Development of processes for cleaning ceramic waste water

In principle the pollutant load in waste water from ceramic production processes consists predominantly of inorganic and insoluble raw materials that have been lost into the water during these production processes. These inorganic raw materials generally comprise clays, feldspars, quartz and glazes. The glazes often contain heavy metals, some organic substances and small quantities of bactericides. An overview is presented of the processes available to reduce the pollution of this waste water based on end-of-the-pipe or integrated solutions.