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On line monitoring of heavy metals in wastewater

November 29, 2013

Q. Hello. I am interested about the best solution of monitoring of heavy metals in waste water. In our metal process we develop waste water rich with Nickel, Tin, Copper and Cyanides ... I would like to implement some online monitoring after waste water treatment to have control and to be sure that the cleaned water is within government regulation.
Do you have any experience?
Thank you in advance.
Best regards,

Ziva Trtnik
- Ljubljana, Slovenia

A. Hi Ziva. Although I've heard of on-line monitoring of chemistry, I don't think it's the right approach for wastewater because most of the heavy metals are reacted and precipitated as oxides and will not be active for specific ion monitoring. So you would probably need to also incorporate AA into the mix.

Personally, I think the thing to do is spend your money on holding tanks and to never do a live, continuous discharge. Instead, capture the treated wastewater in a holding tank; when it's full, mix it thoroughly and analyze a sample. You can even keep a 4-ounce sample of each discharge for 30 days or so, and can properly swear that there was never a momentary disruption.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
November 29, 2013

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