Industrial Wastewater Treatment
Oils, emulsions, fibers and fine solids that refuse to settle. DAF systems engineered around your process wastewater — starting with your sample, not a catalog.
What Is in Industrial Wastewater
Industrial wastewater is not one stream — it is hundreds. A metalworking plant discharges coolant emulsions and tramp oil. A paper mill sends fiber and filler. A textile dye house carries dyes, sizing agents and surfactants. A paint line sheds overspray solids. A chemical plant may carry all of the above, changing by the shift.
What these streams share is contaminants that are too light, too fine or too emulsified to settle by gravity in a practical retention time. That is exactly the problem dissolved air flotation was built to solve. Instead of waiting for solids to sink, DAF floats them to the surface in minutes and skims them off.
Why Industrial Wastewater Becomes a Permit Problem
Most manufacturers discharge to a municipal sewer under an industrial pretreatment permit, or directly to surface water under an NPDES permit. Either way, the limits on oil and grease, TSS, metals and pH are fixed — and your production is not. A new product line, a coolant change or a seasonal surge can push a compliant plant out of compliance overnight.
The costs stack up fast: surcharges on every pound over the limit, hauling fees for concentrated waste, notices of violation, and in the worst case, production slowdowns while you sort it out. On-site pretreatment turns an unpredictable liability into a controlled process step.
Industrial Pretreatment With Micro-Bubble DAF
Our micro-bubble generator produces bubbles fine enough to attach to emulsified oil droplets and pin-floc solids that larger bubbles slip past. Paired with coagulant and flocculant chemistry selected by jar testing, a DAF Corp system delivers consistent effluent through the swings that define industrial production.
- TSS removal of 85–98% across metal, paper, textile and chemical streams
- Oil and emulsion removal of 80–97% after chemical emulsion breaking
- Co-precipitation of many heavy metals when paired with pH adjustment
- Materials matched to your chemistry: 304 or 316 stainless, coated carbon steel or HDPE
We are straightforward about scope: DAF removes what can be made to float — suspended solids, free and emulsified oil, and precipitated metals. Truly dissolved organics and salts pass through any clarifier. Where your permit requires more, DAF becomes the pretreatment stage ahead of biological treatment or membranes, protecting that equipment and cutting its size and cost.
Industrial Streams We Treat
Metalworking and machining: coolant emulsions, wash water and tramp oil. Pulp and paper: fiber recovery and white-water clarification, where recovered fiber often returns to the process. Textile: dye carriers, lint and sizing agents. Painting and finishing: overspray and booth water. Chemical and plastics: process rinse, latex and polymer solids.
Every one of those streams behaves differently under the same chemistry. That is why we never quote from a datasheet. We test your water first.
Typical Industrial Wastewater
| Parameter | Why it matters | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Oil & grease (FOG) | Free and emulsified oils from coolants and wash lines. | 100–5,000 mg/L |
| Suspended solids (TSS) | Fines, fiber, paint solids and metal particulate. | 200–3,000 mg/L |
| COD | Often billed or permitted alongside BOD. | 500–10,000 mg/L |
| Heavy metals | Zinc, copper, nickel, chromium from finishing. | 0.5–50 mg/L |
| pH | Swings with acid baths and alkaline cleaners. | About 2–12 |
| Temperature | Hot process streams affect saturation and materials. | Ambient–140°F |
Ranges from published industry data and our project experience. Your lab analysis sets the real design numbers.
How We Size an Industrial DAF System
We size from the peak flow your plant actually produces, then confirm hydraulic and solids loading against your lab results. In this illustrative example, a metal fabrication plant discharges 150 GPM on average with surges to 225 GPM during wash cycles.
An FC 120 carries the peak with margin and brings oil and solids well under a typical 100 mg/L sewer limit. Change the flow or chemistry and the selection changes — which is why every proposal starts with your sample.
FC Maximizer models run from the FC 40 at 22 GPM to the FC 700 at 8,850 GPM with 25% recycle — see the full FC Maximizer sizing table.
| Average / peak flow | 150 / 225 GPM |
|---|---|
| Operating schedule | 2 shifts, 5 days |
| Influent oil & grease / TSS | 800 / 600 mg/L |
| Typical sewer limit | 100 mg/L each |
| Selected clarifier | FC 120 — 300 GPM with 25% recycle |
| Effluent oil & grease (90% removal) | About 80 mg/L |
| Effluent TSS (92% removal) | About 50 mg/L |
| Oil & solids removed per day | About 2,600 lb |
Built for Real Production Floors
Since 2000, DAF Corp has engineered systems for manufacturers across metalworking, paper, textile and chemical processing, with hundreds of installations worldwide. The pattern is consistent: variable wastewater, a permit that doesn't flex, and a DAF system sized from a lab analysis of the plant's worst-case stream — not an average.
Start With a Free Lab Analysis
Send us a sample of your worst-case wastewater and your discharge limits. We jar-test it, and typically within 5–10 business days return a system specification and budgetary proposal — including what DAF will and won't do for your stream. Micro Bubbles. Massive Results.
Request a Lab Analysis
Get Your Free Consultation
DAF Corporation works with food processors, municipalities, dairy operations, and industrial facilities to solve complex wastewater challenges. Our process begins with your water — not a catalog.
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