GE’s advanced wastewater treatment technology is now in use at the largest membrane bioreactor (MBR) facility in Utah, providing reliable treatment of wastewater that exceeds current regulatory effluent discharge requirements. The Jordan Basin Water Reclamation Facility, a state-of-the-art MBR wastewater treatment facility in the South Valley Sewer District, recently was commissioned and is operating using GE’s ZeeWeed 500 ultrafiltration membranes in its process building.

The membrane filtration system separates the clean water from the solids in the wastewater. Various pumping systems located in the process building are associated with the treatment and filtration processes as well as high-speed turbo-blowers that provide air required to operate the membrane filtration system.

Using MBR technology, the JBWRF was able to significantly reduce its site footprint, compared to conventional wastewater treatment technologies, by eliminating the need for secondary clarifiers. The ZeeWeed membranes will also help the facility meet future nutrient removal and water reuse standards. 

The JBWRF, owned and operated by the South Valley Sewer District, has a current treatment capacity of 15 mgd and is designed to be expanded in the future to an ultimate capacity of 30 mgd in order to meet the community’s growth demands.

“The Jordan Basin facility will continue to see the benefits of installing GE’s MBR technology at their site for many years to come because the technology allows for easy expansion,” says Yuvbir Singh, GE Power & Water general manager, engineered systems – water and process technologies. “Using GE’s ZeeWeed technology, the facility also will be able to treat wastewater that will be clean enough to be discharged, meeting stringent regulatory standards.”

The South Valley Sewer District provides wastewater collection and treatment service to an area of approximately 108 square miles in south Salt Lake County and north Utah County. A 3.25-acre wetland area was constructed north of the treatment facility to mitigate areas affected by the construction project. The wetland will be maintained by the district using treated water from the Jordan Basin facility.

GE’s ZeeWeed 500 reinforced, hollow-fiber membranes have been proven over more than two decades of wastewater treatment and water reuse applications. ZeeWeed 500 technology is an advanced filtration technology that separates particles, bacteria and viruses from water or wastewater. Nearly 1,000 plants worldwide use this technology to produce superior quality drinking water and to meet or exceed stringent wastewater treatment and water reuse standards.

Ultrafiltration uses a semi-permeable membrane barrier to reject suspended solids, bacteria, viruses, endotoxins and other pathogens in water to produce treated water known as permeate with very high purity and low silt density. It serves as a pretreatment for surface water, seawater and biologically treated municipal effluent before reverse osmosis and other membrane water treatment systems. Ultrafiltration also is used to separate suspended solids from solution. ZeeWeed ultrafiltration membranes offer an unmatched combination of ultrafiltration performance, energy efficiency, durability, fast installation, ease of operation and reliability.