Sustainable Mini ETP for Small Industries: A Case Study of Powder Coating Industry

Abstract

Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) are considered as one of the viable solution for small to medium enterprises for effective wastewater treatment. An Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) is an integral part of production processes with relevance to wastewater, the pollutants with their respective limit values that have to be reduced. In addition, the ETP also facilitates in reduction of number of discharge points in an industrial estate for better enforcement by environmental regulatory agencies in terms of pollution reduction and environmental improvements. However, many of the operating ETPs are not performing optimally due to various technical and managerial reasons. Small scale industries usually do not have access to latest technological advancements in effluent treatment process. To address the pollution discharge of industries, adoption of cleaner production technologies and waste minimization initiatives are now gaining ground. Treatment of such industrial effluent is very important and necessary from environmental point of view. Also, to meet the Standards for emission or discharge of environmental pollutants from various Industries set by the Government and to avoid hefty penalties ETP is a need for the industries. In present case study anattempt is made to design a compact but sustainable mini effluent treatment plant for small scale industry i.e. powder coating unit. This mini ETP requires smaller space as compared to traditional ETP with old technology. By using such compact modular mini ETP for small scale industry issue of non-treating or partly treating effluent can be overcome with cost and space efficiency. This will enable small scale industries to cater their need to avoid pollution and also to safeguard environment.