The worldwide expansion of commercial concrete production and manufacturing can generate increased levels of industrial wastewater pollution. To counteract strict concrete wastewater discharge regulations and the high wet-tonnage disposal costs, the concrete industry is turning toward methods for treating and recycling concrete process water. WATEQ provides the concrete industry with wastewater pretreatment and dewatering filter equipment designed to remove cement fines and iron oxide color pigments. WATEQ industrial concrete water recycling filter systems are ideal for ready mix and precast concrete producers dealing with high return rates, color, and high-strength concrete wash-up. WATEQ’s time-proven equipment can enhance concrete reclaimer efficiency, remove suspended solids, eliminate weirs and pond dredging, and reduce wet tonnage concrete slurry hauling costs. Concrete washout or process water is a high-pH slurry containing metals, chemical admixtures, trace amounts of oil, and grease, along with dissolved and suspended solids.
Characteristics of Concrete Process water
Concrete process water is caustic and typically has a high pH value ranging between 11 and 12. It contains dissolved solids including sulfates and hydroxides from cement, oil and grease from equipment, and derivatives from chemical admixtures. As an example of how this impacts the environment, the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans says that the effects of high pH on fish may include death; damage to outer surfaces such as gills, eyes, and skin; and the inability to dispose of metabolic wastes. In addition, the high content of total suspended solids (TSS) typically found in process water may clog a fish’s gills, destroy natural breeding areas, affect a fish’s ability to feed, and create an overall imbalance in the surrounding environmental habitat.
WATEQ equipment solutions work for a variety of industrial concrete wastewater applications that include but are not limited to:
- Ready Mix Concrete
- Concrete Block
- Brick & Stone
- Concrete Pipe
- Structural & Architectural Precast Concrete
- Concrete Core Drilling
- Concrete Pigments / Color
- Hydro Demolition
- Roofing Tile
- Sawing / Grinding / Grooving / Polishing
