Q: My municipality has high levels of sodium in its water. What can I do to control the amount of sodium in my wastewater so that my processing plant is not contributing to the problem?
A: You are wise to be concerned, since high levels of sodium in wastewater can cause problems if the water is used for irrigation or discharged into streams. Too much sodium can kill aquatic life and sterilize soil so nothing will grow in it.
One way of reducing the sodium in wastewater is to incorporate potassium compounds in place of sodium compounds in cleaning products. This has the advantage of making the cleaning products more effective and improves their rinsability. The downside is that potassium costs about 2.5 times what sodium does, so the ingredients are significantly more expensive. However if your company is faced with significant fines or the threat of being shut down, the economics become a secondary issue.
Birko has developed a line of reduced sodium cleaning products, including Kat-Vos and Kat 4S.
We carry many other products with trace sodium less than 1%, as well as a complete line of sodium-free products.
For more information, contact your Birko technical representative.
