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92 I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2026 the global market for ZLD systems is currently anticipated to expand significantly. This trend is largely a response to increasingly stringent regula- tions governing wastewater discharge, compelling industries to implement advanced water treatment technologies to minimize liquid waste and maxi- mize water reuse. Unfortunately, ZLD has become a buzzword in the industry with misleading connotations. At first glance, it's self-explanatory, but in practice, it is often minimum liquid discharge (MLD), whereby the waste is rerouted to cooling or fume scrubbing or even shipped to a specialist company to pro- cess. Designing and maintaining ZLD systems can be intricate, necessitating expert knowledge and skilled labor. Water management will inevitably be- come part of the process rather than a backroom, low-skill activity. GreenSource Engineering (GSE) is a pioneer in ZLD, having built a closed-loop system that recycles process water for reuse in production. A correctly sized system will solve your water consumption issue and environmental obligations whilst maintaining sufficient dilution requirements to ensure good yields. For an effective new ZLD system in the field, the concept must start with through-factory water design (which is crucial for the ramp-up phase of production), a rinsing concept that considers drag-out and dilution factors, and separation of both concentrate and dilute treatment streams. An overview is represented in Figure 1. In Figure 1, the concentrated stream is repre- sented by the red number 1, and the dilute side is represented by the red number 2. The dilute side, in grey, will be discussed in a future article. Experience has shown that approximately 30% of the used process water (UPW) is from chemis- try maintenance and low-flow rinses. The primary function of the concentrate side is to carry out rough filtration and be the first step in the removal of bulk dissolved and suspended solids. This step is present in all traditional water treat- ment systems and is simply an updated techno- logical equivalent. The follow-up function for the concentrated side is to extract membrane-treated water, which is mixed with the dilute UPW and processed by the dilute side to start generating process water. This step simultaneously reduces the volume Figure 1: An overview of the major components to design a ZLD, closed-loop, water recycling system.