노스라스베이거스(North Las Vegas) 지역의 폐수처리장 개선을 위해 GE사의 고성능의 멤브레인 생물반응기를 구현한 기술(membrane bioreactor, MBR)이 시행된다. GE사의 LEAPmbr MBR 시스템은 멤브레인 에너지 비용을 약 29% 절감해 에너지 및 유지보수 비용을 절감할 것으로 보인다.

매립지 개선을 위한 MBR 시설은 미국에서 가장 큰 규모의 시설 중 하나로, GE사의 LEAPmbr 및 ZeeWeed 시스템을 이용해 노스 라스베이거스 주민 30만 명 이상이 사용한  폐수를 하루에 2천500만 갤런 규모로 처리한다.

As part of an upgrade to its wastewater treatment plant, the city of North Las Vegas, Nev., has implemented a high-performance membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology from GE. By using the company's LEAPmbr MBR system, the city will reduce its energy and maintenance costs including an estimated 29 percent reduction in membrane scour energy costs.

The upgraded water reclamation MBR facility, one of the largest in the United States, treats the municipal wastewater for more than 300,000 of North Las Vegas' residents and processes up to 25 million gallons of wastewater per day. With GE’s LEAPmbr and ZeeWeed 500 membranes, the newly upgraded facility can more efficiently treat the city's wastewater.

Historically, the city of North Las Vegas relied on the city of Las Vegas to treat its wastewater, but in 2012, North Las Vegas built its own plant using GE ZeeWeed membranes and MBR technology. The city then upgraded the facility with LEAPmbr technology three years later to provide the same treatment capacity and high-treated water quality while reducing energy and maintenance costs and increasing productivity.

GE's LEAPmbr aeration technology provides optimal energy usage by reducing membrane air scour costs along with essentially eliminating cyclic valve maintenance. In addition, the plant's advanced SCADA system allows the city of North Las Vegas to have minimal staffing at the plant, and the wastewater treatment facility can be controlled remotely.

Specifically for the project, GE retrofitted the existing membrane cassettes by supplying LEAPmbr retrofit kits. This allowed the plant to take advantage of the lower air and energy requirements while continuing to get the full lifecycle operation out of the originally installed membranes.

[출처 = Water World / 2015년 7월 29일]