PRODUCING CLEAN WATER AND ENERGY
FROM PHARMACEUTICAL WASTEWATER
Gerald D. King, Process Engineer
Clinton Laboratories
Eli Lilly and Company
Clinton, Indiana 47842
INTRODUCTION
This chapter describes the disposal facility for the treatment of watery waste at the
Clinton plant. This is one of three main disposal techniques used at the site. Currently,
the wastewaters are processed through a four-effect od-dehydration evaporator. The resulting dried waste by-product (od-solids slurry) is pyrolyzed in a rotary hearth pyrolysis
furnace. The pyrolyzer produces methane gas in a nitrogen atmosphere which is directed
to a rich fume burner, attached to a water-tube boder. The boder produces steam in excess
of the quantity required by the evaporator.
In general, any water-type wastes containing nonvolatde organic matter (vapor pressure
less than water) could be disposed in the evaporator-pyrolyzer-boder (EPB) process.
The EPB process is complemented by three other disposal techniques on the plant site.
Solid-trash incineration (rotating kiln) and liquid incineration also dispose of process wastes
and a compact single stage activated sludge plant disposes of ad human sanitary wastes.
The sanitary waste loads are insignificant to the loads associated with the three major
facilities. The three major independent processes possess some interdependence to each
other for the complete treatment of ad process wastes. The concepts for these disposal
techniques are the basic concepts of the original plant design. Plant operations commenced
in 1970, when emphasis for environmental concerns included: (1) conserve process waters;
(2) recycle cooling waters; (3) use dry cleaning techniques; (4) concentrate wastes where
possible; (5) segregate wastes where practical; and (6) avoid activated sludge treatment on
process waste. All of these concepts are maintained today. Ten years later the plant operates
the three processes much the same.
Each of the processes has undergone developmental improvements. The EPB process
development has been the most extensive over the last ten years. This report describes
these improvements as well as the material and energy balances of the ultimate EPB system.
PHASE 1-1970: BACKGROUND
For the original plant design, the most effective treatment systems for all wastes on
the plant site were sought. The scenario at the time of design involved: stricter environmental laws which were in their infancy; process wastes which were categorized as watery
waste, solvent waste and solid waste;all process technique selections were innovative (prototype), thus, development was inevitable; and watery waste treatment received the most
investigation.
Watery waste (Table I) was an obvious candidate for activated sludge treatment. However, resistance to use this method was strong. Questionable issues were the effectiveness
of activated sludge, the disposition of the removed sludge and odor control. By design,
the sludge could not be disposed in either of the other incinerators. Further investigation
discovered a new evaporative technique which claimed a clear, clean effluent. Extensive
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