GE Technology Plays
Critical Role in Opening of World's Largest Potable
Ultrafiltration Plant
September 9, 2005
GE Infrastructure, Water & Process Technologies, a unit of
General Electric Co., joined the city of Minneapolis for the
opening tour of the city's new Columbia Heights water filtration
plant—the world's largest potable ultrafiltration (UF) plant.
The plant utilizes GE's UF solutions to provide up to 78 million
gallons per day (mgd) of potable water to over half a million
Minneapolis residents.
"Each day over a billion people around the globe do not have
access to safe drinking water and as water safety concerns and
more stringent regulatory standards continue to emerge, cities
across the globe are looking for ways to help safeguard their
water from harmful contaminants," said George Oliver, CEO, GE
Infrastructure, Water & Process Technologies. "UF solutions, as
well as GE's other water scarcity solutions, aid cities like
Minneapolis, in removing unsafe substances from water, so that
they can decrease their chance of an incident, like the
heart-breaking Milwaukee Cryptosporidium outbreak."
Cryptosporidium is a waterborne protozoa that is harmful for
humans to ingest and can cause symptoms that include fever,
weight loss, dehydration, vomiting, and death. In 1993,
Milwaukee battled a Cryptosporidium outbreak that claimed the
lives of an estimated 100 residents. The Milwaukee outbreak
prompted the Minneapolis Water Works to conduct a feasibility
study that examined the city's risk factors, as well as
remedies, possible solutions and technologies that would help
safeguard the city's water. Upon completion of the study,
Minneapolis, with its Peer Review Panel and Citizens Advisory
Committee, determined that GE's UF technology was best-suited to
aid the city in protecting its citizens.
GE's UF technology is a pressure-driven technology that
provides a physical barrier to pathogens and is commonly used to
remove suspended solids, bacteria, microorganisms, and viruses
in potable water production. The Minneapolis plant combines GE's
UF technology with NORIT membrane technology—creating a
complementary system that results in the extremely effective
removal of hazardous waterborne microorganisms and contaminants.
The nationally recognized California Department of Health
Services gave ultrafiltration the highest removal rate credits
available. GE's UF solutions are capable of delivering the
following: consistent, superior water quality regardless of feed
quality variations; dead-end operation resulting in low energy
consumption; greater than 6 log (99.9999%) removal of
Cryptosporidium and Giardia lamblia; highest certified removal
of viruses - 4 log (99.99%); low chemical consumption; permeate
SDI(15) less than 3; small system footprint and compact
arrangement; and proven membrane life.
In addition to the opening of the city of Minneapolis'
Columbia Heights plant, GE was recently awarded a contract by
the City of Mankato, MN to provide ultrafiltration technology in
upgrades to their water treatment plant. The Mankato plant,
which will provide 12 mgd of potable water to city residents,
will be the state's second largest UF plant and is expected to
be on-line in September 2006.
The city of Minneapolis and city of Mankato plants will join
GE's expanding ecomagination and water scarcity solutions
portfolio, which includes a wide-range of customized water
solutions designed to create new sources of usable water for the
potable, industrial and agricultural sectors—while lessening
impacts on fresh water sources. In June, GE announced its plans
for what will be Africa's largest seawater desalination plant.
The Hamma plant, which will be one of GE's largest ecomagination
projects, will be located in Algeria and will provide drinking
water to 25% of all Algiers' residents. These projects join GE's
largest ecomagination project, the Sulaibiya facility in Kuwait.
This facility, which is world's largest membrane-based water
reclamation facility, purifies municipal wastewater to produce
100 million gallons per day of clean water for industry and
agricultural uses. GE now has an installed base of more than
1,100 water treatment plants that can achieve flow rates ranging
from 30,000 gallons/day to 100MM gallons/day.
Source: GE September 9, 2005
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