How a Mining Equipment Manufacturer Transformed Wastewater Treatment
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Wastewater in Manufacturing
Industrial manufacturers operating in heavy‑duty sectors—such as mining equipment, automotive components, and metal fabrication—face a unique wastewater challenge: large water volumes contaminated with oils, lubricants, and fine solids. One mining truck axle facility recently confronted this issue head‑on, partnering with FRC Systems to engineer a reliable, efficient, and cost‑optimized wastewater treatment solution.
This case study highlights how FRC’s dual‑stage clarification process, advanced separation technologies, and rugged equipment design helped the facility reduce pollutant loadings, meet requirements for discharge to the local POTW, and even reuse treated water inside the plant.
The Challenge: High‑Strength Oily Wastewater
The manufacturer generated wastewater from three primary sources:
Equipment wash‑down
Production floor sanitation
Cooling water
These streams contained exceptionally high concentrations of oils, lubricants, total suspended solids (TSS), and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The inflow contaminant levels illustrate the severity of the challenge:
Parameter | Influent Concentration | Required Discharge |
TSS | 10,800 mg/L | < 300 mg/L |
FOG | 125,000 mg/L | < 100 mg/L |
COD | 146,000 mg/L | — |
With a flow rate of 50,000 gallons per 8‑hour shift, the treatment system needed to be both high‑capacity and extremely efficient.
FRC’s Dual‑Stage Treatment Strategy
To meet the discharge limits while minimizing chemical use and equipment footprint, FRC Systems designed a two‑stage process:
1. Oil/Water Separation (Primary Treatment)
A CPI‑RS‑45 oil/water separator removes:
Free oils
Mechanically emulsified oils
This step significantly reduces the oil load before dissolved air flotation (DAF), protecting downstream components and lowering operating costs.
2. Plate‑Pack Dissolved Air Flotation (Secondary Treatment)
A PCL‑30 DAF system, paired with coagulant and flocculant dosing, removes:
Colloidal solids
Chemically emulsified oils
The plate‑pack design improves separation efficiency while reducing the required tank footprint.
Some of the DAF effluent is further polished through an RO system, enabling the plant to reuse water internally—a major environmental and cost benefit.
Equipment Supplied by FRC Systems
To create a complete turnkey system, FRC delivered the following package:
(2) 50,000‑gallon EQ tanks
Chemical dosing equipment
Electrical & pneumatic controls
E‑shaped maintenance catwalk
This integrated approach ensures efficient solids and oil removal, streamlined operations, and simplified maintenance.
Engineered for Performance: DAF Sizing Calculations
The design included detailed hydraulic and solids loading calculations to ensure optimal DAF sizing. Key parameters from the engineering worksheet include:
Hydraulic loading:
(Feed Flow + Recycle Flow) / Surface Area = 1 gpm/ft²
Solids loading:
434 lbs/hr ÷ Surface Area = 2.5 lbs/ft²/hr
These calculations determined that approximately 180 ft² of effective surface area was required, closely aligning with the 172 ft² free surface area available in the selected DAF model.
This proper sizing is crucial not only for performance but also for preventing the overloading of downstream equipment.
Why This Matters for Industrial Manufacturers
This case exemplifies the advantages of modern wastewater process engineering:
✔ Smaller footprint
Dual‑stage clarification reduces equipment size—critical for plant layouts.
✔ Lower chemical consumption
Initial oil removal lessens the chemical burden on the DAF stage.
✔ Higher effluent quality
Achieves stringent TSS and FOG discharge limits.
✔ Improved sustainability
RO treatment enables reuse, reducing freshwater demand.
✔ Greater operational control
Integrated controls and catwalk access make the system easy to inspect and maintain.
Conclusion
FRC Systems delivered a robust, high‑performance wastewater solution tailored to the demands of heavy manufacturing. By combining oil/water separation, plate‑pack DAF treatment, and reuse‑ready effluent polishing, the facility dramatically improved compliance, efficiency, and sustainability.
For manufacturers facing similar oily wastewater challenges, the proven results of this installation illustrate the technical and operational advantages of partnering with FRC Systems.
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