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Case Study: Wastewater and Process Water Solutions - Eductors

  • Feb 27, 2024
  • 3 min read

Updated: 1 day ago

Utilizing eductors in wastewater and process water handling uses proven technology to maximize plant sustainability. Wastewater, often called process water, must conform to EPA regulations prior to returning it to the environment.




Why Wastewater Handling Has Become a Bigger Conversation

Chemical producers, refineries, and manufacturers - heavily regulated for gases and chemicals produced and added to the environment - are now being scrutinized for resource consumption, specifically water. Sustainability has moved to the head of the line, placing the conversation of natural resources at the forefront of every scientific and political agenda. A facility's "water footprint" has joined "carbon footprint" discussions as a genuine operational and regulatory concern, not just a compliance checkbox.


What Eductors Actually Do in Wastewater Handling

Eductors, both in-line and in-tank, have no moving parts and can provide an efficient means to mix and blend tanks, add chemicals, and increase oxidation. Each of these functions plays a role in getting wastewater to a condition that conforms to EPA regulations before it returns to the environment:

Mixing and Blending: Ensures chemical treatment is distributed evenly throughout a tank, rather than concentrated in localized areas where treatment may be incomplete elsewhere.

Chemical Addition: Eductors can inject and disperse treatment chemicals directly into a process stream or tank using the existing energy in the fluid itself, without requiring separate mechanical mixing equipment.

Oxidation: Increasing oxidation supports the treatment processes wastewater often requires before it meets discharge standards.


Why No Moving Parts Matters for Sustainability and Cost

Because eductors have no moving parts, they avoid the maintenance burden, energy consumption, and eventual replacement cost associated with motor-driven mechanical mixers. Improving plant efficiency in the processing of water minimizes costs and helps decrease the plant's water footprint - and equipment that requires less maintenance and less independent power draw contributes directly to that efficiency, beyond just the mixing performance itself.


Real-World Proof: Scaling Wastewater Processing Capacity

This isn't just a theoretical advantage. A fracking wastewater treatment facility provides a concrete example of eductor impact: fracking water, heavily contaminated with well materials and chemicals, must be filtered and pH balanced before it can either re-enter the fracking process or return safely to the water table. After installing in-line eductors and Tank Liquid Agitators, the facility scaled its daily processing capacity from just 1-2 trucks of wastewater to 8-10 trucks per day - backed by Computational Fluid Dynamics analysis that verified optimal velocity in the tank.


This kind of capacity increase reflects what proper eductor sizing and placement can achieve when mixing performance is engineered around actual tank conditions, rather than approximated.


Why This Matters Across Industries

While wastewater regulation is often associated with heavy industry, the underlying challenge - efficiently treating water to meet EPA standards while controlling operational cost - applies across chemical, refining, oil and gas, and manufacturing sectors alike. Eductor-based solutions offer a way to meet these growing sustainability and compliance demands without the added mechanical complexity and maintenance burden of conventional mixing equipment.


Applications

Eductor-based wastewater and process water solutions are used across:

  • Chemical Processing & Refining: Wastewater treatment prior to environmental discharge

  • Oil & Gas: Fracking wastewater treatment and produced water handling

  • Any Facility Managing a Water Footprint: Where reducing mechanical maintenance burden supports broader sustainability goals


Learn More

Read the full tech paper on Wastewater and Process Water Solutions - Eductors, or contact our Eductor Applications team to discuss your specific wastewater handling application.

Email: eductors@clark-reliance.com Phone: +1 (440) 572-1500


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