Water resources in the pharmaceutical and chemical industry

Water plays an essential and critical role in the chemical industry: it is incorporated as a raw material in the end product; it is required for auxiliary services (cooling and boilers); and its management, from conditioning at the required qualities to subsequent treatment for discharge, represents a major cost for business.

Aware of the idiosyncrasies of the chemical and chemical-pharmaceutical industry and the strict legal requirements relating to the environment to which it is subject, Aqualogy has a comprehensive offering that meets the needs of each company, whatever its size or area of activity.

Our services and technologies applied to the chemical and pharmaceutical sector are geared towards environmental excellence in all industrial activity processes, from production to final discharge.

This is our catalogue of solutions:

Complete hydrogeology services geared toward decontaminating soil and aquifers
Design, construction, operation and maintenance of:
- Catchment drinking water treatment plants
- Process water conditioning plants
- Wastewater treatment plants
- Process water reclamation and reuse plants
Water resource optimisation
Reduced consumption of water and water-related energy
Optimisation of cost and resource management
Quality, environmental impact and chemical risks management
Process instrumentation, monitoring and control
Supply of reagents and chemical additives
Knowledge management through staff training and awareness raising

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Turnkey supply, operation and maintenance of a reverse osmosis plant

A cutting-edge German company in the detergent and cosmetics sectors who, in 2009, trusted in the solution proposed by Aqualogy to reduce water consumption per litre of product. The solution included the design, execution and commissioning of a three-stage reverse osmosis plant that produces high-quality water used to add to the product, for cooling systems and boilers.

This configuration permits maximum use of the resource with minimum rejection, thus drastically reducing water consumption in manufacturing the product. The comprehensive service is completed with the operation and maintenance of the facility, including system optimisation and the supply of chemical reagents.

Electrochemistry, ultrafiltration and treatment

A plant in Belgium, belonging to a Spanish multinational, which produces an additive used to increase the ketone number in diesel fuels. In the light of future reductions in nitrate discharge limits, they decided to take early action, so to comply with the legislation, they invested in electrochemical technology (electroperoxicoagulation) followed by ultrafiltration, thus treating their water with minimum operating costs.

Biological process wastewater treatment

A French company based in Spain which produces decorative paints. They were supplied a biological system-based wastewater treatment plant to condition their discharges to the limits required by the local administration.

GUARANTEEING THE SUPPLY OF WATER RESOURCES

Forecasting future water demand
Water supply and production technologies and systems
Storage systems and studies on alternative sources of catchment
Water quality monitoring
Contingency plans

REDUCING COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH WATER AND ENERGY

Network efficiency
Energy efficiency
Process water reuse
Analysis and optimisation of water consumption by uses.
Consumption segmentation

ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH AND LEGAL SAFETY

Environmental consultancy and monitoring
Cleaning and maintenance of internal networks
Quality management of process waters and discharges
Design and construction of industrial wastewater treatment plants
Operation and maintenance of industrial plants
Waste management and sludge treatment
Coordination in chemical risk management
Odour control and ventilation system optimisation
Bio-safety and control of Legionella

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Advanced treatment technologies and online monitoring systems
Carbon footprint. Life cycle analysis
Water footprint
Supply of materials
Adapted information technologies and systems
People and knowledge management

OPTIMISATION IN ENERGY MANAGEMENT

Advanced Energy Consulting provides support services for the process prior to contracting energy, including training for energy management and purchasing teams, analysis of contracts underway and definition of a purchasing strategy. All this with the aim of establishing the purchasing strategy that meets the needs and consumption profile of the customer.

DRAWING UP OF TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Advanced Energy Consulting advises on the drawing up of the technical specifications for the signing of energy contracts. The service consists in the organisation and drawing up of the documents with the technical specifications for energy supply contracting, including the following steps:

Compilation of contract details
Updating of contract details
Selection and definition of types of energy contract and other electric bill items

NEGOTIATION WITH TRADING COMPANIES

Services to act as an intermediary with energy trading companies, aiding in negotiations and the drawing up of energy contracts based on the consumption profile and needs of each customer.

Advanced Energy Consulting provides support to customers in all stages of the bidding process.

Selection and ranking of suppliers
Delivery and explanation of technical specifications to suppliers
Bidding and reception of tenders
Economic comparison of bids
Legal analysis of bids (compliance with the established technical specifications)
Report with results and recommendations
Negotiation of management costs (profit margin and billing for programming diversions)
Review of the contract and coordination of its signing with the supplier

OPTIMISATION OF ENERGY PURCHASE PRICE AND BUDGET CONTROL

Consulting services in hedging with futures contracts, planning of consumption in line with market price forecasts, control of the energy budget and checking of billing.

This service includes:

Monitoring of market developments. Compilation and sending of key energy market information to monitor and make decisions regarding energy contracts.
Monitoring of customer’s energy contract portfolio. Compilation and delivery of reports on the state of the customer’s energy contracts.
Recommendations on price positioning. Identification of opportunities for pricing objectives on the market based on the purchasing strategy set up for the customer and their communication to the customer.
In-person quarterly meetings. Meetings with customers to review market developments and the state of contracts.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY

Aqualogy has developed an in-house electrochemical technology to treat discharges of water contaminated with compounds that are difficult to eliminate.

The electrochemical technologies are electrocoagulation, electrooxidation and electroperoxicoagulation. These techniques are based on the application of an electrical field between anodes and cathodes, made of specific materials for each specific technology. The intensity of the applied current provides the electromotive force required to produce a series of chemical reactions, including:

Molecular dissociation
Oxidation-reduction
Chemical and electrochemical absorption
Separation and rupture of oil emulsion in water

These reactions produce the destabilization of the contaminant molecules, which precipitate or oxidise to more biodegradable compounds.

CONTINUOUS THERMAL HYDROLYSIS (STC)

The STC system is a consolidated process owned by Aqualogy, which provides experience in the thermal drying of sludge at low temperatures using in-house technology based on the application of solutions using residual energy and the heat pump.

Its low-temperature dryer reduces the volume of sludge, both industrial and urban, from wastewater treatment plants and various industrial processes, facilitating the use of a wide range of residual energies. The dry sludge can then be easily transported, used for agricultural purposes or even used as an alternative fuel in such areas as cement manufacture.

GAS TREATMENT

The generation of gases and particulate matter (dust) represents a complex problem when it comes to interior air quality and atmospheric emissions. Conventional solutions based solely on ‘end-of-line’ treatments have given ineffective results on numerous occasion.

Aqualogy evaluates the production process and looks for the best solution both technically and economically.
We offer ad hoc solutions with guaranteed independence from specific brand names or technologies.