Industrial manufacturing is reliant on access to water resources for fabrication, synthesis, processing, cleaning and dilution. This usage of water leads to the accumulation of organic and inorganic compounds in addition to solid particulates producing trade effluent (TE) waste. Industry disposes of TE in one of the following ways; (i) containment and transportation to a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), (ii) released to a sewer network for downstream treatment at a WWTP, or (iii) released to natural waters with varying levels of treatment. Of these TE disposal methods, (i) and (ii) are most commonly used to prevent the contamination of natural waters, in line with environmental regulatory requirements. The processes carried out by different industries are highly variable, which leads to similarly variable TE profiles.
This research project on investigating novel sensing techniques for monitoring trade effluent (TE) was designed to explore innovative off-the-shelf technologies for monitoring TE from three industrial sectors. Monitoring of TE is currently dependent on offline chemical analysis that is both costly and time consuming. The offline nature of TE monitoring prevents the application of preventative TE management strategies which could improve the outcomes for Irish Water and its customers. Novel technologies provide potential for reducing the monitoring burdens of TE, providing better data for accurate TE management and the potential for more accurate billing of TE are the primary benefits of the project.
The sectors selected for this project are;
a) Biopharmachem – companies involved in the manufacture of biological pharmaceutical products.
b) Food and beverage – companies involved in the manufacture of food and beverage products.
c) Waste management – companies involved in the reception, processing, treatment and disposal of wastes
