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-----Zinc and Oil in Wastewater
I am from University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and working for a small metal finishing company with a waste water flow of 62000 gallons/month. This company has Iron Phosphate system and tumbling, deburring and Punch Press unit. A few months back they start noticing an elevated level of Zinc in their waste water. We have a speculation that this might be from the Mill Oil they are clearing during these processes but did not now the exact relationship. The Facility also has had higher BOD level during the same weekly testing period. Could someone explain any correlation between oil & grease, Zinc and BOD. Thanks you very Much.
Thanks,
Kshitiz SaxenaUNC - Charlotte - Charlotte, North Carolina
2003
Previously I had posted a question about Zinc pollution in a Metal Finishing unit, and this is still unclear to us about Zinc Pollution. This metal finishing unit has a waste water flow of 62000 gallons/month approximately. This unit has IRON phosphate system. Few months back they start noticing an elevated level of Zinc in their waste water. We have a speculation that this might be from the mill oil they are cleaning during these processes but did not know the exact relationship between oil and zinc. The facility also as had higher BOD level during the same weekly testing period. Could someone explain any corelation between oil & grease, zinc and BOD.
Thank you,
Kshitiz SaxenaUNC - Charlotte - Charlotte, North Carolina
2003
Hi, Kshitiz. When a question attracts no replies, it is often a sign that insufficient information was offered. What you need to do is track down the various effluent pipes that are feeding the waste water treatment system, and see what pipe the zinc is coming in from. Then you have to continue to work backward until you find it. Guessing where the zinc is coming from is just idle speculation. It could be the oil, the reagent chemicals, or a stripping operation--but it could be a hundred other things. Sorry. Good luck.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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2003
When a waste effluent characteristic changes it is usually because of a change in the waste presented to the system. Deburring and cleaning chemical suppliers are famous for providing heavy loads of sequestering agents (chelators) in their formulations because they work so well. Check upstream, and you will probably find EDTA or some such chelator is present. Then work on your supplier to eliminate it.
Paul Morkovsky
- Shiner, Texas, USA
2003
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