The Packaging and Corrugated Industry

CEQUESTA WATER in the Packaging and Corrugated industry

Background 

Paperboard is a thick paper based material. While there is no rigid differentiation between paper and paperboard, paperboard is generally thicker (usually over 0.25 mm, 0.0098 in or 10 points) than paper. According to ISO standards, paperboard is a paper with a basis weight (grammage) above 224 g/m², but there are exceptions. Paperboard can be single or multi-ply. Paperboard can be easily cut and formed, is lightweight, and because it is strong, is used in packaging. Another end-use would be graphic printing, such as book and magazine covers or postcards. Sometimes it is referred to as Cardboard which is a generic, lay term used to refer to any heavy paper pulp based board.

CORRUGATED

Corrugated board is made from a combination of two sheets of paper called «liners» glued to a corrugated inner medium called fluting. These three layers of paper are assembled in a way which gives the overall structure a better strength than that of each distinct layer. This ingenious construction forms a series of connected arches which are well known for their ability to support strong weights. This structure gives corrugated board considerable rigidity and resistance. The air circulating in the flutes also serves as an insulator which provides excellent protection against temperature variations. There are many types of corrugated, each with different flute sizes and profiles which offer many combinations designed to create packaging with different characteristics and performances. Corrugated board is then cut and folded into an infinite variety of shape and sizes to become corrugated packaging. Corrugated is a high performance packaging material designed to pack, protect and promote products.

Flexo Printing 

Flexography (often abbreviated to flexo.) is a form of printing process which utilizes a flexible relief plate. It is essentially a modern version of letterpress which can be used for printing on almost any type of substrate, including plastic, metallic films, cellophane, and paper. It is widely used for printing on the non-porous substrates required for various types of food packaging (it is also well suited for printing large areas of solid color). 

As air regulations controlling volatile organic compounds (VOCs) become more strict, many flexographic printers are switching to water-based ink technology to reduce their emissions. With water-based ink production on the rise, the flexographic industry has begun exploring alternatives for handling the waste generated from working with these inks.

The assumption that these inks and their wash-up wastes can simply go down the drain is misleading. Different federal, state and local regulations apply to the wastewater generated by industrial facilities. Depending on where or from what system a facility discharges wastewater determines which regulations and limitations apply.

Wastewater associated with the use of water-based inks is contaminated with colorants (pigments and dyes), vehicles (alkali-soluble, emulsions or colloidal dispersion chemistries), auxiliary solvents (alcohols, glycols and glycol ethers) and additives (waxes, plasticizers and defoamers). Colored wastewater may also be an aesthetic concern. It is often an issue of the quantity and/or quality of certain chemistries and pigments that can exceed maximum discharge allowances for particular regions and circumstances.

To discharge wastewater directly into the environment, a facility must have a permit specifying allowable pollutants and flow of discharge. This permit is known as a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) or in some cases a State Pollution Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit.

These permits have very stringent limits on the allowable level of pollutants that can be discharged and require monitoring of effluent, periodic testing of the receiving body of water and extensive record keeping and reporting.

Septic systems are designed to treat sanitary wastewater only. Industrial Wastewater is not permitted to be discharged to septic tanks or septic systems. Discharging industrial wastewater into a septic system can result in groundwater Contamination requiring costly cleanup. For those operations in regions that rely solely on septic systems as a means to process their wastes, wastewater treatment is not as much an option as a requirement. In some very restricted areas, no treated industrial waste wastewater may be discharged to a septic system.

This can be verified with local authorities.

Discharge into a Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW – sewage treatment plant) is the most common means of wastewater discharge for printers. Some POTWs require all businesses that discharge a process waste to obtain a local discharge permit while others have an agreement based on local ordinances that the POTW will accept the printing wastewater. The waste discharged to the POTW should always be consistent with what is specified in the local ordinances or facility specific permit limits.

While many large flexo shops are located in metropolitan areas with generous water and waste allowances, those in rural areas typically do not have these allowances. Industrialization has been stretching the treatment limitations and abilities of POTWs in many metropolitan areas. However, no matter what type of system a printer discharges to, it is to their benefit to reduce the amount of wastewater which needs to be disposed of in the first place.

WASTEWATER TREATMENT - CEQUESTA WATER APPROACH 

With our GreeNfloat WWTP, we treat any volume of influent from 1 cum/hr.

The plant is fully automatic and PLC controlled, as standard.

The plant is supplied full assembled and checked, just site interfacing is required, usually in a less than a day.

Our Installations

5 In Israel 3 In Germany 3 In Spain 1 In Holland 1 In Hungary 1 In Belgium

Cequesta Water - Latest Instalation

Company; BEST CARTON, ISRAEL, http://www.bestcarton.co.il/

Commissioning date; December 2013, Corrugation plant, Flexo.

Printing, WWTP, 8 cum/hr.  200 cum/day

TSS inlet    -   8000  mgl TSS outlet  - <   50  mgl   COD inlet   - 15000 mgl COD outlet -  1500  mgl

Please watch this video to see:  GreenFloat DAF at BEST CARTON, IS, Flexo. Wastewater Treatment 5 m3/hr - Effluent

Please watch this video to see:  GreenFloat DAF at BEST CARTON, IS, Flexo. Wastewater Treatment 5 m3/hr - sludge scraping

Please watch this video to see:  GreenFloat DAF at BEST CARTON, IS, Flexo. Wastewater Treatment 5 m3/hr