The Treatment of Industrial
Wastewater for Reuse — Chrysler
Indianapolis Foundry
A. R. BALDEN, Waste Treatment Specialist
Chrysler Corporation
Detroit, Michigan
PAUL R. ERICKSON, Regional Manager
Process Equipment
Rex Chainbelt, Inc.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
INTRODUCTION
The different aspects of environmental pollution are often found, on investigation, to have a common derivation. The engineer who recognizes the interrelationship of water pollution, air contamination and solid waste management is much
better prepared to devise a sound and lasting solution than one who sees only the
immediate difficulty and mistakes it for the total problem. A classic example illustrating this lies in the treatment of industrial wastewater to remove oils. The free oils
can be floated off and the emulsified oils removed by a combination of emulsion
breaking, coagulation, flocculation, flotation and precipitation. When these physical-
chemical reactions have been accomplished in various sequences and combinations as
required by the specific problem, the water is purified to the degree necessary for
discharge to a river. However, the oil, while concentrated, is now mixed with the
products of the clarifying reactions, not all of which have added to its reuse
potential. To take this oily sludge to a landfill without further treatment is a serious
affront to our ecology, an affront increasingly recognized by state laws. Reclamation
to the extent possible is recommended practice. Incineration of that remaining is
normally the most satisfactory option. However, simple incineration is not now
acceptable unless the products of combustion are scrubbed to remove air pollutants
and unless the noise of operation is reduced to low "non-nuisance" levels.
INDIANAPOLIS FOUNDRY WASTEWATER
The treatment of the pollutants resulting from the making of cast iron offers
another good example of the necessity of applying a systems approach to a pollution
problem. In this instance, the gaseous stack emissions contain impurities such as iron
particles, evaporated oils and phenols among others. These materials must be removed from the exhausted air, which is accomplished at the Indianapolis Foundry by
the use of high pressure water sprays. Figure 1 shows the various components of the
Indianapolis Foundry, including the charging deck (1), the "wind box" or air injection system (2) the water curtain (3) cupola (4) iron draw off (5) and laboratory (6).
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