A simple batch distillation process for the treatment of two types of industrial waste generated in a metalworking factory has been evaluated. Both types of waste are oil-in-water emulsions composed of numerous compounds and each type has a high content of water-soluble species. The water-soluble nature of the wastes precludes the use of conventional treatment technologies, such as ultrafiltration or chemical emulsion breaking, since they need to be complemented with additional treatment processes that would probably increase the cost considerably. A simple characterization of the liquid-vapour equilibrium and a scale-up study has demonstrated the applicability of this technology. The process allows 90% of the waste to be recovered as water, thus achieving the required quality limits for discharge into a municipal wastewater treatment plant. An approximate estimation of capital investment and operating costs for an existing case has shown the economic viability of this process. (C) 2004 Society of Chemical Industry.