Mobile water treatment units: a scalable solution for industrial users

Fluctuating process water and wastewater volumes, variable inlet water quality, rising prices for consumables, and the risk of production downtime: all are daily challenges for industrial plant operator.

Luckily, mobile water treatment solutions are readily available to deliver a flexible response to emergencies, as well as long-term requirements. 

• What is a mobile water treatment unit?
• Why are mobile water treatment solutions the right answer to the challenges faced by industrial water users?

What is a mobile water treatment unit?

A mobile water treatment unit is a rentable modular system installed on a trailer, in a container, or on a skid.

The solution provider delivers the required equipment to the customer’s production facility then connects the source water supply (the mains network, a river, a borehole, seawater, etc.). The customer receives treated water at a level of quality and flow rate agreed with the supplier.

A mobile water production unit is nothing like a water tank!

Why are mobile water treatment solutions the right answer to the challenges faced by industrial water users?

1. Less production downtime

Breakdowns, unforeseen events, maintenance operations, or total upgrading of fixed facilities can all result in production downtime.

Downtime is one of the things that industrial companies fear most because it can prove incredibly costly. In the automobile industry, for example, just 1 hour of production downtime can cost a company $2 million!

So, business continuity is always their priority.

Opting for a mobile water treatment solution enables:

• Production to continue while fixed units are serviced and maintained
• An emergency solution to be up and running in just a few hours if the fixed system fails

2. Flexibility and scalability

Mobile units are an appropriate response to temporary situations, whether planned or unplanned, but they also offer the benefit of being available for the long term too!

On long-term rental, mobile water treatment becomes a feasible, flexible, and scalable alternative that allows water production to be matched to actual production volumes:

• Units can be added as production ramps up
• Units can be removed if production rates slow

A long-term mobile water treatment contract offers a quick, flexible low-risk route to growth at a known cost.

3. Water treatment without capital expenditure

Renting mobile processing units also offers the advantage of avoiding capital expenditure, leaving the CAPEX budget free to be transferred to OPEX.

This can be particularly important at a time when manufacturers have little forward visibility. 

• No equipment to be amortized
• Maintenance is provided by the solution provider

4. Anticipating water shortages

Given the drought conditions experienced in 2022, and those forecast for 2023, many countries in Europe are already implementing its national drought plan.

It is therefore more than likely that industrial users will be required to limit the quantities of drinking water they take from the mains supply system in favor of local communities.

Some are anticipating these water shortages by seeking to exploit previously unused sources (rivers, groundwater, seawater, etc.), which in turn will require the implementation of appropriate treatment solutions, such as ultrafiltration, seawater desalination by reverse osmosis, etc.

So, planning now to use mobile water treatment solutions will ensure that seasonal demand can be met even in the event of drought

5. Offsetting the rising prices of consumables

Combined with recurrent water shortages, fluctuations of 30% or even 40% in the prices of water treatment chemicals have prompted many industrial users to turn to the long-term rental of reverse osmosis units to rely less on resins and significantly reduce the chemical consumption of demineralization units (by up to 90%).

Mobile solutions improve security of supply, and help reduce costs

The bottom line: what's in it for industrial water users?

• Speed: ultra-fast emergency deployment in just a few hours
• Flexibility: modularity and the ability to match production needs
• The right quality: water quality agreed with the supplier
• The right quantity: tailored solutions to deliver the required flow rate
• Rental: no capital expenditure and hands off maintenance

For more information, kindly contact : MWS@nijhuisindustries.com