An integrated laboratory wastewater treatment solution combining pretreatment, hydrolytic acidification, A/O biological treatment, secondary clarification, and activated carbon adsorption for battery R&D wastewater containing heavy metals, electrolytes, and organic contaminants, ensuring compliant discharge and partial water reuse.
Customer Profile
The customer is a leading energy storage technology company specializing in the research, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of:
- Lithium battery core materials
- Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) energy storage batteries
- Battery energy storage systems (BESS)
The company is committed to providing safe, efficient, clean, and sustainable energy solutions worldwide while continuously developing next-generation energy storage products with:
- Longer cycle life
- Higher manufacturing efficiency
- Improved energy efficiency
- Greater product consistency
- Lower production costs
- Reduced carbon footprint
Baihuipu has established a long-term partnership with the customer through multiple environmental engineering projects. This case study focuses on the laboratory wastewater treatment system designed for its battery R&D center.
Project Overview
Customer: Leading Energy Storage Technology Company
Project: Battery Laboratory Wastewater Treatment System
Treatment Capacity: 50 m³/day
Commissioning Year: 2023
Main Treatment Process
Pretreatment → Hydrolytic Acidification → A/O Biological Treatment → Secondary Clarifier → Activated Carbon Adsorption → Compliant Discharge
Design Standard
Designed to comply with the Pollutant Discharge Standard for the Electronics Industry.
Project Highlights
- Stable compliance with environmental discharge standards
- Reliable support for laboratory research and pilot-scale production
- Cost-effective process design
- Stable long-term operation
- Easy operation and maintenance
- Suitable for complex laboratory wastewater with fluctuating characteristics
Wastewater Sources
1. Battery Testing Wastewater
Generated during battery performance testing, including:
- Charge and discharge testing
- Cycle life testing
- Performance evaluation
This wastewater typically contains small quantities of organic solvents together with acidic and alkaline compounds. Wastewater composition varies significantly depending on the specific laboratory experiment.
2. Equipment Cleaning Wastewater
Produced during the cleaning of:
- Laboratory equipment
- Experimental vessels
- Testing instruments
- Laboratory floors and work areas
Typical contaminants include suspended solids, trace heavy metals, and residual cleaning chemicals.
3. Accidental Spill Wastewater
During battery research and development, equipment malfunctions or operational incidents may result in the accidental release of battery materials and electrolytes.
This wastewater is characterized by:
- Complex chemical composition
- Multiple hazardous substances
- High variability
- Unpredictable discharge conditions
Process Design
Based on the customer's laboratory operations and wastewater characteristics, Baihuipu developed a customized integrated treatment system.
1. Pretreatment
Wastewater first passes through coarse screening to remove fibers, plastic debris, and other large particles that could damage downstream equipment.
An equalization tank then balances both wastewater flow and pollutant concentrations, ensuring stable operating conditions for subsequent treatment processes.
2. Organic Pollutant Removal
Advanced oxidation technologies—including ozone oxidation and Fenton oxidation—are employed to effectively degrade organic pollutants and ammonia nitrogen, converting them into more biodegradable or harmless compounds.
Residual refractory organic contaminants are subsequently treated through hydrolytic acidification, improving biodegradability before entering the biological treatment stage.
3. Biological Treatment and Final Polishing
The wastewater then passes through an A/O (Anaerobic/Oxic) biological treatment system, where specialized microbial communities further remove residual organic contaminants.
Following biological treatment, a secondary clarifier separates activated sludge from the treated water.
As a final polishing step, activated carbon adsorption removes trace organic compounds, color, odor, and residual contaminants, ensuring stable compliance with discharge requirements.
Project Results
Since commissioning, the treatment system has consistently achieved all required discharge standards for laboratory wastewater.
Stable Environmental Compliance
Key water quality indicators, including organic pollutants and other regulated contaminants, consistently meet national and local environmental discharge standards.
Water Reuse
A portion of the treated wastewater is recycled for:
- Laboratory equipment cleaning
- Floor washing
- General utility water
This reduces freshwater consumption while improving overall water utilization efficiency.
Economic Benefits
The project has delivered significant operational advantages by:
- Lowering wastewater treatment costs
- Reducing dependence on freshwater resources
- Decreasing overall operating expenses
- Minimizing environmental compliance risks
- Avoiding regulatory penalties associated with non-compliant wastewater discharge
Industry Perspective
With increasingly stringent environmental regulations for China's new energy industry, lithium battery manufacturers and research institutions face growing pressure to achieve higher environmental performance while expanding production capacity.
Government authorities continue to strengthen supervision of industrial wastewater discharge, requiring battery manufacturers to achieve higher production output without increasing environmental impact.
Consequently, there is an increasing demand for wastewater treatment systems that offer:
- Simple operation
- Stable treatment performance
- Low operating costs
- High environmental reliability
Baihuipu remains committed to integrating physicochemical treatment technologies with biological treatment processes, leveraging the strengths of both approaches to efficiently treat complex lithium battery wastewater. This integrated treatment philosophy represents one of the most practical and effective solutions for managing refractory wastewater generated by modern battery manufacturing and R&D facilities.
The successful implementation of this laboratory wastewater treatment project further demonstrates Baihuipu's expertise in providing reliable, cost-effective, and environmentally compliant wastewater treatment solutions for the global lithium battery and energy storage industry.
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