MechChem Africa July-August 2022

⎪ Water, wastewater and pumping solutions ⎪

KSB calls for joint efforts to treat coastal waste

The collaborative contribution of neighbouring businesses to establish industrial effluent treatment plants in coastal areas can contribute towards the reduction of harmful pollutants entering our oceans. KSB senior project engineer, Hugo du Plessis, explains. B usinesses in the manufacturing, industrial and mining sec tors, which contribute the most to industrial effluent being pumped into our oceans, would benefit from a co-operative effort with the government as well as other stakeholders to

start working towards a workable solution. Addressing the challengeof industrial effluent entering our oceans, German pump and valve manufacturer, KSB Pumps and Valves, sug gests formingpartnerships thatwill ensurebetter qualitymanagement of industrial effluent beingdischargedbyvarious industries, specifically those operating in and near the coastal environment. Stricter control “There are a number of rules and regulations that businesses operat ing in the South Africa’s coastal regions have to adhere to in terms of discharging industrial effluent produced during manufacturing, processing and production. These businesses also have to keep in mind that despite being permitted to discharge wastewater into our oceans, being environmentally sensitive is a key part of this exercise,” says Hugo du Plessis, KSB senior project engineer. “The regulations stipulate, amongst other things, that businesses have to be mindful of the surf zone and estuaries, which from part of ecologically sensitive areas in which discharge of effluent of an unac ceptable quality can have negative impacts, which may ultimately cause degradation with adverse effects economically, socially and ecologically. “It should also be noted that coastal areas are popular holiday and tourist destinations, which need to have water that should be of a high quality to obtain and maintain Blue Flag Status for our beaches. This impacts directly on the ecological and the economy,” he explains. Providing a holistic solution Du Plessis continues to explain that KSBhas already initiated endeav ours on a global scalewithGerman and European banks and investors that specifically target countries thatwould like to improve theirwater and wastewater infrastructure. “AsKSB, wewould love toget involved inprojects like this aswe also want to improve the condition of our oceans and rivers and it will be a huge benefit not just for the environment but also for the industrial users as they could re-use the treated industrial effluent in their plants and thus also save on water usage,” said Hugo. The idea is to target those areas where industrial effluent is freely dumped into the ocean – under legislation – and facilitate measures where these international banks and investors become involved in lending funds to the end-users to build industrial effluent plants. In these projects there will be engineering consultants appointed, with KSB being extensively involved in the design of the related pump and valve applications. Working together “We have met with potential funders on numerous occasions and they have indicated an interest in collaborating on projects that will encouragebusinesses andmunicipalities tostart implementingprocess changes in their industrial effluent discharge streams.

KSB Pumps and Valves is concerned about industrial effluent being pumped directly into our oceans instead of being treated prior to discharge.

“In the near future, the international team working on this project will meet with end-users in South Africa, including businesses and municipalities, to start the process of funding possible newprojects or upgrading existing infrastructure,” concludes Hugo Du Plessis. www.ksbpumps.co.za

July-August 2022 • MechChem Africa ¦ 13