Chemical Engineering September 2023 - 33

bioprocessing facility, wastewater from these facilities
can be contaminated with nutrients, pathogens, organic
compounds, chemicals and other contaminants of concern.
To reduce risk, increase profitability and improve
sustainability, bioprocessing facilities should invest in
optimal wastewater-treatment methods.
By choosing not to fully treat their own wastewater,
companies can expose themselves to litigation and
regulatory fines, which have an immediate negative impact
on profitability. Furthermore, certain methods of
wastewater treatment enable significant water-recycling
opportunities, which directly reduce operational costs
and capital expenses. And finally, bioprocessing facilities
that pass along contaminated wastewater to their
local municipal treatment plants are pushing their external
costs to governments and taxpayers, which can
result in reputational and political damage.
In this day and age, there are zero upsides to not
treating wastewater to the full extent available through
technology and as required by regulation.
Recycling process water
Facilities that heat and treat water to make it ready for
their manufacturing processes know full well the costs
required. The cost of replacement water (which is increasing
in many jurisdictions), the cost to prepare the
water for the manufacturing process, the cost of chemical
treatment and the cost to heat or cool the water
all add up and represent a significant expenditure for
the facility.
With the right technology and for certain parts of the
process, process water can be reused, saving enormously
on inputs required to prepare the water for the
manufacturing process. As water availability continues
to become less predictable around the world, companies
that minimize their need for it also reduce their risk
and increase their resiliency. And for the growing number
of companies with sustainability commitments and
goals, reusing water in manufacturing can help reach
water targets and fulfill pledges to stakeholders.
Ozone AOP treatment
Ozone is a growing and appealing option for wastewater
treatment. A pale blue gas, ozone is composed
of three oxygen atoms (O3). It is generated onsite and
introduced into the wastewater to eliminate a wide variety
of inorganic, organic and microbiological impurities,
including contaminants of emerging concern, 1,4-dioxane
micropollutants and cyanobacteria mycotoxins.
Inside an ozone generator (Figure 2), O3 is produced
when oxygen molecules are separated by an energy
source into oxygen atoms, which react with other oxygen
molecules to form ozone. A high-voltage alternating
current is applied across a dielectric discharge gap that
contains an oxygen-bearing feed gas.
When ozone is dissolved in water, the free radicals
that are formed have excellent oxidizing capacity on
pollutants and molecules. This process is generally preferred
over other AOP processes, such as ultraviolet
(UV) AOP, when the water has low UV transmittance
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Chemical Engineering September 2023

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