Wastewater Treatment And the Food Manufacturing Industry
What Is Wastewater Treatment?
Wastewater treatment is the process of dealing with water that is the waste by product of human processes. This can be from anything to surface runoff from urbanisation preventing water naturally soaking away and making its way back into the water cycle; sewage from domestic use and also as a by product of industrial process such as manufacture or energy generation.
Wastewater treatment takes a number of forms depending on the type of wastewater involved (chemical plants and other heavy industries may require more powerful methods onsite as they have to dispose of more contaminated or soiled wastewater which will require a lot more processing than surface run off). Therefore heavy industry often have their own initial stage of water treatment in order to fit into regulations.
What Food Manufacturing Processes Require Wastewater Treatment?
Food manufacturing like any form of manufacturing industry uses a lot of water in its processes and at the same time also produces a lot of excess wastewater.
Food manufacture covers a wide variety of areas, and follows the process from the initial stages to the end result. Agriculture is a huge part of the food manufacture process and wastewater treatment is often needed around agricultural facilities as pesticides are used to keep crops safe; fertilisers are used to produce better results; and chemicals used in other processes can get into the water system if not properly dealt with.
The stages of food manufacture that involve processing and taking the raw ingredients and making them into finished products also creates a lot of by products such as wastewater. Having adequate wastewater treatment in place is important; in order to prevent harm to the environment and to stop humans and animals being affected too.
Methods Of Wastewater Treatment In Food Manufacturing 
Wastewater treatment takes a range of forms, all based on the concept of removing the contaminants from water and making it safe to go back into the water cycle in order to protect humans and prevent harm to the environment such as pollution.
Sewage treatment plants are a common site for dealing with things such as human waste from homes; which can cover things such as water from toilets showers and sinks. On a more industrial scale; then there is more work required in order to prevent the contaminated water getting into the water cycle.
If food manufacturing businesses create wastewater that has a heavy amount of contamination then it is likely that they will take appropriate measures on site, in order to ensure that they fit in with legislation and do their part to avoid harm to the environment.
These precautionary steps are before the wastewater makes it to the sewer system. Once wastewater makes it through the sewer system then it gets to a wastewater treatment facility where the appropriate measures will be taken to ensure that water is safe to enter the water system and will not harm humans; animals or the environment.