Membrane Reactor Tackles New Zealand’s Tough Wastewater Treatment Regulations

To comply with stricter environmental requirements, Rotorua, New Zealand has selected GE’s (USA) advanced bacteria-removing membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology for the upgrade of the city’s wastewater treatment plant. This will be the largest MBR plant in New Zealand and also marks the first use of the GE MBR technology in the country.

GE will supply an MBR filtration system featuring its ZeeWeed* 500d ultrafiltration (UF) membranes to the Rotorua District Council for the upgrade project, which is expected to be completed by June of 2011. The MBR retrofit will enhance the plant’s capacity to handle its growing wastewater treatment needs and meet the country’s tighter discharge regulations without building additional, costly structures, such as clarifiers or process tanks. The wastewater treatment plant serves about 70,000 people.

GE’s MBR technology will enable Rotorua to significantly reduce the concentration of faecal coliforms (a form of harmful bacteria) in the plant’s discharge water. GE will work closely with Rotorua District Council’s in-house engineering unit, HYDRUS Engineering Consultants, and engineering company AWT New Zealand Ltd. to deliver this state-of-the-art facility in New Zealand.

“The retrofit solution will enable the plant to process increasing flows and meet the latest environmental discharge criteria while reducing structural costs and making good use of the existing infrastructure,” said Greg Manzano of the Rotorua District Council. “Our selection of GE’s technology was based largely on the company’s broad experience, proven track records and success with wastewater treatment projects worldwide.”

GE’s ZeeWeed membrane technology has been proven for more than two decades for wastewater treatment and water reuse. GE has the world’s largest installed base of MBR systems that use ZeeWeed UF membranes to produce the highest quality of water for reuse. More than 600 of GE’s ZeeWeed 500 MBR plants are in operation, in design or under construction worldwide and are becoming widely deployed for small to very large municipal and industrial plants.

“As our first project in New Zealand, this is another milestone for our wastewater treatment technology,” said Jeff Connelly, vice president, engineered systems—water and process technologies for GE Power & Water. “We have been working closely with the Rotorua District Council since March of 2009 to develop the best technology solution to meet the city’s specific wastewater needs.”

ZeeWeed 500 is certified as a GE ecomagination product. Ecomagination is GE’s commitment to address challenges such as the need for cleaner, more efficient sources of energy, reduced emissions and abundant sources of clean water.