Blog Archive

Recently, I attended the WateReuse Symposium in Austin, Texas. One of the presentations that was most impactful was about Day Zero in Cape Town, South Africa. What is Day Zero? Day Zero is when the water will be switched off for millions of people and the remaining water in the city’s supply will be used only for critical services such as hospitals. In short, the city has basically run out of water. Fortunately, the original date of Day Zero that was set for April 12, 2018 has been pushed out to at least 2019. One of the major factors for the change of the date was that the government and its citizens implemented major changes to their water habits and infrastructure. Some of the changes include: Restricting immediate and short term water usage Repairing leaks in the water distribution system Installing water management devices Implementing a media campaign to educate people on proper water reuse and introduced the idea of 2 minute showers. Gaining support from local businesses to conserve water where possible Publicizing and shaming high water users   In early 2018, the city of Cape Town restricted water use to 50 liters per person per day. 50 liters is used for: 9 liters = Dish Washing 10 liters = Shower 1 liter = Pets 2 Liters = Washing hands and teeth 9 liters = Toilets 10 liters = Laundry 5 Liters = House Cleaning 1 Liter = Cooking 3 Liters = Drinking Total: 50 liters These restrictions may seem strict, however, as climate change causes more drought around the world, these limits will become more common in many cities. Therefore, it is important that cities and industries change their water habits sooner than later. Additionally, Cape Town is currently identifying potential ways to reuse its water. Water reuse can be an excellent way to reduce water demand and water discharge for a plant. This helps you save money and reduce the burden on the environment. Caloris offers an array of industrial water reuse solutions. Please contact us to learn more. This blog post was written by Caloris Business Development Manager for Water Recovery Simon Zimmer. You can contact Simon via email for more information or call Caloris at 410-822-6900. (Image Credit: MaxPixel)  

I am excited to share that Caloris will be co-hosting a seminar on Spray Dryer Optimization on Nov 13th in Fresno, California. The primary host and training leader is NIZO, the Food and Dairy Research Institute from the Netherlands. The course is targeted to experienced professionals and industry decision-makers for spray drying operations. In addition to a review of Spray Drying Basics, we’ll be covering topics like Understanding Psychrometrics as it relates to Spray Dryer Optimization, Spray Dryer Safety, review of some Optimization Case Studies, as well as an interactive computer modelling session. See the brochure below, download the full PDF or follow this link for more information and registration details. Feel free to reach out if you have questions. I look forward to seeing you there. This blog post was written by Caloris Business Development Manager and Spray Dryer Expert Jim Kent. You can contact Jim via email for more information or call Caloris at 410-822-6900.

Fracking is the process of extracting oil and gas from shale rock that lies deep in the ground. The extraction occurs when millions of gallons of water, chemicals and sand are pumped down into the well. The pressure creates fissures in the shale rock formation. The sand keeps the fissures open. The oil flows from the fissures into the well and then the oil flows out of the well at the top. The recovered water that comes back up can be treated onsite or some companies collect the wastewater and bring it to a waste treatment plant. In 2010, Caloris designed the CALORIS AGILIX™ Mobile Evaporator, which can handle all types of wastewater, but the specific focus at the time was treating wastewater from fracking. For a few years fracking was the big new trend to obtain gas and oil. However, due to various factors, the fracking industry went into a slump. Fracking can be a controversial process – it can potentially contaminate ground water sources for nearby communities. Additionally, companies do not have to disclose what chemicals they use in the fracking process. Therefore, it is difficult to know how dangerous the process truly is. Despite these challenges, fracking operations have increased and are currently being implemented world-wide. The CALORIS AGILIX™ Mobile Evaporator can play a key role in cleaning up the wastewater for fracking operations. It also is of use in other areas such as eliminating wastewater ponds, wastewater with high saline content and/or high levels of suspended solids, and coal wash water slurry. If you are interested in learning more about the CALORIS AGILIX™ Mobile Evaporator, please contact us today. (Image Credit: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)