Increased use of recycled water generated a 60% reduction in potable water consumption at Vale’s General Cargo Port in Espírito Santo (Brazil) in 2010. Compared with the previous year, the port saved around 227 million liters of water in its general activities and industrial processes.
Now, 72% of all water used at the site is treated rainwater. The saving would be enough to supply a city of 32,000 inhabitants for two months, based on UN figures.
The improved reuse figure is the result of automating the water reuse system at the coal yard’s effluent treatment station. The improvement has accelerated the water treatment process and enabled a larger volume of water to be available for industrial processes.
System monitors reservoir level
The industrial reservoir at the General Cargo Port stores water and distributes it for use in various processes such as tire washing and the sprinkling of mineral heaps, roads and conveyor belts. The unit can make use of drinking water or treated rainwater.
With the challenge of cutting the volume of potable water used in these processes, the area’s automation team developed a device that monitors the water level in the reservoir. As a result, whenever the volume gets low, the option to use treated rainwater is activated automatically.