China: The UK company Prominent Fluid Controls installed a water treatment plant that uses reverse osmosis (RO) and ozone dosing to treat in excess of 1,000 m3 seawater each day at the Dalian freight harbor. The water is used for drinking, washing, and to ensure that 200,000 tonnes of iron ore for China’s steel industry can be unloaded dust-free each day.
The water needs to be of drinking water quality for human consumption and to avoid introduction of any contaminants into the iron ore. The installed plant allows the harbor to run completely independently of the public drinking water network and produces drinking water that exceeds World Health Organisation standards.
The water passes through sand and activated carbon filters with fully automatic backwashing and chemical pre-treatment prior to RO treatment. Water to be used for drinking is further treated with ozone to remove any bacteria and passed through a second RO unit before being bottled. A central control system integrates all treatment stages in the plant, which was designed by ProMinent experts.
China: The Sinopec Maoming Company selected Siemens Water Technology to supply a wet air oxidation (WAO) system for the treatment of spent caustic. The system, developed and commercialized by Zimpro, part of Siemens Water Technologies, will be installed at Sinopec's new ethylene facility being constructed in Maoming, Guangdong Province, in the People's Republic of China. The WAO technology will help Sinopec alleviate two problems frequently associated with ethylene spent caustic: disposal and odor. The technology destroys odorous sulfides and allows acid neutralization of the spent caustic, and discharge to conventional biological treatment.
Wet oxidation is the oxidation of soluble or suspended components in an aqueous environment using oxygen as the oxidizing agent. When air is used as the source of oxygen the process is referred to as wet air oxidation (WAO). A common industrial application for wet air oxidation is treatment of spent caustic wastewater streams generated by ethylene plants and refineries. The process is used for complete oxidation of reduced sulfur species such as sulfides and mercaptides. Complex organic contaminants such as phenols can also be broken down to either carbon dioxide and water, or biodegradable organics by increasing temperature and pressure. By applying wet air oxidation, odor issues can be eliminated and the treated spent caustic is suitable for discharge to a conventional biological treatment process.
Malaysia: The US company AquaShield Inc. opened a new sales office in Kuala Lumpur in addition to its existing offices in Korea, Puerto Rica and the USA. The company will offer stormwater treatment solutions to customers throughout Pacific Asia, Australia and the Middle East. AquaShield Inc., based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, specializes in the development and application of treatment solutions for stormwater and industrial run-off, ``such as its Aqua-Filter™, Aqua-Swirl™, and Aqua-Guard™ treatment systems.
