pH Adjustment & Neutralization

What is pH Adjustment? 

The term "pH" (potential Hydrogen) refers to the hydrogen ion concentration in a solution, indicating how acidic or basic (alkaline) that solution is on a scale from 0 to 14. Solutions with a pH less than 7 are considered acidic, while those with a pH greater than 7 are alkaline.

pH adjustment is the process of modifying and controlling the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. This is often a required step prior to discharging treated effluent from a wastewater treatment process to the POTW.  pH adjustment may also be implemented as part of or upstream of other water/wastewater treatment systems to maximize the effectiveness of those processes.

Typical Wastewater Treatment Applications for pH Adjustment Systems:

• Simple pH Neutralization: can be used as a standalone system to neutralize pH via a chemical addition to ensure effluent discharge meets limits set by the POTW or entity receiving the treated wastewater

• Metals Precipitation: pH adjustment can reduce the solubility of heavy metals enabling effective precipitation of the contaminants

• Oil/Water Separation: reducing the pH of a waste stream containing oils can help break the oil/water emulsion which is necessary for effective oil/water separation via skimming and other mechanical oil/water separation processes

• Other Applications: pH adjustment may also be used to neutralize wastewater to protect downstream equipment from corrosivity, convert hexavalent chromium to trivalent chromium, reduce foaming in downstream processes, and more