Recycled Water vs. Reclaimed Water: What's the Difference?
Recycled and reclaimed water are environmentally friendly ways to reduce the need for freshwater and effectively use our existing resources. But what is recycled water? And what is reclaimed water? Are they the same? Or are they vastly different?
While the terms “recycled water” and “reclaimed water” are often used interchangeably, they are not the same. Recycled water is repeatedly used in the same processes, while reclaimed water is waiting to be used. The differences between these types of water affect how they can be used.
Today’s blog discusses recycled water and reclaimed water in depth. Keep reading to learn about the differences between these two types of water and their uses in industrial applications.
What is Industrial Wastewater?
Industrial wastewater is the liquid waste left by industries, small businesses, etc.
Wastewater contains natural compounds and metals, which need to be removed before being reused in industrial processes. In many industrial processes the wastewater is left contaminated beyond use, but through treatment, it can be reused.
There are many methods to treat wastewater for reuse including, Reverse osmosis, ion exchange, and multimedia filters.
Reusing industrial wastewater allows fresher, cleaner water to be used for other purposes, making it cost-effective and eco-friendly.
What is recycled water?
Recycled water is highly treated to remove solids and impurities. Industrial wastewater previously destined to be discharged can be recycled at the end of the industrial process.
Approximately 80% of wastewater flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused resulting in wasted resources and negative environmental impact.
Recycling water decreases the need for groundwater and surface water sources, making it a sustainable option that has a positive impact on public image and profitability.
Water reuse solutions involve increasing local water supplies, relying less on the water cycle, and relying more on purification processes to provide more water. Using a mobile WTRBox reuse system can recover up to 70% of this waste stream making it usable for additional industrial processes.
What is reclaimed water?
The process of converting city water to process water can result in approximately 25% - 50% of feedwater getting rejected and discharged to the sewer. Rejecting high volumes of feedwater is economically and financially costly resulting in the need for feedwater reclamation.
Reclamation takes the rejected feedwater and runs it through a secondary phase that can recover the majority of this rejected water.
Adding a simple modular WTRBOX wastewater reclamation system to an existing feedwater treatment process allows for the reclamation of up to 90% of this waste stream.
Case Study
30 GPM Wastewater reuse System – Houston, TX
Purchase: $200,000.00
Rental: $9,000 / Month + $6,000 start-up fee
Reclamation efficiency: 70%
Dollar savings per year:
· Feedwater costs: $124,173.00
· Sewer fees: $61,258.68
Gallons of water saved per year: 8,000,000
Time to CAPEX payoff: 1.2 years
Get Your Mobile Water Treatment System from J.Mark Systems.
J.Mark Systems provides wastewater treatment technologies for automotive and electric vehicle manufacturing, aerospace, metal finishing, plating on plastics, electronics, power generation, petrochemical, mining and metals, and PFAS remediation.
Our treatment technologies include ion exchange, reverse osmosis, sludge dewatering and drying, zero liquid discharged, bulk chemical feed, hydroxide metal precipitation, laminar flow gravity settling solids clarification, membrane separation, and multimedia filtration.
Here at J.Mark Systems, we have a comprehensive system to ensure you get the right treatment technology for your industrial wastewater treatment. Our process involves data collection, a site visit, and a presentation of solutions, with the ultimate goal of getting you exactly what your industrial system needs.
We provide mobile water treatment systems through WTRBOX, a revolutionary way to treat your wastewater. WTRBOX comes with flexible contracts and a quick and easy pilot program to ensure it’s the right solution for your needs.
WTRBOX can be used in tandem with your current water filtration system, or it can entirely replace it, being a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly solution that doesn’t take up a lot of space but produces the results you need.
Get started with your free water optimization audit and get your wastewater treatment solution at J.Mark Systems.