플로렌스 시의 윌슨 레이크(Wilson Lake) 수처리 플랜트에 앨라배마의 다섯 번째 MIEX 수처리 설비가 설치된다. 남부 엔지니어들과 협력하여 개발된 8 MGD 시스템은 플랜트로 유입되는 테네시 강의 원수에서 용해성 유기탄소(Dissolved Organic Carbon)를 제거하여 살균 불순물(Disinfection by-product)의 생성을 절감하는 기능을 한다. MIEX 시스템은 플랜트에서 현재 사용되고 있는 처리 공정의 전처리 단계로서 적용될 가능성이 높으며 EPA의 DBP 규제 기준에 매우 잘 부합할 것으로 보인다.

오리카 물 관리(Orica Watercare)사의 MIEX 공정은 DBP 규제안 2단계의 요건에 부합할 수 있도록 충분한 DOC를 원수에서 제거하고 DBP 발생률을 40%까지 감소시키는 성능을 인정받아 플로렌스 시에 의해 채택된 것으로 알려졌다. 더 나아가, 응고, 퇴적, 정화 등과 같은 플랜트 하류의 처리 공정에 가지는 긍정적인 영향 또한 채택에 있어서 크게 고려되었다고 전해졌다.

DENVER, CO, Aug. 22, 2013 -- Alabama's fifth MIEX® Treatment system will be established in the city of Florence's Wilson Lake Water Treatment Plant. The 8 MGD system, designed in conjunction with Engineers of the South, will remove dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from the plant's Tennessee River raw water source to reduce disinfection by-product (DBP) formation. The MIEX® System will be applied as pretreatment to the plant’s existing conventional treatment process and will allow for compliance with EPA DBP regulations.

Orica Watercare Inc.'s MIEX® Process was selected by the city based on its ability to remove sufficient DOC from the plant's raw water source to reduce DBP formation by over 40 percent, ensuring compliance with Stage 2 DBP Rule requirements. Additionally, its positive impact on the plant's downstream treatment processes such as coagulation, sedimentation and filtration were also an important consideration for the utility.

The Wilson Lake Water Treatment Plant recently received its Six-Year Optimized Plant Award from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), for meeting process optimization goals set by ADEM and EPA, and installation of the MIEX® System is expected help the plant continue to optimize its process in the future. The DOC removal achieved by MIEX® Pretreatment was demonstrated to reduce the water's coagulant demand by 50 percent, which should reduce the utility's coagulant costs and solids generation as well as improve the performance of the plant's filtration process.

Mike Doyle, Utilities Director for the city of Florence, is looking forward to these water quality improvements, stating, "From the time we saw the results of the first bench scale tests and the impact that MIEX® Treatment had on DBP formation and our coagulation process, we knew we had identified the right process for ensuring compliance with current and future DBP regulations.  We look forward to progressing with the construction of the system." 

The water treatment plant construction project was bid in October 2012. Construction, by BH Craig, is expected to begin in late 2013, with system commissioning occurring in summer of 2014. At the time of commissioning, Florence's MIEX® Treatment system will be the second-largest of Alabama's growing number of MIEX® Installations. 

[출처: Waterworld / 2013년 8월 22일]