Could we estimate industrial wastewater flows composition using the UN-ISIC classification system?

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Industrial Ecology
• Water Quality Management

Background:

• Limited data exists on industrial wastewater composition, hindering Sustainable Development Goal 6 achievement.
• Understanding wastewater chemical profiles is crucial for effective environmental management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if industrial wastewater chemical composition can be predicted by industry type (ISIC class).
• To establish linkages between International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC) classes and wastewater contaminants.

Main Methods:

• Collected wastewater samples from 60 industrial effluents across 12 ISIC classes.
• Analyzed key contaminants, including European Commission priority compounds.
• Employed statistical analyses (ordination, random forest) to assess class-composition relationships.

Main Results:

• Statistically significant links were found between most ISIC classes and wastewater composition.
• Random forest analysis identified key parameters for classification and prediction.
• The study highlights the potential for ISIC-based wastewater characterization.

Conclusions:

• Industrial typology (ISIC class) is a reliable indicator of wastewater chemical composition.
• Findings support setting pollution caps, optimizing monitoring, and predicting loads in data-scarce basins.
• Further research across more ISIC classes and parameters is warranted.