11/09/2017 Corporate,Water and soil treatment

Höganäs to deliver customised industrial wastewater solution to SKF Brazil

Swedish metal powder company Höganäs achieves an important milestone as Cleanit® EC is chosen as the best alternative for industrial wastewater treatment at SKF Brazil. Decisive in SKF’s choice was high level of innovation and economic competitiveness.

Höganäs to deliver customised industrial wastewater solution to SKF Brazil

Höganäs Brazil and local partners developed a complete solution based on the patent pending electrocoagulation technology Cleanit® EC. 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 meet and exceed current environmental regulations.

“We had a series of discussions with many companies and specialists, but it was Höganäs’ proposal that really met our technology and innovation drive criteria,” says Sidney Silva, Quality Management System & EHS at SKF. “The economic competitiveness of the solution was also fundamental.”

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

This unique turnkey project combines Höganäs’ Cleanit® EC technology with additional polishing steps, enabling SKF to reuse the treated wastewater and reduce its groundwater consumption dramatically. 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).

“The best technology for any wastewater treatment will be a product of sustainability and innovation, and Cleanit® EC is well positioned in this respect,” highlights Marcio Carvalho, Innovation and Technology Director, Höganäs.

“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 is due to be commissioned by Q4-17 at SKF’s major industrial facility located on the outskirts of 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 oxidize all organic material into carbon dioxide and water.

For more information:

Höganäs Business Area Environmental:
Louis LeBrun, Managing Director
Phone: +1 (984) 333 0360, louis.lebrun@hoganas.com

Cleanit® EC installation in Brazil:
Adriano Machado, President Höganäs do Brasil.
Phone: +55 11 98 26 79 008, adriano.machado@hoganas.com

Höganäs AB:
Ulrika Rask-Lindholm, Vice President Communications.
Phone: +46 768 40 84 55, ulrika.rask-lindholm@hoganas.com