APIs are the molecules that make medicines work, and their effluents are some of the hardest to treat. Beyond GMP requirements, plants face strict environment norms on TDS/COD/BOD, solvent handling, and safety. Many facilities are expected to run Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) or close to it. The goal is simple: prove compliance, keep production moving, and put recovered water back to work.
Why API/Pharma effluent is tricky
- Complex & variable: Every site’s effluent is different and can change with campaigns, raw materials, or process tweaks.
- Pretreatment matters: Stable ZLD starts with good pretreatment correcting pH, lowering TSS/COD, removing oil & grease, managing hardness, and addressing solvent carryover so downstream units run smoothly.
SHACHI’s approach (end-to-end, science-backed)
Shachi delivers complete solutions for API/Pharma: pre-treatment, evaporation, crystallisation/centrifuge → final drying → condensate polishing. Designs are grounded in water chemistry, thermodynamics, and the right unit operations, so performance is robust and repeatable. Materials of construction (MOC) Titanium, Super Duplex, SS316L, duplex or specials are chosen for chemical compatibility and long service life.
The Shachi way
Evaporate what you can, separate what you should, and dry what’s left.
1) Evaporation
After pretreatment (pH stabilisation, reducing suspended solids/COD, Hardness Removal, stripping troublesome solvents/foam formers where required), the stream goes to Multiple-Effect Evaporation
- Falling-film for cleaner liquor and high heat transfer.
- Forced-circulation for viscous, scaling, or crystal-forming feeds.
Add MVR/TVR where viable to cut utilities. Outcome: condensate ready for polishing and a concentrated slurry prepared for salt removal.
2) Crystallise + Centrifuge
We control crystal growth (in-effect or external), then centrifuge out mother liquor to get a drier cake/powder that’s easier to handle or dispose per local norms. Recovered liquor loops back as needed.
3) Dryers
“Dissolved Solids get separated in ATFD or Spray Dryer”. Agitated Thin Film Dryers (ATFD) or, where appropriate, spray dryers finish the last mile, turning difficult slurry into dry solids/flakes at low residual moisture.
4) Condensate = reusable water
Condensate passes through a CPU (carbon/UF/RO as required) so you can reuse water in utilities or process, reducing freshwater draw and OPEX.
Why API manufacturers choose Shachi
- Built around your stream, not a template: The right mix of falling-film/forced-circulation effects, robust crystallisation, and ATFD only where it adds value. Foam/solvent control, anti-fouling velocities, and salt handling are designed in.
- Faster, predictable start-up: Clear recipes, operator training, practical, reuse numbers, and throughput sooner.
- Audit-ready from day one: Compatible MOC, hygienic layouts, HAZOP, interlocks, alarms, historian trends, and clean documentation for validation.
- Utility sense, not just theory: High steam economy, heat integration, and CIP strategies that protect uptime.
- Controls that keep you confident: PLC-SCADA with recipe logic, safety interlocks and remote support when needed.
- Optimised & user-friendly: Balanced capex/opex, easy operation, and maintainability tailored to API industry realities.
In API ZLD, evaporation concentrates, centrifuges separate and ATFD finishes the tough bits leaving you with dry solids and reusable water. Share your flow data and targets; we’ll right-size the train and prove it on numbers.