Zero Tolerance towards Discharge Today: Way to a Greener Tomorrow

Water is a life giving commodity which we have been taking for granted. It is a resource even more precious than any of the fossil fuels. Water, as a deliverable from industries and various operations has been rarely thought of, probably owing to its abundance. But the portion of this which is actually of our domestic use is merely 2.5% of the total volume of water on earth. Hence, water treatment methods or technology which can extract total dissolved solids (TDS) to a bare minimum are necessary to keep the amount of contamination below the mandatory level. The Zero liquid discharge (ZLD) is a great step in this direction. The recent developments in water effluents standards have compelled industries across the spectrum to adopt technologies such as ZLD for better treatment of Flue Gas at FGD installations. This paper presents the concept of Zero liquid discharge as a feasible answer to the above problems and its application across the spectrum of industries, particularly in the extraction of heavy oil using SAGD. The paper also discusses the controversies surrounding its economic feasibility and studies the technical considerations of waste treatment and disposal.