282 The One About The Unseen Repercussions of Cheap Water

In this year's Industrial Water Week, Trace Blackmore invited Semra Gül, Technical Manager at Syntec Corporation to answer Scaling UP! Nation's Pretreatment questions. This week, Trace Blackmore welcomes her back to talk about her career, how she got her start in the water treatment industry, volunteering, troubleshooting. Semra Gül is originally from Turkey and had worked in Turkey and Europe before coming to the United States. She is an active member of the Association of Water Technologies (AWT), serving as a member of the cooling committee and chair of the Pretreatment committee. Aside from AWT, Semra is also a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS), American Water Work Association (AWWA, Water Environment Federation (WEF), International Water Association (IWA), and Water Quality Association (WQA). In this Episode, Trace asks Semra: Why do European countries want to source their water treatment chemicals from the USA? Why get involved with a professional organization and serve on a committee? What are the ways a water treater can stay up-to-date on new water technologies? What should someone consider when joining a professional organization? How can Industrial Water Treaters save the environment? How can we be better stewards of water? Whose responsibility is it to conserve water? What are the unseen repercussions of 'cheap water'? How does Semra decide what to learn next? How to improve your troubleshooting? What should Water Treaters stop doing? Where will the Water Industry be 20 years from now? What can Water Treatment companies do to attract new hires? Bottom line: Semra Gül is a passionate Water Treater, and today, she will share with us how bad water quality pushes us to find creative solutions.  Your roadside friend, as you travel from client to client.   -Trace    Timestamps:  How Trace narrows down episode topics [01:01]  Trace Blackmore interviews Semra Gül, Technical Manager at Syntec Corporation [07:06] Lightning Round Question [37:37] Upcoming Events for Water Treatment Professionals and closing thoughts [40:30] Thinking On Water With James [43:43]   Thinking On Water With James: In this week's episode, we're thinking about other uses for reverse osmosis concentrate or reject.  What is the quality of the RO concentrate? Is it softened or was antiscalant used to protect the RO from scale formation? What is the volume of RO concentrate available? Is the RO located close enough to another possible use to make it feasible? Could the RO concentrate be used in a cooling tower? If so, could it provide 100% of the makeup throughout the day or would a secondary makeup be required? What would the quality of that secondary makeup need to be? Could the RO concentrate be used as a wash water for a process? Could the RO concentrate be used as a water source for a process itself? Take this week to think about the RO units you may have, and if the concentrate waste stream could become a treasure instead.   Quotes: "How can I help?" - Semra Gül "We have to give back to nature." - Semra Gül "Be sure to share your experience with other people." - Semra Gül "Besides networking, joining different organizations will help you to be up-to-date with new water technologies." - Semra Gül "The best chemist is the one who uses fewer chemicals." - Semra Gül "Education changes everything" - Semra Gül "If you want to be successful, you have to be a life-long learner." - Semra Gül "We have to learn how to conserve water. Every single person has the personal responsibility to conserve or reuse water."  - Semra Gül   Connect with Semra Gül: Phone: 646-988-7081 Email: [email protected]  Website: www.syntec.com  LinkedIn: in/semra-gul-2a572541 company/syntec-corporation   Links Mentioned:  American Chemical Society (ACS) American Water Works Association (AWWA) Water Environment Federation (WEF) US Energy Information Administration Audible The Rising Tide Mastermind Submit a Show Idea AWT (Association of Water Technologies)   Events:  Check out our Scaling UP! H2O Events Calendar where we've listed every event Water Treaters should be aware of by clicking HERE  or using the dropdown menu.   Books Mentioned:  Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki Atomic Habits by James Clear The Best Thomas Jefferson Biographies