CEAC-2022-06-June

Industrial Wastewater: Eliminating Pipe
Obstructions With Superior Cleaning
Nozzles By Del Williams
Although industrial processes vary broadly, in any plant
dusts, grease, slag, metals, residues and cementitious particulates
generated during manufacturing can make their way
into the wastewater stream, accumulate, and even harden in
underground pipelines. As a result, plants conduct periodic
maintenance to flush debris and sediment from pipes, including
breaking up hardened obstructions, to prevent blockage
and protect downstream wastewater treatment equipment
from excessive loading.
“Many plants were built 40 to 80 years ago with most of the
pipes underground, so they are old, hard to access, and can
accumulate excessive, hardened debris that must be removed,”
says Bill Benner, Senior Project Manager for Ventilation
Power Cleaning (VPC), a Seattle, WA-based firm that
provides vacuum truck services to remove various industrial
debris in the form of solids, liquids, sludges and slurries.
unless emergency debris removal is required.
According to Benner, most wastewater pipes are typically
300'-500' long and 12"-46" in diameter. Special nozzles are
used to propel a hose connected to a vacuum truck down the
pipeline and back using water jets. The nozzle must supply
enough force to dislodge any debris and carry it back using
water pressure to be suctioned out by the vacuum truck.
“Industrial plants cannot afford production downtime, so we
rely on high-performance nozzles to get the job done quickly
and reliably. Using the right nozzle and technique can be the
difference between cleaning out a pipe within 20 minutes or
having it take hours, days, or fail completely,” says Benner.
(Continued on pg. 28)
“If this kind of debris is transported by pipe to onsite clarifiers,
digesters, sewer vaults or treatment plants, it can disrupt
and overburden the process as it collects and hardens,” Benner
adds. “A similar problem occurs when rain washes debris
in outdoor processing or storage areas into basins, ponds,
or reservoirs prior to transport through pipes for further
treatment.”
The task of industrial pipe cleaning typically falls to
third-party cleaning companies like VPC, which come to facilities
with a vacuum truck and perform the work periodically,
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Volume 87 · Number 6 | 27