

How they work


An effective cooling tower water treatment system works by removing harmful
impurities in line with the manufacturer recommendations for water quality
requirements for the type of cooling tower used. While treatment trains vary
depending on the requirements of the cooling tower equipment and chemistry of the
feed, makeup, and blowdown water, a typical cooling tower water treatment system
will usually include the following steps:

• Makeup water intake. As water circulates through a cooling tower system, a


portion is lost to evaporation, bleed to drain, and leaks. This water must be
replaced with what is known as makeup water. Like boiler makeup water,
cooling tower makeup water may be drawn from a variety of sources, whether
raw water, municipal water supplies, wells, or recycled plant wastewater. In
some cases, source water must also be treated for hardness or silica removal
and/or pH adjustment.
• Filtration. Upon intake, the stream is typically filtered through one or more
filtration units for removal of sediment, turbidity, and organic material. As
previously mentioned, when filtration is used for pretreatment ahead of IX and
other equipment, it can be a cost-effective means of preventing fouling and
excess maintenance of more sensitive downstream equipment.
• Softening. If there’s high hardness in the source/makeup water, a softening
resin or membrane softener can be used. These contaminants, if present, will
otherwise cause scale deposits and rust. Depending on feed water quality,
softening can improve the efficiency of cooling tower water use.

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What Is an Industrial Water Treatment System and How Does It Work? Page 5 of 7

• Chemical addition. Next, the stream will usually undergo some form of chemical
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treatment, which can include the application of corrosion inhibitors to
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neutralize acidity; algaecides or biocides to reduce growth of biological
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contaminants; and/or scale inhibitors to prevent contaminants from forming
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other components.
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• Side-stream filtration. Many cooling towers are designed to recirculate water
following use. If this is the case, a side-stream filtration unit will be helpful in
removing any problematic contaminants that have entered through drift
TECHNOLOGIES (https://www.samcotech.com/technologies/) INNOVATIONS (https://www.samcotech.com/samco-innovations/)
contamination, leaks, etc. About 10% of the circulating water will filter through
what is usually a high-quality multimedia filtration unit or SAMCO tube
filtration technology
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(https://www.samcotech.com/technologies/filtration/tube-filtration/).
• Post-treatment. There are various types of post-treatment options that may be
used depending upon plant conditions. If large quantities of water are required
for cooling, or if water is scarce at the facility’s location, plants may opt to treat
the blowdown water with RO or IX and reuse it. For discharge of blowdown
water and/or bleed water, other post-treatment systems may be leveraged to
minimize disposal costs or bring the waste stream in line with discharge
regulations.

Wastewater treatment systems


What they are
A wastewater treatment system (https://www.samcotech.com/what-is-a-
wastewater-treatment-system-and-how-does-it-work/) is used to convert spent
streams into an effluent that can either be reused or safely discharged to the
environment or municipal treatment facility.

The most appropriate wastewater treatment system


(https://www.samcotech.com/solutions/wastewater-treatment/) will help the facility
avoid harming the environment, human health, and a facility’s equipment, process or
products (especially if the wastewater is being reused). It will also help the facility curb
heavy fines and possible legal action if wastewater is being improperly discharged to
either the environment or publicly owned treatment works. The relative complexity of
a wastewater treatment system will depend heavily upon the compliance regulations
impacting your plant and the composition of your waste stream.

While the contaminants present in a waste stream can vary greatly from one process
to the next, wastewater treatment systems commonly treat for biochemical oxygen
demand (BOD), nitrates, phosphates, pathogens, metals, TSS, TDS, and synthetic
chemicals.

How they work


While a wastewater treatment train will vary considerably from one installation to the
next depending upon discharge regulations, stream constituents, flow reuse
strategies, and other factors, these steps represent some of the more common
technologies you might expect to see:

• Clarification. The first step of wastewater treatment is often clarification, which


is a multistep process used to precipitate metals, silica, remove suspended solids
from solution. Depending on the characterization of the waste water,
clarification can be a series of reaction tanks with chemical addition,
coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, followed by filtration. These steps are
usually necessary for removal of any fine particulates and/or by-products, some
of which can be recovered if they are of value (such as silver or other materials).
• Disinfection. Pathogens—bacteria, viruses, fungi, or any other microorganisms
that can be present in wastewater—can lead to all kinds of health issues,
including acute sickness, severe digestive problems, or death. When industrial
wastewater contains these harmful pathogens, and is released into the
environment, it can spread illness and disease, making their removal or
neutralization a key aspect of treatment.
• Softening. For streams with high hardness or sulfates, a lime softening step may
be added to reduce mineral or sulfate content. The process involves the
application of lime or lime soda to raise the pH of the stream, which in turn
encourages mineral constituents to precipitate out of solution. In some cases, IX
or membrane softening may also be used.
• Special processes. There are also specialized process steps to treat unique
wastewater issues, such as the removal of certain metals or organics or to
reduce TDS for recycling, among other examples. Since wastewater streams are

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What Is an Industrial Water Treatment System and How Does It Work? Page 6 of 7

typically complex and highly variable from one facility to the next, special
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processes are often required to fully meet wastewater treatment needs.
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• Distribution. Following wastewater treatment, the water is routed for reuse
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within the facility or, complying with local regulations, discharged to the
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Additionally, because wastewater treatment is almost always subject to fluctuations


in composition, flow rate, or effluent requirements, a well-designed system should
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Now that you understand what industrial water treatment systems are and how they
work, be sure to read more articles on our blog (https://www.samcotech.com/blog/)
that delve into these systems a bit deeper. Some of the topics we discuss include how
much these systems cost, common problems you might see, and how to choose the
best system for your facility, among others.

You can also visit our Learning Center to download a range of industrial water
treatment e-books (https://www.samcotech.com/e-book/) that will help you better
understand these systems and how they work.  

SAMCO also has over 40 years’ experience custom-designing and manufacturing


industrial water treatment systems, so please feel free to reach out to us with your
questions. For more information or to get in touch, contact us here
(http://www.samcotech.com/contact/). You can also visit our website to set up a call
with an engineer (http://info.samcotech.com/ask-an-engineer) or request a quote
(http://info.samcotech.com/get-a-quote). We can walk you through the steps for
developing the proper solution and realistic cost for your industrial water treatment
system needs.

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