How is stone fabrication & cutting wastewater treated & reused?

In stone fabrication & cutting wastewater treated and reused Water recycling for stone fabrication is essential as a lot of tools and equipment rely on the water supply to operate efficiently. Water is needed for the stone fabrication industry for extraction, cutting, and finishing as well as dust control.

There are many benefits of water management in the stone fabrication industry which through best practices can result in increased profitability through a reduction of expenses.

• Collecting, treating, and reusing casting water runoff lowers the expense of wastewater collection.
• Rainwater harvesting can result in a reduction in mains water supply costs.
• Collected sludge can be used for applications in construction and agriculture.

5 Sources of stone cutting wastewater

1. Stone Extraction – water is used to keep stone cutting blades cool. Diamond and metal blades require water to be directly sprayed at the stone / saw contact to provide lubrication and reduce heat. Friction causes elevated temperatures and can result in machine and material damage.
2. High-pressure water splitters are used to extract stone which is water-intensive and works as water forces the material.
3. Cutting – water is used as the extraction process for cutting stone. Water supplements the action of either a blade used for cutting. Fines and small particles as a result of cutting are washed off in the process.
4. Finishing – In finishing processes water is used for cooling for tools that shape the stone. Rinsing after finishing to remove fines and particulates.
5. Dust – quarries and stone cutting factories generate dust daily through cutting processes and vehicles. In some instances, respirable crystalline silica, a similar style to asbestos which is a natural substance found in sand, granite, and cement, may be found in the airborne particulates, sourcing from the stone itself.

Water and Wastewater Costs Money

As all these tools use a lot of water, they also produce a lot of wastewater. Thousands of litres of water are used daily to cut and polish marble, granite, quartz, ceramic, concrete, and stone. The cost of clean water is rising, and it makes sense to look at alternatives such as rainwater harvesting as a source of water. Rainwater with a small amount of treatment can be made clean enough for these applications sailing on mains water costs.

As all wastewater requires consent to discharge a water treatment is required to treat this water. It makes sense to look at water recycling systems to reduce mains water costs and provide an additional source of water that can be reused.

How is stone & cutting water treated?

Primary Wastewater Treatment for Stone Cutting Water

Primary water treatment generally starts with solids separation through sedimentation tanks and retention basins. These processes take out the larger stones, particles and grit allowing the wastewater to be treated.

Consideration needs to be given to batch dumps of water, high-water and settlement times of the particles so the equipment is correctly sized. Settlement tank systems provide a relatively easy and effective method for collecting, treating, and reusing water at a quarry or processing facility.

Secondary Wastewater Treatment for Stone Cutting Water

Remediation of the water then requires the flocculation process where fines are forced to clump together from mixing a chemical solution to the water. This causes floc which can manually or mechanically be filtered from the water.

Later in the process, this will result in sludge which can be dewatered, and the sludge put through a filter press to squeeze out any particulate left in the water. This waste can then be disposed of by skip as a solid.

Now the water has been treated, it can be used again for washing, dust suppression, cutting and finishing.

Enduramaxx Tanks for Stone & Cutting Wastewater Treatment

Enduramaxx manufactures tanks for every stage of the wastewater treatment programme. Conical cone tanks or flat base vertical tanks are essential components of wastewater treatment system applications From 50-litre dosing tanks to store flocculants and polymer make up and for chemicals to 30,000-litre sludge tanks, we are sure we can help with your next project. For more details on these please phone us on 01778 302879.