An upgrade planned for later this year at Singapore’s Choa Chu Kang Waterworks will use ceramic membranes in a first for the country.
Ceramic membrane technology is, according to the country’s national water agency, PUB, expected to increase the plant’s operating efficiency and reliability. PUB also forecasts that its life cycle cost will be lower than those for conventional membrane systems.
National water agency PUB will collaborate with PWN Technologies (PWNT) to deploy PWNT’s CeraMac ceramic membranes to upgrade part of the water treatment system at Choa Chu Kang.
UGL (Singapore) will design and build the plant, with the membrane systems from PWN Technologies and ceramic membranes supplied by Japanese ceramic membrane specialist Metawater.
The CeraMac plant’s capacity will be 160 Ml/d and it will be operational in 2018 said PUB. Upon completion, the plant will be one of the largest ceramic membrane plants for drinking water treatment in the world.
Tests at PWNT’s CeraMac demonstration plant were carried out from September 2011 to validate the efficiency and reliability of its ceramic membranes in water treatment.
PUB’s chief technology officer, Harry Seah, said: “PUB is always on the lookout for more innovative and cost-effective ways of treating and producing water. We have been studying and testing the merits of ceramic membrane technology for a few years now, and we are satisfied with the results. Both polymeric and ceramic membranes can now be considered in our other waterworks when they are due for upgrading.”
Ceramic membrane technology has already been validated in Japan where more than 117 plants use ceramic membranes similar to those that will be installed at Choa Chu Kang said PUB. After more than 17 years of continuous operation there has been no known membrane breaks, replacements or membrane-related shutdowns said PUB.