News

Westlake Environmental has been awarded a contract to provide a complete wastewater system to a railcar cleaning facility in East Chicago, IN.

Client Background:  Customer specializes in tank and hopper railcar cleaning.

Problem:  Customer has elevated levels of emulsified oils and solids in the water.

Our Solution:  A complete turnkey system is to be supplied to remove the emulsified oils and solids from the waste stream.  The system includes an Emulsion Cracking System, Chemical Addition System, Dissolved Air Flotation clarifier, polyethylene holding tanks, mixers, pumps, level controls and a NEMA 4X control panel.  Westlake Environmental is partnering with a general contractor to supply a turnkey system.

Client Background: Customer specializes in Metal Finishing, Zinc, Zinc-Cobalt, Tin, Phosphate and Passivating.

Problem:  Customer had elevated levels of metals in the wastewater and was exceeding city discharge limits. 

Our Solution: An Inclined Plate Clarifier (IPC) with 440 ft2 of effective settling area, constructed in carbon steel material. Successfully allowing them to meet the city discharge requirements.

Client Background:  Customer offers a line of lubricants, chemicals and fuels.

Problem:  As a supplier of lubricants, chemicals and fuels, they generate wastewater with high levels of oils and grease. To meet the city’s required discharge limits, an Oil Water Separator (OWS) was designed to remove oils and grease. 

Our Solution:

• 400 GPM Oil Water Separator in carbon steel material.​

Project:  Frac Application, Austin, TX

Client Background: Customer provides water treatment solutions for companies in the oil and gas, pipeline and construction industries. 

Problem: Customer contacted Westlake Environmental regarding a frac application that had elevated levels of suspend solids in the water.  A 1,000 GPM wastewater system was provided to reduce the TSS in the water prior to discharge.

Our Solution:

• 1,000 GPM Inline Mixing System
• 1,000 GPM DAF unit in 316 stainless steel material
• Pneumatic and electric controls​

The Westlake Environmental OWS (Oil Water Separator) is designed based on Stoke’s law, which basically states the larger the oil droplet, the quicker it will rise in water, see figure 1 below. Westlake Environmental uses a special coalescing media that when placed in the flow path of oily water, the oil droplets collide with each other, grow in size and quickly rise to the water surface. This technology allows for a separator that is ½ the volume and as little as 1/5 the length of straight
​gravity separators.

Stokes Law Equation:  Vt = [(g)(ρw– ρo)(d²)] / [(18*μw)]

Where:
Vt = the rise rate of the oil droplet (cm/s or ft/sec)
g = acceleration due to gravity (cm/s² or ft/s²)
ρw = density of water at the design temperature (g/cm³ or lbm/ft³)
ρo = density of oil at the design temperature (g/cm³ or lbm/ft³)
d = oil droplet diameter (cm or ft)
μw = absolute viscosity of the water (g/cm•s or lbm/ft•s)

Oil Water Separation Process: The wastewater enters the OWS influent chamber via a non-clog, energy dissipating baffle that distributes the flow across the width of the coalescing pack. The separation chamber has a Westlake Media Bundle that is filled with oleophilic media that insures collision of the oil droplets, which become larger and quickly float to the water surface. As the oil layer reaches a given height on the water surface, it decants into an integral oil reservoir. The bundle is also designed such that solids will separate and settle into the sludge collection chamber. Clean water flows under a baffle and over an adjustable 304 stainless steel weir into the effluent chamber. Liquid level in the separator is determined by the height of the adjustable weir. The clean water exits the effluent chamber through an outlet flange. Sectionalized, gasketed covers are provided to allow easy access to the separator internals.

Removal Efficiencies: The model OWS will coalesce and remove non-emulsified, free and dispersed fats, oils and grease from a waste stream to produce a clean water effluent of 10 ppm or less of non-emulsified oils.

This proven design has made the Westlake Environmental OWS a preferred tool for Engineers, Contractors and End Users. Call today for more information on the Westlake Environmental Oil Water Separator.

The Westlake Environmental IPC uses a series of inclined plates that create a large settling area in a small footprint. The inclined plates sit at a 55° angle and are assembled in a pack configuration. Descending solids settle on the top of the plates and descend into the sludge chamber, while the clean water flows upward along the bottom of the plates and into the effluent chamber. See illustration:

Inclined Plate Clarifier Process: Raw water enters the WIPC inlet chamber and is immediately dispersed through a non-clog diffuser across the width of the clarifier, which reduces velocities and turbulent flow, and begins the settling process. The flow leaves the inlet chamber under a weir that directs the flow evenly under the plate pack for heavier solids settling. Fines in the water then begin a vertical path through the plate pack and stop their vertical motion, fall downward to the plate surfaces beneath them and descend into the sludge chamber. Clean water flows upward along the bottom of the plates into the effluent chamber prior to discharge via an effluent flange.

Removal Efficiencies: The Westlake Environmental Inclined Plate Clarifier effectively removes suspended solids and precipitated metals from a waste stream. With proper chemical pre-treatment, the suspended solids in the effluent are often less than 10 mg/L. The solids concentration of the sludge material typically ranges between 2% to 3%.  

This proven design has made the Westlake Environmental IPC a preferred tool for Engineers, Contractors and End Users. Call today for more information on the Westlake Environmental Inclined Plate Clarifier.

The Westlake Environmental DAF uses a basic process of dissolving air into water under pressure. Upon release of the pressure, microscopic air bubbles are produced and mixed with the waste water containing the contaminants. The small bubbles attach themselves to the suspended particles, which give them net positive buoyancy. The buoyant particles rise quickly to the water surface forming a float that is continually removed by skimming. Clean water is discharged continuously.

Dissolved Air Flotation Process: Raw water enters the flotation chamber of the via a distribution baffle that delivers the raw water uniformly across the width of the tank. In the distribution baffle the raw water is mixed with super saturated recycled water containing millions of microscopic air bubbles. The micro air bubbles attach to the debris in the water, which rise to the water surface.  At the surface a skimmer pushes the float into an isolated float chamber. The heavier solids that don’t float settle into a dedicated sludge chamber. Clean water underflows a baffle and continues over a weir and into the clean water chamber.  Clean water is discharged continuously through and effluent nozzle.

Removal Efficiencies: The Westlake Environmental Dissolved Air Flotation Clarifier effectively removes fats, oils, grease, suspended solids, non-soluble BOD/COD, vegetable oils, metals, animal processing waste and more. Removal rates of 95% to 97% are routinely obtained with proper chemical pretreatment. The solids concentration of the float material range between 3% and 10%.

This proven design has made the Westlake Environmental DAF a preferred tool for Engineers, Contractors and End Users. Call today for more information on the Westlake Environmental Dissolved Air Flotation Clarifier.