When Siemens Water Technologies was selected by Sembcorp, the plant design and operations firm, to supply equipment and engineering for the membrane filtration portion of the Sembcorp NEWater Plant, space requirements and power consumption were key requirements. Weight of the system and footprint were critical design criteria, since the membrane filtration system and RO system would be built on the rooftop of the existing Changi Water Reclamation Plant. Also, the plant's power consumption was important to ensure the lowest life–cycle costs for operating the plant.
The solution
The MEMCOR® CP membrane system in the Sembcorp NEWater Plant uses lightweight membranes (around 20lb), which deliver more membrane surface area per unit floor than many other membranes. This reduces the footprint of the plant, which is beneficial for reducing the load on area power infrastructure and the roof.
The membrane filtration system at the Sembcorp NEWater Plant offered by Siemens Water Technologies is designed to produce the least amount of backwash wastewater compared to the available membrane filtration systems in the market. The Siemens technology recovers 93% of its backwash, resulting in generation of 10 MLD less waste water.
In addition to greater membrane surface area and greater backwash recovery, the Siemens membrane filtration system optimises power consumption as it does not require backwash pumps. The backwash operation is air assisted. This feature has two distinct advantages: savings in capital expenditures and operating cost for a backwash pump.
Furthermore, the membrane filtration system offered does not require chemical coagulant dosing of the feed water, which helps save on chemical costs and also helps in protecting the environment. Siemens membranes run at low trans–membrane–pressure across the membranes. This means that less pressure is required to filter the water through the membranes, which helps in reducing power consumption and further assists in keeping the membrane filtration system "green".
The result
The Sembcorp NEWater Plant DBOO (Design Build Own Operate) project is best–in–class from a long–term lifecycle costs perspective. It stresses sustainability, anticipates future costs, and aims to reduce these not only now but in the future. Tangible and intangible savings on waste neutralisation and waste disposal costs are achieved and make the solution environmentally friendly.
Power consumption is optimised by low trans–membrane–pressure and the absence of backwash pumps. The average production capacity of the MEMCOR filtrate flow is 288,000 m3/day with a peak value of 316,000 m3/day. Low power use minimises energy costs. Reliability ensures lowest possible maintenance costs. Consistent high water quality to maximise operating life of downstream treatment equipment (reverse osmosis membranes). www.siemens.com/waterscarcity
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