Posted by William Vander Plaats on Thu, Mar 04, 2010 @ 02:12 PM
There is a long way to go in the efforts to make the best use of water -- one of our most precious resources. Education about how water is presently used is a key first step. Knowing exactly how much water is used for a given process and what the alternative methods might be is the focus of many water studies conducted over the past few years. But even with that knowledge, there are still conflicting interests in many cities, companies, and individuals.
Even in a water-conscious state like California, there are conflicting priorities. The CBS television show "60 Minutes" recently produced several segments about the drought in California and the nation's dwindling water supplies, pointing out the fact that Americans average using 150 gallons of water per day, compared to the 40 gallons of water per day used in the U.K. and 13 gallons per day used in some of the worlds poorest countries. Yet the message has not been completely received by some. And an unusually wet winter in California and across the U.S. seems to have slowed some of the focus on conservation, as hopes rise higher the drought will end soon.
Take the area of Southern California. A major metropolitan region built in a desert. But through water supplies obtained from outside the region, it is able to support a growing population with a high standard of living. Yet water conservation does not always appear to be the highest priority among its residents. Particularly in the city of Orange, California, where city laws require at least 40% of homeowner yards to be covered with some sort of growing vegetation. One particular family in Orange claims to have reduced their annual water usage from about 300,000 gallons in 2007 to less than 60,000 in 2009 through creative landscaping, yet are being sued by the city for the lack of live plants and ground cover in their yard. Water conservation does not appear to be as important as other factors in Orange.
In other parts of the world like Punjab, India, the costs to convert from traditional flood irrigation methods to more water-saving methods is a real challenge. Sprinkler irrigation has been growing approximately 25% a year since the 1980s. Thanks to government subsidies, drip irrigation is growing rapidly as well. Replacing flood irrigation with either sprinklers or drip has huge water conservation benefits for everyone. And making the most of every drop is something that deserves more of our attention.
Filtration -- when installed properly and with the right solution for a given situation -- can be an extremely effective way to conserve water. Whether it be:
Effective filtration can stretch a drop or gallon of water further, and typically with reduced energy consumption as well.
How about large industrial companies, which use water for a variety of processes? A company which makes steel shelving units now uses high pressure nozzles and a LAKOS Separator to clean the finished product and remove cast iron particles. Similar to the way a system can be installed to keep a cooling tower basin clean, this system reduces wastewater and minimizes overall water usage.
Want to learn more? Download our Parts Washing Case Study.
Posted by William Vander Plaats on Thu, Feb 18, 2010 @ 02:12 PM
The United Nations estimates that by 2025 over half the world's population will live in water-stressed or
water scarce countries. In February, 2009 the
Wall Street Journal reported that water managers in 36 U.S. states anticipate water shortages by 2013. At the same time the water depleted Sun Belt and Western U.S. looks for ways to cope with dwindling water supplies. How desperate are they to find a solution? In 2008 Georgia lawmakers tried, unsuccessfully, to move the state's border north so that Georgia could claim part of the
Tennessee River!
At the corporate level, implementing water reuse/recycling strategies may be the more practical answer as companies grapple with their "water footprint." As with other forms of sustainability, the possibilities for reclaim are huge. For example, Pepsi claims to have saved 6 billion gallons of water between 2006 and 2007 due to smarter water use and equipment in their operations. On the extreme side, Global Water Intelligence recently reported the lofty goal of Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) in which no liquid waste leaves the boundary of a facility.
Regardless of size, nearly every industrial manufacturing plant -- from petroleum to lima beans -- has some opportunity to water reclaim. The driving forces behind these efforts are the same:
1. Increasing worldwide water scarcity.
2. Increasing pressure to become more environmentally responsible.
3. Increasing water and sewage costs. In the United States, municipal water rates have increased an average of 27% in the past 5 years alone.
Regardless of industry, customized water treatment and/or filtration systems must be in place for companies to even begin to realize their water reclaim goals. Sometimes the solutions are simpler (and more beneficial) than a manufacturer anticipates. A case-in-point is Gerawan Foods, Inc. of Sanger, California.
Garawan Foods processes up to 12 million pounds of lima beans a year. Washing these beans takes a LARGE amount of water, and had been producing a lot of sewage - pushing the limit on the towns' guidelines for volume and silt content. Even worse was the fact the pre-washing stage was forcing visible silt under the bean's skin, causing significant amounts of beans to be rejected for quality reasons.
A simple solution using three LAKOS centrifugal separators allowed Garawan foods to completely recycle the bean washing water, resulting in a dramatic reduction in sewage and operating costs. Furthermore, the company cut several hours of manpower a day during the wash season and totally eliminated quality control rejection due to silt in the beans. For Garawan Foods, an effective water reuse strategy supported by an equally effective filtration system was quite literally worth beans!
Want to learn more? Read the entire Case Study of the Garawan Foods filtration system.
Photo by: druclimb