Case Study: Reverse Osmosis Recycle System
Customer: Carbon Fiber Production FacilityNeed: Deionized Water
Challenge: Capture used DI water and return it to the plant at less than 2umhos quality.
The customer was using approximately 300gpm of deionized water on a once through basis to rinse their fiber. The fiber plant currently purchases the DI water from a plant off-site for a premium. After use the rinse water was sent to drain where it discharged to the local POTW. That being said the plant was paying for both expensive DI water and waste water to the local POTW.
Faced with rapidly growing water cost due to expansion the plant began looking at ways to reduce the overall water consumption, cost and environmental footprint. The plant wanted to implement a recycle system, however they did not want to spend the capital for equipment or hire new employees to operate and maintain the equipment.
Capstone Water was able to work with the plant engineers to design and recommend a water recovery system that would recycle 75% of the water being used at the facility and provide this water at a fraction of the cost of new DI water. A pilot study was conducted and the plant was able to verify that the proposed system would indeed meet water quality specifications for production. Capstone was then able to provide the equipment, installation, and ongoing operation and maintenance at no capital cost to the plant. The plant implemented the system and is now saving over $200K/year in water savings and significantly reduced their environmental footprint.
Case Study: Mobile Service Deionization
Customer: Government ContractorNeed: Deionized Water
Challenge: Consistently Remove Silica to Less than 3ppb
The customer frequently experiences high levels of silica in their existing reverse osmosis product stream. Each time the silica levels in the reverse osmosis product water exceed 3ppb the customer is forced into an unplanned shutdown that results in lost time and revenue. During the unplanned outage the customer generates large quantities of hazardous waste as a result of the high silica levels that have contaminated their product. The hazardous waste disposal is a large concern and cost for the customer as well.
The plant decides to polish the reverse osmosis product water with a deionization system to ensure the water always meets specification. However, the capital cost of installing on-site deionizers along with the on-going maintenance and manpower cost prove too expensive and impractical for the customer.
Capstone Water surveys the customer’s plant and recommends DI Express mobile service deionization tanks. Capstone Water engineers determine the correct size tanks and equipment to meet the customers flow requirements and water quality needs. By outsourcing their water treatment the customer eliminated water quality issues and was able to reduce internal manpower requirements. The resulting consistent high quality water has eliminated unplanned outages and the generation of hazardous waste all while increasing profit for this area of the plant.
