Waste water treatment from semiconductor production

In the semiconductor industry, large quantities of ultra pure water are used for production and rinsing processes. At the same time an equvalent , a lot of waste water is produced, which is contaminated in many different ways. These waste water streams are separated according to contamination and collected separately. Low-loaded partial streams, for example from the last rinsing steps of the wafers, can be recovered. This is especially true if they have very low TOC concentrations. The more heavily polluted waste water is treated in a tailored manner. In both cases, the treatment plant is individually adapted to the respective waste water composition.

HF waste water treatment for semiconductor and solar cell production
Large quantities of hydrofluoric acid (HF) are required for the etching processes during production and are later found in the waste water. Before waste water can be discharged or reused, hydrofluoric acid and its salts must be removed. The waste water is treated by precipitation and flocculation. The fluoride contained is precipitated as calcium fluoride by the addition of lime milk or calcium chloride. This process step produces calcium fluoride sludge, which is dewatered and disposed of.

CMP waste water treatment for semiconductor production
During planarization of the wafer surfaces, waste water is generated that contains grinding aids and mostly copper ions from the removed copper coatings. The used slurries and auxiliaries lead to high concentrations of solid particles in the waste water. In order to be able to discharge the waste water later, the copper ions contained in it are removed by means of precipitation and flocculation. The metal-containing sludge which is produced must then be dewatered and disposed of. The downstream selective ion exchangers remove the copper up to the prescribed discharge limits.

Neutralisation for semiconductor and solar cell production
As a rule, the waste water from the aforementioned partial flow treatments still exceeds the pH range permissible for discharge. Therefore, this waste water, together with other slightly contaminated rinsing waters, undergoes a multi-stage neutralisation process in order to meet the legal requirements for discharge be discharged into the sewer system. Depending on the throughput and the site-specific wastewater composition, we optimise the concept and design of your plants to your individual requirements and wishes.

 

Our references

Germany 2023

Process water treatment at a chemical site rich in tradition

InfraLeuna GmbH and its associated companies are the owners and operators of the infrastructure facilities at Leuna, a chemical site rich in tradition. InfraLeuna GmbH pursues the goal of shaping and developing the framework conditions for the production operations of its customers at the site. This involves the supply of necessary media such as energy and water, disposal through the central wastewater treatment plant and analytical services in its modern laboratory.

Austria 2020

High-End UPW Plant for the Semi-Conductor Industry

The task was to implement a high-end ultrapure water plant for the treatment of well water for a well-known semiconductor manufacturer in Central Europe.

Estland 2020

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In 2020, AS Estonian Cell was declared the winner of the competition ”Environmentally Friendly Company of the Year in Estonia“. With H+E components Estonian Cell came a significant step closer to its goal of becoming the best producer of pulp in the world.

Malaysia 2014

Offshore High Pressure High Performance Produced Water Treatment Package

A high-pressure high-efficiency produced water treatment system of Petronas an Sapura Energy designed to meet strict overboard discharge limits while accommodating onerous space and weight constraints imposed by offshore design requirements.

Denmark 2014

Oily Water Treatment Offshore

For an oil rig, Ørsted needed a treatment plant for treating oily water from various sources. Ørsted, Denmark, is the world market leader in offshore wind energy and offers innovative energy solutions for public utilities and industry.

For an oil rig, Ørsted needed an oily water treatment plant to treat water from various sources to remove oil down to <10 mg/l and 95% of solids >100 μm, making the water suitable for discharge into the sea. This application was a particular challenge due to the small droplet diameters and emulsified oils from the various sources. H+E met the challenge by providing their coalescer design with a solids removal system upstream of the coalescer technology.

Germany 2012

New AOP application in a German paper mill

MD Papier GmbH, which belongs to the UPM Group, is one of Germany’s largest manufacturers of high-quality magazine papers. Due to a shift of production to higher-grade and higher bleached products, the percentage of persistent, non-biodegradable wastewater constituents has increased.