A large pharmaceutical manufacturer operates an expanded pharmaceutical production facility located on the island of Puerto Rico. Waste discharge from the production facility includes pharmaceutical process waste waters, clean-up, and sanitary wastes. These wastewaters are treated and reused within the production facility or discharged into a small receiving stream under a very stringent effluent discharge limitation requiring tertiary treatment to meet organics, metals, and phosphorus requirements. Reuse currently includes cooling tower make-up and sand/carbon filter backwash; however, the wastewater treatment system design provides for complete water reuse including quench tower and flame oxidizer make-ups. 

Robert C. Sallach

Papers

Treatment and Reuse of Pharmaceutical Process Water