Technology for Tough-to-Treat Industrial Wastewater

GE (USA) today introduced a new membrane bioreactor (MBR) with membrane accommodating carrier (MACarrier) designed to help industrial companies meet stringent water discharge requirements and enable greater water reuse, while achieving cost savings and increased operating efficiency.

Developed in GE’s China Technology Center as a solution for tough-to-treat water, MBR with MACarrier combines a highly efficient MACarrier with GE’s ZeeWeed* 500D membranes. This integration enhances the removal of recalcitrant organics and toxicity and can achieve a chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction of more than 50 percent compared to a MBR without MACarrier. The ability of the MACarrier to be biologically regenerated in the bioreactor cuts down on operational costs.

“Our new MBR with MACarrier provides a solution for treating wastewater that is high in COD, toxicity, BOD5, phenols and other contaminants—in other words tough-to-treat wastewater,” said Yuvbir Singh, general manager, engineered systems—water and process technologies for GE Power & Water. “We are proud of this new innovation that helps our industrial customers safely discharge and reuse their wastewater.”

The MACarrier is a carbon-based product that is tailored for application with ZeeWeed 500D membranes and its efficacy for recalcitrant COD removal.

The MBR with MACarrier combines three technologies: the MACarrier to enhance the removal of COD, toxicity, phenols and other contaminates found in wastewater; the bioreactor to remove suspended colloidal solids and reduce organic content and concentrations of nutrients; and membrane filtration as a physical membrane barrier to remove microorganisms found in wastewater.