Chemical Engineering September 2023 - 32

Feature Report
Treating Wastewater in
Bioprocessing Facilities
Bioprocessing facilities can achieve compliance, prevent downstream contamination
and increase water reuse by using advanced oxidation processes
Alex Bettinardi
De Nora
IN BRIEF
BIOPROCESSING
PERMITS AND
STANDARDS
CONTAMINATION IS A
MAJOR LIABILITY
RECYCLING PROCESS
WATER
OZONE AOP TREATMENT
ULTRAVIOLET AOP
TREATMENT
AOP AND 1,4-DIOXANE
TOXICITY TESTING
PROTOCOLS
PILOTING CAN MINIMIZE
RISK
W
ily
1).
astewater
generated
from
bioprocessing
facilities is heavregulated
in the U.S. by
the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA; Washington,
D.C.; www.epa.gov) and various
state laws. The primary
goal of these regulations is
to prevent contaminants and
toxins that are present in
bioprocessing-facility wastewater
from entering sources
of drinking water, which then
must be treated by municipal
water-treatment plants
(Figure
An
additional
Shutterstock
emerging area of interest focuses
on water reuse - for both regulatory
reasons and economic ones - because the
cost to treat and reuse some wastewater
can be far less than the cost of starting with
untreated water.
Ozone advanced oxidation processes
(AOP) offer exceptional benefits in achieving
EPA compliance and reducing costs by recycling
more water. Furthermore, AOP does an
excellent job at preventing contaminants from
leaching into groundwater and surface water,
which can reduce a company's environmental
risk and enhance its sustainability profile.
Bioprocessing permits and standards
The Clean Water Act establishes the basic
framework for regulating pollutant discharges
into the waters of the U.S. Depending on the
nature and source of the discharge effluent,
bioprocessing facilities that discharge into
surface waters will likely require a National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
permit from the EPA. As a component of the
NPDES program, the National Pretreatment
Program addresses the discharge of industrial
wastewater to municipal wastewater
treatment systems, with standards that vary
from state to state and city to city [1]. In ad32
FIGURE
1. There are numerous federal regulations in place to prevent contaminants
and toxins from manufacturing facilities from entering sources of drinking water
that must be treated in municipal waste-treatment sites
dition to bioprocessing activities, the EPA's
Effluent Limitations Guidelines currently apply
to 59 industrial categories, such as pharmaceutical
manufacturing and food processing
[2]. In some cases, bioprocessing facilities
may be subject to the Spill Prevention,
Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule, if
they store, transfer, use or consume oil or oilbased
products, such as diesel fuel, gasoline,
lubricant oil, hydraulic oil, adjuvant oil, crop oil,
vegetable oil or animal fat [3]. There are also
numerous state and local regulations that can
affect bioprocessing wastewater.
An emerging area of regulation that bioprocessing
facilities should monitor are the new
standards on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
(PFAS), which are currently under development
by the EPA. These additions to the
National Primary Drinking Water Regulations
under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)
may have implications for bioprocessing facilities,
especially those that discharge to municipal
wastewater treatment plants.
Contamination is a major liability
Because living materials and components
such as cells, bacteria and fungi are used to
create products or act as catalysts within a
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SEPTEMBER 2023
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Chemical Engineering September 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering September 2023
