Previous poor treatment of wastewater in the Loano area of Italy has led Servizi Ambientali SPA to expand its existing wastewater treatment plant with Membrane Bioreactor Technology (MBR).
The membrane plant was first constructed three years ago to initially treat 7,000 m3/d. An upgrade to the facility using GE’s advanced MBR technology quadruples the flow and serves approximately 140,000 residents in the towns of Borghetto S. Spirito, Loano, Toirano, Boissano, Balestrino and Ceriale.
The expanded plant handles a maximum wastewater flow of about 35,000 m3/d and entered service in July 2012.
Under the contract, GE supplied Servizi Ambientali SPA with MBR technology and equipment featuring ZeeWeed 500D reinforced, hollow-fiber membranes. The technology is an advanced filtration technology that separates particles, bacteria and viruses from water or wastewater.
Giovanni Paganelli, chief executive officer, Servizi Ambientali SPA, said: “Our wastewater treatment plant went from simple primary treatment to advanced biological processes with membranes allowing us to reach high-level effluent quality. It is located on the seacoast and discharges into a sensitive ecosystem in a tourist region. Our newly upgraded plant now results in the best effluent water quality ever achieved, enabling us to serve a larger population and at the same time, diverting the cleaned wastewater for non-potable reuse.”
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