Rinse & effluent streams from chemical‑intensive processes are treated at effluent treatment plant (ETP) & zero liquid discharge plant (ZLD). Pretreatment of the same generates significant volume of chemical sludge. Although the sludge is dewatered using a screw press, it still retains around 70% moisture. The final effluent from ETP and ZLD plants is further processed through evaporators followed by agitated thin‑film dryers (ATFD), which produces salts. Both the chemical sludge and ATFD salts are classified as hazardous waste and are currently disposed off through TNPCB approved preprocessors at high cost, ultimately ending up as fuel in cement plants.
We are seeking practical, scalable, and economically viable solutions that can eliminate/reduce the sludge waste and ATFD salt volumes and identify potential value creation through resource recovery pathways. The treatment process should be capable of seamless integration with the current operations.
Awards:- Reward money is paid in exchange of legally acquiring the solution, implementing it to solve the problem and meeting the success criteria. Milestones for paying the reward money would depend upon the complexity of challenge and maturity of the proposed solution, which would be discussed with the solver as soon as the proposed solution is selected by us.
Deadline:- 02-12-2026
