Industry Background and Problems
The steel and metals industry is foundational to infrastructure, manufacturing, and construction sectors globally. This sector utilizes vast volumes of water in cooling, quenching, pickling, plating, and process operations, often generating complex wastewater laden with heavy metals, oils, suspended solids, acids, alkalis, and organic contaminants. Untreated effluents can cause severe environmental damage, non-compliance with discharge norms, and expensive disposal challenges. High TDS, variable pH, and toxic metal levels further complicate treatment efforts, with the risk of scaling, corrosion, and fouling impacting efficiency and production continuity.
Water scarcity and stringent environmental regulations compel steel and metal manufacturers to adopt advanced water treatment that maximizes reuse, reduces freshwater intake, and meets evolving compliance standards. Effective treatment of plating wastewater, acid pickling effluent, and cooling blowdowns, alongside sludge management, is critical. These require integrated, robust, and scalable solutions to handle fluctuating flows and contaminant loads while minimizing operational costs and carbon footprint.
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Our Approach to Solving the Problems
Sarvo provides tailor-made, comprehensive water and wastewater treatment solutions designed specifically for the steel and metals sector’s unique challenges. Our systems integrate primary physical separation (oil & grease removal, grit removal), chemical treatment (pH adjustment, coagulation/flocculation), followed by biological or advanced physico-chemical treatment to remove organics, metals, and suspended solids. Ultrafiltration (UF), reverse osmosis (RO), and zero liquid discharge (ZLD) technologies enable recovery and reuse of high-quality water, reducing environmental discharge. Automated process control, AI-enabled monitoring, and energy-efficient MVR evaporators reduce waste and enhance reliability. Sarvo’s turnkey projects include sludge dewatering and safe disposal modules. Solutions are modular and scalable, facilitating retrofit upgrades or expansions for evolving production needs.
Key Points
About Our Tech in Pointers
- Comprehensive treatment trains including physico-chemical, biological, membrane filtration, and ZLD for complex steel effluent streams.
- High removal efficiency for heavy metals, TSS, organics, oils, and chemical contaminants ensuring regulatory compliance.
- Robust pH and chemical management systems for acid pickling and plating wastewater.
- Advanced ultrafiltration and RO for water recovery and reuse in cooling, quenching, and process applications.
- Energy-efficient MVR evaporation systems for ZLD with minimal operational costs.
- Automated controls and real-time monitoring improve uptime, reduce manpower, and ensure process stability.
- Modular, plug-and-play design for easy installation and capacity scaling.
- Expert sludge handling and disposal with drying and safe disposal options.
Relevant Technologies
Oil & grease removal and screening
pH correction, coagulation, and flocculation
Biological treatment: MBBR, activated sludge
Ultrafiltration (UF), Reverse Osmosis (RO)
Mechanical Vapor Recompression (MVR) evaporators for ZLD
Sludge dewatering and drying systems
PLC/AI-based control and monitoring systems
Case Study: Sarvo ZLD Implementation at JBM INDIA, Pithampur, MP
Sarvo Technologies successfully executed a Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) project at JBM INDIA’s automotive and metal fabrication plant in Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh. The plant’s wastewater, generated from metal plating and paint shop operations, presented challenges with high heavy metal loads, chemical contaminants, and fluctuating flow rates.
Sarvo implemented a customized multi-stage treatment including chemical precipitation, filtration, ultrafiltration (UF), reverse osmosis (RO), and an energy-efficient Mechanical Vapor Recompression (MVR) evaporator system for concentrate drying. This closed-loop system achieved near-zero liquid discharge, recovering over 90% of water for reuse in process and cooling applications, significantly reducing freshwater demand and environmental discharge.
Automated controls and remote monitoring ensured consistent compliance with stringent Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) standards on heavy metals and organics, while minimizing operational costs and downtime. Robust sludge handling with centrifuges and drying beds enabled safe, regulatory-compliant disposal of solids. This turnkey solution improved JBM’s sustainability footprint, reduced water-related operational risks, and supported their commitments to environmental stewardship
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