Primary Metal Production Solutions
Advanced wastewater treatment for steel production, foundries, metal fabrication, and primary metal manufacturing facilities
Industry Overview
Primary Metal Production Solutions
Primary metal production generates highly contaminated wastewater streams from diverse operations including coke ovens, blast furnaces, steel making, rolling mills, pickling lines, and surface treatment. Effluents contain heavy metals, acids, oils, suspended solids, cyanides, phenols, and temperature extremes requiring comprehensive multi-stage treatment approaches.
The metal production industry faces stringent environmental regulations governing discharge of heavy metals (iron, zinc, chromium, nickel, lead), cyanides, and suspended solids. Additionally, water-stressed regions mandate water recycling, pushing mills toward zero liquid discharge systems that treat and recirculate virtually all process water, minimizing freshwater withdrawal and wastewater discharge.
Spans Envirotech specializes in metal industry wastewater treatment, providing integrated solutions combining neutralization, oxidation, precipitation, clarification, and filtration. Our systems handle extreme contamination levels, recover valuable metals, enable water reuse, and ensure consistent compliance with environmental regulations protecting air and water quality around metal production facilities.
Industry Challenges
Key Environmental Challenges
Heavy Metal Contamination
Pickling, plating, and cooling operations discharge multiple heavy metals (Fe, Zn, Cr, Ni, Pb, Cu) at concentrations requiring removal to <0.1-2.0 mg/L meeting strict discharge regulations and preventing environmental contamination.
Extreme pH & Temperature
Acid pickling produces pH <1 wastewater while alkaline processes generate pH >12 streams. Cooling water exits at 40-60°C. Treatment systems must handle and neutralize these extremes before biological treatment or discharge.
Cyanide & Toxic Compounds
Case hardening and heat treatment operations use cyanide-based baths generating toxic wastewater requiring oxidative destruction before biological treatment. Phenols from coke operations demand specialized removal technologies.
Our Solutions
Tailored Wastewater Treatment Solutions
Neutralization & Metal Precipitation
Automated pH control with lime or caustic precipitates heavy metals as hydroxides. Multi-stage precipitation at optimized pH levels (8.5-10.5) achieves >99% removal for most metals, meeting discharge standards reliably.
Cyanide Destruction & Oxidation
Alkaline chlorination or hydrogen peroxide oxidation destroys cyanides to cyanates and eventually nitrogen and CO2. Advanced oxidation processes eliminate phenols and recalcitrant organics from coke oven wastewater.
Oil Separation & Cooling
API separators and dissolved air flotation remove rolling oils and greases. Cooling towers or heat exchangers reduce wastewater temperature to acceptable levels (<40°C) before biological treatment or discharge.
Water Reclamation & ZLD
Ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis treat effluent to process water quality for reuse in cooling, dust suppression, or slag quenching. Evaporators concentrate reject streams achieving zero liquid discharge in water-scarce regions.
Technologies
Proven Technologies for Your Industry
Benefits
Why Choose Spans for Your Industry
- Achieves stringent heavy metal discharge limits (<0.1-2.0 mg/L) consistently
- Cyanide destruction ensures worker safety and environmental protection
- Automated pH control optimizes chemical consumption and removal efficiency
- Metal sludge recovery provides revenue through recycling or sale
- Water reclamation reduces freshwater costs by 40-70% in water-scarce areas
- Modular designs accommodate varying production rates and product mixes
- Comprehensive solutions from source segregation through ZLD implementation
Ready to Transform Your Primary Metal Production Solutions Operations?
Let our experts design a custom solution for your facility.