GE has secured a contract to provide its advanced bacteria-removing membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology for the upgrade of wastewater treatment plant in Rotorua, New Zealand.
The contract requires GE to supply an MBR filtration system featuring its ZeeWeed 500d ultrafiltration membranes to the Rotorua District Council for the upgrade project, which is expected to be completed by June of 2011.
The project will enhance the capacity of the plant that serves about 70,000 people to handle the region’s growing wastewater treatment needs and meet the country’s tighter discharge regulations without building additional, costly structures, such as clarifiers or process tanks.
GE will work closely with Rotorua District Council’s in-house engineering unit, Hydrus Engineering Consultants, and engineering company AWT New Zealand to deliver this facility, which will use GE’s MBR technology to reduce the amount of faecal coliforms bacteria in the plant’s discharge water.
GE Power & Water vice president of engineered systems—water and process technologies Jeff Connelly said that as the GE’s first project in New Zealand, this is another milestone for the company’s wastewater treatment technology.
“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,” Connelly said.