From used

to useful
Meeting water challenges
through wastewater reuse

Jeff Fulgham
Chief Marketing Officer
GE Water & Process Technologies
Community water
challenges

Distribution
system
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GE Water & Process Technologies
Community water
challenges • New contaminants
in water supply
• Water scarcity

Distribution
system
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GE Water & Process Technologies
Community water
challenges
• Insufficient capacity
• Limited barriers to
disease
• One “grade” of water

Distribution
system
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GE Water & Process Technologies
Community water
challenges • Aging infrastructure…
lack of investment
• High energy
consumption & costs

Distribution
system
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GE Water & Process Technologies
Community water
• Potable water for
challenges industrial use
• Direct discharge
Industrial
consumers

Distribution
system
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GE Water & Process Technologies
Community water
challenges
• Changing water
quality limits
• Insufficient capacity
• Lack of investment

Distribution
system
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GE Water & Process Technologies
Growth of mega cities by 2015

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GE Water & Process Technologies
Water reuse … “nature’s process”

River

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GE Water & Process Technologies
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GE Water & Process Technologies
Demand > supply

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GE Water & Process Technologies
Leaky lifelines

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GE Water & Process Technologies
Global climate change?

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GE Water & Process Technologies
Growth in water scarce regions

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GE Water & Process Technologies
So what can we do?

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GE Water & Process Technologies
Solution?

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GE Water & Process Technologies
Wastewater reuse … converting
wastewater into a fresh water asset
Wastewater
Traditional reuse
wastewater system
Urban … irrigation, fire protection

USES
Industrial … boiler, cooling, process
Agricultural reuse
Environmental & recreational
Groundwater recharge

BENEFITS
Reduced energy
Sustainable supply
Tailored treatment for use
Improved water quality
Reduced demand on fresh water
 Removing contaminants from water
Relative particle size Staphylococcus
Bacteria

Influenza Virus Pseudomonas

H2O Na + Sucrose Hemoglobin Bacteria

Microfiltration
Human Hair
Ultrafiltration (80 μm)

Reverse
Osmosis

0.1nm 1nm 10nm 100nm 1μm 10μm 100μm

Conventional
Filtration

Membrane technologies 18 /
GE Water & Process Technologies
What is a Membrane?
Rejected
Matter

Permeate Permeable Matter Permeate

Support
Material

Membrane
Wastewater reuse
examples
Creating new water sources in
Kuwait
Challenge: Insufficient quality water for irrigation and human consumption
Solution: Purify wastewater for irrigation, use fresh water for drinking

Sulaibiya plant - Kuwait City

• 375,000 m3/day produced

for irrigation
• Frees up fresh water for
human consumption
• World’s largest membrane
based wastewater filtration
project

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GE Water & Process Technologies
Harvesting wastewater from sewers
Challenge: Ongoing drought challenged availability of water for golf
course
Solution: Sewer mining water reuse plant provides irrigation water
Pennant Hills Golf Club
• Australia’s first commercial
sewer mining water reuse plant
• Conserves 100,000 m3/yr of
Australia’s fresh water
• Advanced Membrane
Bioreactor technology
“We are proud to be the first to embrace this innovative approach. It is
bringing us a drought-proof supply of water that minimizes impact on
Australia’s fresh water reserves.”
- Steve Walker, president, Pennant Hills Golf Club 22 /
GE Water & Process Technologies
Creating “NEWater” in Singapore
Challenge: Inadequate supplies of renewable fresh water
Solution: Treat and reuse wastewater effluent for local industry

Bedok NEWater Factory

• Transforming wastewater into
industrial and potable water
• Electronics industry, wafer
fabrication plants, and
commercial cooling towers
• Released back into local
reservoirs for indirect potable
reuse applications

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GE Water & Process Technologies
Overcoming community concerns
Challenge: Overcome concerns of local community regarding reuse
Solution: Sustainable supplies of water to meet growing needs

Kyrene Water Reclamation, Arizona, USA

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GE Water & Process Technologies
Insufficient water to expand output
Challenge: Water scarcity prevented plant expansion
Solution: Water reuse solution met demand and enabled expansion

BP Luggage Point, Australia

• Thermal solution produces

14,000 m3/day of reuse
water
• Water used for cooling and
fire fighting
• Replaced previously potable
water application

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GE Water & Process Technologies
Distributed wastewater solutions
Challenge: Blend wastewater treatment plant into community
Solution: Complete wastewater solution in a “home”

Duckett Creek, Missouri

• Facility provides
wastewater treatment to
1,400 homes
• Integrated UF/MBR
purifies wastewater for
local community without
massive infrastructure

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GE Water & Process Technologies
Reduce total water footprint
Challenge: Reduce water consumption for new plant construction
Solution: Wastewater reuse for cooling water systems

Nestle, Anderson, IN
• Factory and distribution center
for Nestle’s Beverage division,
including Nesquick and
Coffee-Mate products
• 4,160 m3/d Membrane
Bioreactor treats wastewater
• Will provide reuse water to
cooling tower system
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GE Water & Process Technologies
Enablers for widespread water
reuse
Economic
Environmental
Evolutionary
Emotional
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GE Water & Process Technologies
We never know the worth of
water till the well is dry.

~Thomas Fuller 29 /
GE Water & Process Technologies
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GE Water & Process Technologies