Fresh water coming directly from natural sources (sea, groundwater, lakes, rivers, etc.) may contain varying amounts of dissolved substances and/or suspended (such as iron salts, suspended solids etc…) that make it not suitable for direct use in the industrial process.
Fresh water is the first product used in tannery, paper mill, textile, whose properties are not often taken in due consideration.
In a tannery process water hardness, for example, can create problems to fattening products. Many emulsifiers are sensitive to high concentrations of Ca2+ and Mg2+. They react with these ions and they form insoluble precipitates, loosing their emulsify capacity. The dyeing process is strongly influenced by the quality of the fresh water, too. The color rendering diminishes with hardness and high salt concentration can cause the precipitation of dyes and they can weaken the tone of the color. Besides that, the presence of metallic ions, such as Iron and Manganese can cause stains and deposits on leather.
In the paper mill, the conductivity of the fresh water together with the hardness and presence of metal ions, can have huge impacts on the paper and steam production plant, significantly contributing to the clogging of the filters, the formation of limestone, etc..
ITALPROGETTI proposes to its customers several technologies for the treatment of fresh waters, like membrane treatment (Ultra-Filtration and Reverse-Osmosis), multi-layer filters and . softener filters. Their selection depends on the characteristics of the waters and on the standard that the customer intends to achieve.
