Flexo Ink Wastewater System
Worldwide commercial production and manufacturing of water-based ink increases the levels of hazardous wastewater. ALAR Water Treatment provides the flexographic ink industry with a full line of wastewater pretreatment, chemical and mechanical dewatering filter solutions. A wide variety of industries performing various flexographic water-based ink operations are regulated by effluent guidelines that cover wastewater discharge.
Water-based inks are used on wide web flexo presses for paper packaging, overwraps, bags, etc., on narrow web flexo presses for products such as labels, tags, envelopes and the like. The flexographic ink process wastewater is often discharged into a Publicly Operated Treatment Works (POTW’s) or hauled off as an industrial liquid waste. ALAR Water Treatment designs and builds proven wastewater treatment systems that produce cost effective results and environmental compliance for the corrugated, printing, and packaging industry.
Compliance Solutions
Environmental regulatory agencies established pretreatment programs in order for municipalities to perform permitting, administrative and enforcement tasks. These programs are designed to protect the POTW’s infrastructure and reduce toxic pollutant levels of wastewater discharged by the metal finishing industry into municipal sewer systems and the environment.
The wastewater from manufacturing water-based ink or from Corrugated, Packaging and Printing facilities that utilize the product, typically contains color (pigments and dyes), heavy metals and suspended solids. The industrial user of flexographic ink may also generate wastewater containing trace oils, and/ or adhesives such as PVA glue or starch.
To comply with effluent guidelines, an industrial facility needs to review the category of wastewater pollutants discharged, the wastewater treatment technologies, and management techniques used to control these discharges (including landfill disposal).
ALAR Water Treatment is a direct-manufacturer of chemical treatment and mechanical dewatering equipment for the Flexographic Ink Printing Industry. ALAR’s industrial wastewater technology can integrate into an operation as a complete system or retrofit to existing machinery. These custom-built systems specialize in meeting environmental discharge and disposal compliance regulations for: Metals, Oil & Grease (FOG), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), and pH.
ALAR provides access to a full line of continuous flow or batch chemical pretreatment, mechanical liquid-solid separation, and sludge dewatering equipment. Let ALAR guide your industrial facility in determining which method offers the best solution.
ALAR manufactures industrial wastewater treatment equipment for worldwide distribution.
Flexographic ink wastewater is a moving target; no two waste streams are alike. ALAR understands the difference and uses its chemical, engineering and technological expertise to deliver results that work.
Responsible industrial wastewater management makes the difference between regulatory compliance and non-compliance. ALAR offers a variety of mechanical and chemical pretreatment systems that allow customers to make an educated decision.
The Auto-Vac® is a self-cleaning rotary vacuum drum precoat filter capable of generating direct city discharge water and landfill-ready dry solids. The Auto-Vac® vacuums treated wastewater through a filter aid media that traps the solids while an advancing knife blade shaves the solids off the surface.
The benefits of Auto-Vac® in the Flexographic Ink Industry include:
- Single Pass One-Micron Filtration
- No Clarifier – No Sludge Dryer Needed
- pH Driven – Little to No Polymer (Coagulant or Flocculent) Needed
- No Sludge Settling Needed
- No Filter Press Blowdown Cycle – Filter Blinding or Bottlenecks
- No Oil Separator Needed for Trace or Emulsified Oils
- Typically More Efficient than a Clarifier and Filter Press
- Capable of Filtering High Graphic Ink Solids, Starch and Adhesives Combined
The Flex-O-Star® is an automatic batch or continuous flow chemical pretreatment system, combined with the Auto-Vac® RVDPF technology.
The Flex-O-Star® is a pre-piped, pre-wired, skid-mounted automatic wastewater pretreatment and dewatering system that incorporates a two-step process: Chemical and Mechanical.
STEP 1: Chemical pretreatment uses pH, ORP and [occasionally] polymer to precipitate (separate) heavy metals, suspended solids, trace or emulsified oil & grease, and surfactants from the water [liquid].
STEP 2: Mechanical filtration uses the Auto-Vac® precoat filter technology to physically remove and dewater the chemically separated solids. The one-micron filtered water discharges into the municipal sewer or is pumped to a dissolved solids (IX or RO) or bio-reactor (UV or SBR) system for reuse/ recycling.
The Sludge Settling Clarifier & Micro-Klean™ is the conventional “go-to” combination liquid-solid separation system used for high volume/ low solid flexo ink process wastewater.
The Clarifier produces a clear effluent through the separation of liquid from settling solids. Concentrated heavy solids “sink” to the bottom of the clarifier and are pumped to a sludge settling tank and dewatering filter.
The Micro-Klean™ is a robust pre-piped, solid steel plate-n-frame dewatering filter press; equipped with an automatic hydraulic ram and solids collection bin. The Micro-Klean® will filter the sludge until the solids fill each plate. Over time, the buildup of solids will block any more water from passing through the filter. When the filter press is full, the operator will blow out residual moisture, open the press plates and scrape them down. The solids will fall into a collection bin and the filtrate is discharged into the sewer or returned to the chemical pretreatment cycle.
ALAR Provides Wastewater Equipment Solutions for the Flexographic Ink Industry:
Water-based ink manufacturers and product users require the best available technology to achieve compliance. The standard limit category of regulated effluent discharge pollutants are: Copper (Metals), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Oil & Grease (FOG), and pH.
ALAR services industries such as:
Flexographic Ink, Coatings and Allied Product Manufacturers
Corrugated, Sheet, Box, Bag, Overwrap, Packaging and Printing Companies
Plastic Color and Recycling Industries
Scratch Off [Gaming] Print Manufacturers
Envelope and Labeling Industries
...Along with discharges from many other operations associated with the flexographic ink processes above
The ALAR Engineering Department designs each system to meet the customer's build-to specifications. ALAR begins with stock layouts, and customizes the auxiliary equipment according to the customer's specifications.
These stock layouts are available in PDF format. Contact ALAR for more information.
Case Studies
ALAR Water Treatment Keeps Corrugated Company in Compliance
A west coast packaging company experienced problems with their existing flexographic ink wastewater treatment equipment. Three locations reported that their plate-n-frame filter press systems caused bottlenecks and maintenance issues.
