Mechanical workshops generate effluents containing lubricating oils with significant levels of COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand), hydrocarbons, metals and suspended solids.
These workshop wastewaters may come from a variety of operations such as cutting and drilling, molding, cleaning of mechanical parts, paint shops, maintenance, drainages from settling and sludge tanks, and from a variety of industries such as automotive, aerospace, furniture, appliances, and many others.
These effluents are thus very variable in terms of quality and composition and must be treated properly before disposal since they are a highly pollutant waste, both for the environment and the workplace.
Oil emulsions in mechanical and workshop wastewater: how we treat oily wastewater
A proper management of the automotive industry wastewater or of the aerospace industry wastewater can be problematic because of their polluting potential and because of the high quantity of water they contain. In exhausted metalworking wastewater, that can be called “oily emulsions” or “oil-water emulsions” for disposal purposes, the oil fraction improves their lubricating capacity, while water increases their cooling capacity.
In addition to the oily component, additives (i.e. additives for high pressure operations, biocides, corrosion inhibitors, etc.) can also be incorporated, thus the wastewater generated by the mechanical industry, and the metalworking sector in general, has a high conductivity and contains:
- suspended solids
- heavy metals
- phosphates
- surfactants
Even with the best management procedures, the mechanical industry water-based fluids do not last indefinitely and require treatment and disposal: EVALED® has developed wastewater treatment technologies that can dispose of these specific effluents.
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