Challenge

Siemens Water Technologies was contacted by a large, southern California petroleum refiner for assistance with permit violations for stormwater discharge to a sensitive regional waterway.  Identified violations for the discharge included total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH), phenol, copper, lead and zinc. The customer faced a five-day deadline to install a treatment system and meet the discharge requirements.

Solution

Siemens’ service-based solution featured removable vessels containing organoclay and carbon for organic treatment, along with multiple stages of ion exchange resins for metals removal. A multiple stage treatment process was necessary to comply with very low discharge limits required at the facility to parts per billion (ppb) levels. 

Using Siemens' wastewater ion exchange service (WWIX), we were able to rapidly mobilize treatment equipment on-site, while simultaneously analyzing wastewater samples to determine any final adjustments necessary.

Results

Siemens provided one system comprised of multiple treatment steps to achieve discharge requirements and eliminated further discharge violations. Within the five day requirement, the customer was able to meet the discharge limits and did not experience any additional permit violations.

Siemens processed the waste carbon media at our RCRA carbon reactivation facility and resin media at the RCRA licensed TSDF located in Roseville, MN. All residuals from the regeneration were further treated and recovered to minimize waste to a landfill. 

All recyclable waste from the project was recovered as a raw material.

Download Full Case Study