13.12.2017 Corporate,Water and soil treatment

Inauguration: Höganäs sets up customsed industrial wastewater solution at SKF Brazil

December 14 Swedish metal powder company Höganäs and SKF inaugurate a new industrial wastewater treatment solution at SKF Brazil in São Paulo. “Höganäs’ proposal met our technology and innovation drive criteria,” says Claudinei Reche, President at SKF for Latin America.

Inauguration: Höganäs sets up customsed industrial wastewater solution at SKF Brazil

Höganäs Brazil and local partners have delivered a complete solution based on the patent-pending electrocoagulation technology Cleanit® EC to SKF Brazil. The customised process was designed to reduce oil, grease and suspended solids and colloids in the wastewater from the bearing plant.*

SKF Brazil’s primary interest was to upgrade its existing wastewater treatment facility with state-of-the-art technology in order to exceed current environmental regulations.

This turnkey project combines Höganäs’ Cleanit® EC technology with additional polishing steps, featuring a zero liquid discharge (ZLD) solution which enables SKF to reuse the treated wastewater and thereby reduce its groundwater consumption dramatically.

“We have done a series of researches of technologies, between those known and already established in the market and new technologies and automation. Höganäs was very successful in achieving all our expectations concerning deadlines, cost efficiency and offering a sustainable solution.” says Sidney Silva, Quality Management System & EHS at SKF.

As time was of essential for SKF, the project has been executed and delivered in only 90 days.

A ground-breaking, cost-efficient, end-to-end green solution

Cleanit® EC also offers significantly lower operating costs and requires negligible chemical addition in comparison with alternative technologies. The sludge produced is non-toxic and can easily be landfilled. The process design is robust enough to handle changes in the flow and contaminant concentration.

The patented Cleanit® EC porous electrodes are made from recycled metal, using green hydel power to complete the C2C (Cradle to Cradle).


“This is the first commercialization of our ground-breaking and disruptive technology, Cleanit® EC in Brazil. Now, we can showcase this green solution, establish its CAPEX-OPEX advantages, demonstrate the ease of running the system, and prove our ability to provide a site-specific solution,” says Avinash Gore, President of Höganäs’ Business Area Environmental.

The plant will be commissioned from December 14 at SKF’s major industrial facility located in Cajamar (São Paulo, Brazil).

*Cleanit® EC cleans industrial wastewater by enhancing nature’s own process to breakdown organic material into carbon dioxide and water. The bacteria present in polluted water (microorganisms) use organic matter as a food source, through oxidation in which oxygen is consumed. This is called BOD, Biochemical oxygen demand. COD, Chemical Oxygen Demand, is a measure of the total quantity of oxygen required to oxidise all organic material into carbon dioxide and water.

For more information:

Höganäs Business Area Environmental: 
Louis LeBrun, Managing Director
Phone: +1 (984) 333 0360, [email protected]

Cleanit® EC installation in Brazil:
Adriano Machado, President Höganäs Brasil.
Phone: +55 11 98267 9008, [email protected]

Höganäs AB:
Ulrika Rask-Lindholm, Senior Vice President Communications.
Phone: +46 768 40 84 55, [email protected]

SKF do Brasil:
Sidney Silva, Quality Management System & EHS.
Phone: +55 11 4898 7700, [email protected]

News & media contact

Emma Lefdal
VP Corporate Communications