Kuwait’s Sulaibiya wastewater treatment and reclamation plant will be upgraded with GE’s water reuse technology.
GE is to provide ZeeWeed 1000 submerged hollow-fibre ultrafiltration (UF) membranes and AG LF low-fouling, reverse osmosis (RO) membranes in an upgrade that will increase the plant’s production capacity from 375,000 to 600,000 m³/d. The expansion - undertaken by infrastructure developer, Kharafi National – will make the plant the largest such facility in the world according to GE.
Kharafi National corporate director, Ibrahim Al Ghusain, said: “Sulaibiya Wastewater Treatment and Reclamation Plant leverages the world’s most advanced technologies to accelerate our operational efficiency and strengthen production capacity. This is led by our commitment to support the country in meeting its growing water requirements.”
president and chief executive officer of ater and process technologies for GE Power and Water, Heiner Markhoff, said: “With demand for water increasing at an estimated six per cent annually and Kuwait having one of the world’s largest per capita consumptions of water, Kharafi National is focused on strengthening wastewater treatment capacity to meet water reuse goals in non-potable and industrial applications, alleviating the pressure on more pristine desalinated water supplies.
The ZeeWeed 1000 UF that will be installed at the Sulaibiya wastewater treatment facility is ideal for retrofits and large plants said GE. The technology is applicable in direct filtration, coagulation, tertiary filtration, multi-media filter retrofits and pretreatment for RO. It brings a high- efficiency design with low capital, operating and lifecycle costs the company added.
The water produced meets stringent water standards, while using lesser chemicals, and producing less residual waste compared to conventional wastewater treatment systems, GE said. GE said its AG LF series thin-film RO membrane elements are characterised by high flow, high sodium chloride rejection and low-fouling surfaces.
It said the membranes require fewer cleaning cycles compared to conventional brackish membranes, and can benefit from increased time between cleanings by up to 50%.