Industrial Wastewater Treatment

Variation in Industrial Wastewaters

The composition of wastewater from industry operations varies widely depending on the function and activity of the particular industry (Tables 3.3 and 3.4). From these examples, it can be observed that the daily average concentration of both BOD and TSS can vary significantly. Problems with high short‐term loadings most commonly occur in small treatment plants that have limited reserve capacity to handle “shock loadings.” If industrial wastes are to be discharged to the collection system for treatment in a POTW, it will be necessary to characterize the wastes adequately to identify the ranges in constituent concentrations and mass loadings. Such characterization is also needed to determine if pretreatment is required before the waste is permitted to be discharged into the POTW collection system. If pretreatment is needed, the effluent from the pretreatment facilities must also be characterized. Further, any proposed future process changes should also be assessed to determine what effects they might have on the wastes to be discharged.