Case Study: Wastewater Compliance Recovery - Chemical Manufacturer
The Situation
A chemical plant producing sodium hypochlorite-based cleaning and sanitation products was facing a specific and technically challenging wastewater problem: chloroform concentrations in its effluent were approaching — and at times exceeding — municipal discharge limits. The compound forms as a byproduct of chlorine chemistry under conditions that the facility's existing treatment system wasn't designed to manage. Regulatory pressure was escalating, and the instinct was to invest in new treatment equipment.
The Problem Beneath the Problem
The proposed capital solutions were premature. The facility already had dissolved air flotation units and filtration infrastructure in place. The problem wasn't inadequate equipment — it was that existing equipment was being operated without the process controls or maintenance discipline required to perform consistently. Chlorine wasn't being volatilized effectively, coagulation chemistry was poorly calibrated, and the DAF units were underperforming due to fouling and inconsistent operation.
What We Did
We conducted a diagnostic evaluation focused on understanding the chloroform formation and removal pathway specific to this facility's chemistry. The key intervention was implementing an aeration protocol within the existing neutralization tanks — exploiting the volatility of free chlorine to drive concentrations down before they could form chloroform under downstream conditions. We simultaneously recalibrated pH and aeration parameters to restore coagulation and flocculation efficiency, reintroduced precise chemical dosing protocols, and established preventive maintenance routines for the DAF infrastructure that had been allowed to degrade.
The Outcome
Chloroform concentrations dropped from approximately 158 µg/L — near the regulatory threshold — to approximately 5.5 µg/L, well within compliance margins. No new equipment was purchased. The facility achieved full regulatory compliance through operational and process control improvements alone, representing substantial avoided capital expenditure while establishing a more reliable and maintainable treatment system.