Description

Advantages

Wastewater from metal finishing industries contains high concentrations of contaminants which are hazardous to the environment and pose potential health risks to the public. With increasingly stringent regulations governing wastewater discharge and greater quantities of wastewater being produced, there is a growing need for more efficient and cost-effective methods to remove heavy metals. In accordance with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), as required by the Clean Water Act, metal finishers are required to pre-treat their wastewater prior to releasing it to municipal sewers or surface waters. With the greater quantities of wastewater being produced and discharge limits being lowered, there is a need for more efficient processes to remove heavy metals. Heavy metals, in particular, are of great concern because of their toxicity to human and other biological life. Heavy metals typically present in metal finishing wastewater are cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, silver, tin, and zinc.