Industrial Wastewater

Many industrial processes and accessory processes (such as cleaning) produce sewage. Occasionally this sewage consists of high polluters’ concentration which can cause environmental hazards. The damage caused by this sewage is separated into three main groups:

1. Damage to conducting pipelines by oils, fats and corrosive materials.
2. Damage to the efficiency of sewage treatment facilities by heavy metals and toxic organic materials.
3. Potential for pollution of soil, ground water and water bodies as a consequence of flowing low quality treated waste water.

In light of these potential damages and the fact that usage of treated waste water is common in Israel it is vital that sewage will be treated properly. Industrial waste water is under the regulations of municipal assistance rules which determine the thresholds values allowed to flow into the municipal sewage systems. Nonetheless, even if the waste water polluters’ concentrations are lower then the allowed threshold means to reduce them should be examined. Another supervision is by issuing permits to flow treated waste water into the sea and streams. Permits for industrial waste water are given when there is no better “land” solution at the time the permit was issued or when the treated waste water flow is the best solution for the body of water, such as when high quality treated waste water will better the stream water. Two committees that are involved in this subject issue permits when necessary. They define the quality of waste water allowed to flow to the body of water in addition to a monitoring and control plan.

As mentioned, one of the hazards of low quality industrial sewage is damage to the conducting pipelines such as by large amounts of fats and oils which do not dissolve well in water thus accumulating on pipelines and blocking the flow. Therefore, business which use fat and oil such as restaurants, food factories and etc usually put in amenities that separate fats thus, enabling their removal prior to the flowing of waste water into the sewage system. Heavy metals and organic solvents are an additional hazard to the sewage system by harming the biological disassembly processes at the treatment facilities. This causes finical damage to the treatment facility and can reduce the quality of treated waste water. It should be mentioned that conventional treatment facilities do not have the ability to efficiently treat heavy metals. Thus, if the sewage arrives with high concentration of heavy metals the treated waste water and sludge will also be with a high concentration and soil, sea and ground water will be polluted by these heavy metals. This secondary pollution of the soil, sea and ground water exists for additional polluters if the efficiency of the treatment facility is low for these types of polluters or if the efficiency is harmed due to the flow of toxins.

Due to the high usage of treated waste water, the saltiness is another issue needs to be considered in waste water. Therefore, the Environmental Protection ministry requires concentrated brine to be evacuated into the sea or alternatively to be treated.