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Industrial water treatment and industrial marine outfalls: Achieving the right balance

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An Erratum to this article was published on 18 April 2017

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Abstract

Industrial water treatment and industrial marine outfalls both function together to reduce the pollutant concentrations in the effluent and mitigate the potential impact on the environment. The former uses environmental treatment technology with energy and material cost considerations, while the latter utilizes the natural assimilation potential of the coastal water environment achievable at the outfall location. Because of their synergistic nature, marine outfalls are now commonly used for the disposal of partially treated domestic and industrial effluents in many coastal cities around the world, with many successful examples of low and acceptable risks to the environment. The objective of this paper is to review their balance from both environmental and economic considerations. We also discuss the end-of-the-pipe and mixing zone approaches for industrial effluents, and give some recommendations particularly for developing countries. Finally, we emphasize that a compulsory and vigorous monitoring program is essential regardless of how the balance is achieved.

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  • 18 April 2017

    An erratum has been published.

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Correspondence to Adrian W. K. Law.

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Adrian W. K. Law received his PhD from the University of California at Berkeley. He was a practicing engineer in the USA for more than 7 years, before joining the academic faculty of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. His current research focuses on the expert knowledge of environmental hydraulics to improve the design of membrane and desalination systems. He was recognized with the Karl Emil Hilgard Hydraulic Price as well as the Wesley Horner Award by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and two Outstanding Technical Paper Awards by the Bechtel Corporation, USA. Currently, he is the Executive Committee Member of the International Association of Hydro-environment Engineering and Research (IAHR) Asian Pacific Division, Past-Chair of the Joint IAHR-IWA Committee on Marine Outfall Systems, as well as in the Editorial Board of related journals in this area. In Singapore, he is also the Director of the Environmental Process Modelling Centre (EPMC) in the Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute (NEWRI).

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Law, A.W.K., Tang, C. Industrial water treatment and industrial marine outfalls: Achieving the right balance. Front. Chem. Sci. Eng. 10, 472–479 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-016-1592-0

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