In the wastewater treatment process, secondary biological treatment is used to remove dissolved organic matter using microorganisms. A common practice for determining the performance of this treatment is the Food to Microorganism ratio (F:M). To determine the food (F) portion of the ratio, total organic carbon (TOC) analysis can provide more accurate and reliable data than other methods to reduce risk of regulatory non-compliance and help optimize secondary biological treatment.

Litehouse, Inc. is a food and beverage (F&B) manufacturer located in Lowell, Michigan that generates an average of 75,000 gallons of wastewater a day. The treated wastewater generated at the facility then flows to the Lowell Wastewater Treatment Plant and must meet local discharge limits.

What TOC monitoring mode is best for your use case? Learn more about the differences between each.

Distillery wastewater is one of the most polluted waters to treat and dispose of in the F&B industry. Roughly 88% of a distillery's raw materials are converted to waste alone*. It is difficult to treat and dispose of this wastewater due to its dark color, high temperature, high ash content, low pH as well as high amounts of dissolved organic and inorganic material.

When it comes to assuring the quality of raw materials in pharmaceutical water production, real-time testing (RTT) [or real-time release testing (RTRT)] is becoming more and more commonplace. Data integrity, data transfer, data security, and data management are all parts of a successful RTT strategy.