Chemistry/Equipment Combo Eliminates Spray Washer Discharge

Houghton International combines chemistry and equipment to eliminate process water discharge from its spray washers, enabling customers to avoid wastewater permitting, notice of effluent violations and cost associated with excessive water usage.

Components of the zero-discharge spray washer process include its Houghto-Clean, Houghto-Prep ZP and Houghto-Seal chemistries, which are formulated to provide low conductivity in processing baths. This combination of low bath solids is the cornerstone of reducing the volume of incoming water normally associated with traditional conversion coating processes, the company says. The chemistry is also designed for maximum oil rejection to facilitate longer bath life and easier removal of accumulating soil. 

The equipment portion of this process includes customized equipment to remove oil and other organic/inorganic soil, counter-flow both water and process chemicals, economically heat the process, and evaporate the small amount of residual process water potentially leaving the system.