VACUDEST vacuum distillation systems

Our VACUDEST vacuum distillation units are ideally suited for the treatment of industrial wastewater. This means that with the use of our distillation plant, your production can become wastewater-free.

Vacuum distillation has established itself as the most economical solution for treating a wide variety of industrial wastewater. Thanks to our innovative state of the art technology, you can use the VACUDEST system to separate the clean water from your industrial wastewater and thus achieve even strict legal requirements.

The distillation of industrial wastewater into clean water is a process that reduces the volume of wastewater and thus your disposal costs by up to 99 percent. Using this process has the advantage that the treated water can be reused in your production. Thus, your production becomes wastewater-free thanks to our VACUDEST vacuum distillation plant. In this way, your company makes an important contribution to the sustainable protection of our freshwater resources and you invest in a clean, liveable future.

The vacuum distillation principle

As pioneers in the use of vacuum distillation, we succeeded in making industrial wastewater recyclable for the first time in 1986. Our technology is based on the simple principle of separating substances according to boiling point differences. The function is simple: the industrial wastewater is evaporated under pressure at a temperature of only about 80 degrees, instead of at a temperature of 100 degrees as at atmospheric pressure. All substances that have a higher boiling point than water remain in the evaporation residue. These include heavy metals, salts, but also oils, fats or surfactants. Because the water content is evaporated, the volume of the residue from distillation is reduced to 0.5 to 5 per cent of the original wastewater volume. The rising steam, also called vapour, is almost free of impurities. After condensation, it can be returned to processing as clean process water. Thanks to this vacuum distillation, your production becomes wastewater-free.

A distillation plant versatile in industrial applications

Today, almost every process in industry produces environmentally harmful water that must not be discharged into the sewage system.

• Surface technology
• Aviation / MRO
• Waste disposal / Recycling
• Electronic devices
• Metalworking / metal processing
• Chemicals / Pharmaceuticals / Healthcare
• Energy generation / supply

Wastewater from these industries can usually be treated with our distillation plants. Distillation produces distillate and concentrate. The distillate can usually be recirculated. Ideally, the small amount of liquid concentrate can also be reused.

Is your industry not included? Contact us, our application centre for wastewater-free production will be happy to help you.

H2O vacuum distillation plants as efficient as never before

Energy is an expensive production factor. The technology of distillation is notorious as an energy waster. To save energy, we have therefore been using the energy-efficient process of direct vapour recompression (vacuum distillation) since 1986. Due to energy recycling, no additional evaporation energy is required in the plant. As a result, the VACUDEST process has an energy efficiency of 95 percent.

Improving energy efficiency is an important goal in the further development of our VACUDEST vacuum distillation plants. That is why we have developed a new technology: Activepowerclean constantly ensures the optimal heat transfer of the steam to the wastewater with the automatic cleaning of the heat exchanger. In addition, the residual heat in the distillate is used to preheat the incoming industrial wastewater in the plant. Thus, VACUDEST vacuum distillation systems stand for highest energy efficiency and lowest operating costs. Among wastewater treatment plants, distillation is one of the most effective solutions.

One step ahead: Innovative scales of H2O

Some substances cannot be completely separated by distillation. Therefore, the distillate from a conventional vacuum distillation is often cloudy and of such poor quality that it has to be post-treated. In recent years, we have set standards with many innovations regarding the optimisation of the separation process. This is why we achieve crystal-clear liquids of far better quality with distillation in VACUDEST systems compared to conventional evaporators. Our patented Clearcat condensation stage, for example, allows COD (hydrocarbons) reduction of up to 99 percent.

The innovative Destcontrol pH controller developed by H2O also ensures consistently good distillate quality. Conventional vacuum distillation systems adjust the pH value before evaporation. A side effect can be that boiling under vapour pressure can trigger after-reactions that deteriorate the distillate quality. Therefore, the Destcontrol process measures the pH value not in the feed, but in the treated water and reacts immediately. In this way, a constantly stable quality is achieved - the solution for slightly acidic or alkaline wastewater.

Your investment in a future-oriented VACUDEST vacuum distillation system guarantees you the best distillate quality with certainty.

Our vacuum distillation units in sizes XS to XXL have the following capacities:

*Based on 8,000 hours of operation per year and an average evaporation residue of 5 percent

Your customized wastewater treatment system - based on the VACUDEST Modular-System

From over 3.5 million variants we choose the best one for your individual requirements, creating your customized wastewater treatment system.

An integral part of H2O´s philosophy is the development of customized system solutions. Every industrial wastewater is different. The variety of applications requires a customized wastewater treatment system. Thus we don't have the VACUDEST wastewater treatment system "off the shelf". To ensure that a customized solution is affordable for our customers we developed the VACUDEST Modular-System.

Our experts will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Do not hesitate to contact us.