effluents
Factory liquid waste
Effluents are liquid waste discharged from factories, sewage plants, or other facilities into rivers, lakes, or oceans.
The term carries connotations of pollution and environmental concern: The factory's effluents contaminated the groundwater.
Industrial effluent regulations aim to limit harmful discharge.
The word can also refer more neutrally to any outflow from a contained system.
Fluid exiting a system
- emissionDischarged substance or act
- drainageLiquid removal system
- releaseTo let go
- overflowExceed capacity and spill
leakage · seepage · runoff · streaming · flowing · oozing · pumping · extrusion
Introduction of impurities
- toxinsHarmful biological substances
- contaminantsUnwelcome substances in something pure
- bioaccumulationPollutant concentration in tissues
- eutrophicationExcess nutrients depleting oxygen
heavy metals · carcinogens · hazardous waste · algal bloom · dead zone · fish kill · groundwater · aquifer
Contaminated drainage from buildings
- raw sewageUnprocessed drainage waste
- stormwaterSurface flow from precipitation
- greywaterLight household wastewater
- blackwaterToilet waste or tannin-stained swamp
municipal · domestic · septic · sludge · overflow · outfall · sanitary · fecal
Separating solids from liquids
- sedimentationParticles settling in liquid
- chlorinationDisinfecting with a halogen
- aerationInfusing with oxygen
- bioremediationLiving organisms detoxify pollutants
reverse osmosis · denitrification · coagulation · flocculation · ozonation · clarifier · wastewater plant · monitoring
Industrial production facility
- manufacturingIndustrial product creation
- byproductsSecondary results of production
- heavy metalsDense metallic environmental contaminants
- chemicalsManufactured or isolated substances
refinery · smelting · tanneries · dyes · solvents · smokestacks · petrochemical · pulp mill
Navigable route for vessels
- riverLarge flowing watercourse
- streamSteady continuous flow
- estuaryTidal mixing zone
- watershedDrainage area boundary
tributary · dilution · dispersion · aquatic life · marine · freshwater · brackish · riparian
outflow
Fluid exiting a system
overflow · leakage · seepage · runoff · streaming · flowing · oozing · pumping · extrusion · venting
contamination
Introduction of impurities
- toxinsHarmful biological substances
- contaminantsUnwelcome substances in something pure
- bioaccumulationPollutant concentration in tissues
eutrophication · heavy metals · carcinogens · hazardous waste · algal bloom · dead zone · fish kill · groundwater · aquifer · leachate
wastewater
Contaminated drainage from buildings
- raw sewageUnprocessed drainage waste
- stormwaterSurface flow from precipitation
- greywaterLight household wastewater
blackwater · municipal · domestic · septic · sludge · overflow · outfall · sanitary · fecal · pathogens
filtration
Separating solids from liquids
- sedimentationParticles settling in liquid
- chlorinationDisinfecting with a halogen
- aerationInfusing with oxygen
bioremediation · reverse osmosis · denitrification · coagulation · flocculation · ozonation · clarifier · wastewater plant · monitoring
factory
Industrial production facility
- manufacturingIndustrial product creation
- byproductsSecondary results of production
- heavy metalsDense metallic environmental contaminants
chemicals · refinery · smelting · tanneries · dyes · solvents · smokestacks · petrochemical · pulp mill · mining
waterway
Navigable route for vessels
watershed · tributary · dilution · dispersion · aquatic life · marine · freshwater · brackish · riparian · wetlands
- water pollutionsewage, industrial waste, contaminants, algal bloom, toxic waste
- industrial wasteslag, tailings, sludge, overburden, fly ash
- hazardous wastetoxic waste, hazardous waste, chemical waste, radioactive waste, industrial waste
- radioactivityradioactive decay, radioactive isotopes, radioisotopes, radionuclides, half-life
- mine reclamationreclamation, revegetation, ecological restoration, mine tailings, tailings
effluentsfeedwater
Liquid for steam generation
intake · tributaries · inflow · inflows · inputs
effluentsclean water
Uncontaminated hydration source
purified water · potable water · freshwater · drinking water · pure water