Taiwanese technology firm Foxconn is investing $30 million in a zero liquid discharge (ZLD) water reuse system at Wisconn Valley Science and Technology Park, Wisconsin, US.
The aim is to reduce water intake from Lake Michigan, and to eliminate almost all manufacturing process wastewater discharge into the lake.
The system is expected to cut intake by more than 3.5 million US gallons a day (13,249 m3/d), down to 2.5 million (9,464 m3/d). The ZLD will distill the process wastewater to enable recycling, recovery and reuse, and is to be installed simultaneously with a new Thin-Film Transistor (TFT) laboratory.
The same technology is already in use at Foxconn’s facility in Sakai, Japan, where it is proven to recycle water, reduce pollutant discharges, and reduce intake from surrounding waterways.