Aqua-Chem has tested the method in a pilot project at J&J Industries, a leading carpet manufacturer based in Dalton, Georgia, USA. The results demonstrated that it is practical and economically feasible to remove dye and other additives from industrial wastewater and to reuse the water in carpet dyeing in an environmentally innovative process. In the pilot project, 70% of wastewater effluents in dyeing operations could be reused in the manufacturing process, and the next full-scale system is projected to recover 90% of wastewater.
“This is the wave of the future in the global water purification market,” said David Gensterblum, president and chief executive officer of Aqua-Chem. “Clean water is an increasingly valuable commodity everywhere, and our ground-breaking process addresses clean water as a critical expense and environmental issue for a wide range of manufacturers. [The] purification technology lowers operating costs dramatically by allowing re-use of wastewater in the manufacturing process.”
“Decreasing water consumption is a major focus of ours and we are delighted to participate in the development of this technology,” said Dr Howard Elder, director of research and environmental affairs at J&J Industries. “J&J Industries and Aqua-Chem are committed to developing a process that minimises water consumption and offers opportunities for energy recovery.”