Zero Liquid Discharge Maximizes Wastewater Recovery

The zero liquid discharge (ZLD) market, estimated to be worth $200 million, is growing as countries enforce stronger environmental regulations, according to a WaterWorld article.

In the article, General Electric’s Lanny Weimer, global product manager, water and process technologies, writes that China, India and Australia are among the countries using ZLD technologies to maximize the full recovery of wastewater.

Weimer also points to Florida’s Orlando Utilities Commission as an example. Faced with water shortages, the commission in the mid-1980s decided to build a ZLD facility at its Stanton Energy Center. The system’s evaporator technology enables up to 98 percent of wastewater to be reclaimed as high purity distilled water, which is then usable in many industrial processes, such as for cooling tower makeup.

In drought-stricken California, ZLD systems are setting the standard for industrial-scale water conservation, according to Peter S. Cartwright, president of PE Cartwright Consulting, in a separate WaterWorld column.