TREATMENT OF AN ETHYLENE PLANT WASTE WATER WITH A MEMBRANE BIOREACTOR: SUMMARY OF PILOT PLANT RESULTS IN THE FACE OF VARIABLE WASTE WATER CONDITIONS

A major chemical company has planned an expansion of their Singapore operations. A new waste water treatment plant (WWTP) is included in the planned project, and the company is evaluating options for improving the technology in terms of reliability, effluent quality, and reuse opportunities.The company was looking for a biological process that was robust in terms of effluent quality in the face of variability in feed COD, TKN, temperature, and Oil & Grease. A smaller footprint was also desirable. ExxonMobil considered the membrane bioreactor (MBR) process as a potential solution, if shown to be operable on the plant's current feed waste water.A pilot study conducted by Siemens Water Technologies in conjunction with an independent third party showed that a Petro™ MBR pilot system met all necessary requirements, and conditions were optimized in the pilot test phase so that a robust design can be specified in the next stage of the project.