Water is becoming scarce – efficient solutions are needed
Industrialisation, urbanisation, and population growth are driving up water consumption worldwide. Industry in particular generates large quantities of process wastewater every day, the disposal and treatment of which requires high costs and resources.
Ceramic process water
case study
Due to the specific wastewater situation at Rauschert (wastewater from ceramic production), we decided to treat our wastewater using our own ceramic filters from inopor®. The aim was to treat the process water to ensure water protection without the use of additives and without chemically or thermally altering the ingredients.
Compared to the polymeric membranes that were tested, our ceramic filters met the requirements reliably and safely thanks to their robustness and backwashability. Our ceramic membranes had a significantly longer service life, providing a clear advantage. As a result our ceramic process water was concentrated to a higher degree, reducing disposal costs.
Ceramic membranes from inopor®
versatile use
Due to their high pH stability, suitability for use at high temperatures, and the possibility of chemical cleaning or backwashing, inopor® ceramic membranes are widely used in a variety of areas of process water treatment. Our ceramic membranes can also be used reliably with changing process waters of varying composition and concentration. This applies to both process waters and process solvents. For example, experience with inopor® ceramic membranes already exists in applications in the textile industry (decolorisation of process water streams from textile finishing, treatment of laundry process water), in metal processing and other industries (treatment of emulsions, recycling of lubricating and waste oils), as well as in the beverage and food industry (recycling of bottle cleaning water, SmartCIP systems in the milk industry). Ceramic ultra- and nanofiltration membranes are used in processes in which turbidity, bacteria and/or viruses, as well as complex salts are filtered out.
Water treatment of laundry wastewater
Laundries also consume large amounts of water, resulting in correspondingly high volumes of wastewater. The aim is to treat and reuse this wastewater, which varies in terms of contamination, in a resource-efficient manner to save fresh water and chemicals.
As part of a nationally funded project by the BMBF, laundry wastewater was returned to the process chain and reused by reducing heavy metal concentrations, organic halogen compounds (AOX), and chemical oxygen demand (COD). A process chain was developed with ceramic membrane filters from inopor® at its core, which was able to recycle wastewater from various washing lines, in this case towel and mat washing, by means of a recirculation system. Even heavily coloured wastewater could be regenerated to enable reuse.
Ceramic membranes are particularly suitable for this type of process water treatment due to their pH and temperature resistance. At higher temperatures, this reduces additional temperature losses and achieves higher energy input when the treated water is recirculated, resulting in additional cost savings.
Our experience – Your solution
High expenditure and rising costs for process water management?
We have gained detailed experience in a number of applications with regard to membrane service life and amortisation periods (ROI) for specific projects. With ceramic membrane solutions, we offer you a sustainable and economical alternative.
The inopor® team will be happy to accompany you from the initial idea to the finished solution—tailored to your individual requirements.