PUB And MEIDEN Collaborate On Singapore's First UASB-Ceramic MBR Plant To Treat And Recycle Industrial Used Water

The 1 mgd plant will demonstrate the effective use of Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) and Ceramic Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) technologies for industrial used water recycling.

PUB, Singapore’s national water agency and MEIDEN SINGAPORE (MSL), a subsidiary of Meidensha, announced recently the opening of Singapore’s first Ceramic Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) plant coupled with an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) to treat and recycle industrial used water effectively.

Sited at the Jurong Water Reclamation plant with a treatment capacity of one million gallons per day (4,550 cubic meters per day), this is Singapore’s first UASB-Ceramic MBR plant for recycling used water from industrial sources. 
 
The reclamation of industrial used water has conventionally been considered challenging because of the high organic loading in industrial used water.  The combined use of UASB and MBR technologies can achieve a consistent, high-quality output of recycled water.  As a pretreatment system, the USAB can remove organic contaminants efficiently while the downstream Ceramic MBR can produce a higher yield and more consistent water quality. The biogas generation from UASB can also be utilized for in-house power generation.

This collaboration is a result of an MOU signed during the Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) in 2010, following which MSL has been conducting verification tests for the Ceramic MBR system. Following this, MSL is taking the research one step further by collaborating with PUB on a demonstration plant to treat and recycle industrial used water.

This project was supported with a co-funding grant from the Technology Pioneer (TechPioneer) Scheme which encourages water companies to tap on Singapore as a Living Laboratory so that cutting edge technology can be testbedded and commercialised in a real-life environment.  A total of 140 projects involving the test bedding of water solutions have been facilitated at PUB’s installations, and more than 20 test-bedding projects are currently on-going at PUB’s facilities.

“We have been working with private and public sector partners to test-bed potential industrial water solutions such as the ceramic membrane MBR technology that can allow us to reap energy and cost efficiencies in this area. The opening of the ceramic membrane MBR plant is an important step forward in our R&D on industrial water solutions,” said Mr Chew Men Leong, PUB Chief Executive and Executive Director of the Environment and Water Industry Programe Office ( EWI), an interagency outfit to spearhead the growth and development of the water industry in Singapore

Along with this investment, MSL will establish an R&D centre and assembly factory for ceramic membrane units in Singapore, as well as a facility for after-sales service in Asia. Singapore will also serve as MSL’s regional Headquarters for water business in Asia.

“We welcome the expansion of Meiden’s water business in Singapore and believe it will contribute to the growth of Singapore as a global hydrohub. This investment by Meiden is testimony to how companies can leverage Singapore as a living laboratory to develop, test and commercialise innovative industrial water solutions,” said Mr Lim Kok Kiang, Assistant Managing Director, Singapore Economic Development Board and Deputy Executive Director of EWI.

About MEIDEN SINGAPORE 
Founded in 1975, Meiden Singapore is fully owned overseas subsidiary by Meidensha and has been manufacturing transformers and switchgears primarily for the Asian market.  It will soon be the home of Ceramic membranes assembly in Singapore by 2015
 
The principle place of business is: 5 Jalan Pesawat Jurong Industrial Estate in Singapore. 
The number of employee: 350 people. Capital: 25.4 million Singapore dollars. Annual Revenue of Fiscal Year 2011: 106 million Singapore dollars. 

About PUB
PUB is a statutory board under the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources. It is the water agency that manages Singapore’s water supply, water catchment and used water in an integrated way.

About PUB’s tagline: Water for All: Conserve, Value, Enjoy 
PUB has ensured a diversified and sustainable supply of water for Singapore with the Four National Taps (local catchment water, imported water, NEWater, desalinated water).

To provide water for all, PUB calls on all to play our part to conserve water, keep our water catchments and waterways clean and build a relationship with water so we can enjoy our water resources. If we all play our part, we can have enough water for all our needs – for industry, for living, for life. 

For more information, visit www.pub.gov.sg

About Environment and Water Industry Programme Office
The Environment & Water Industry Programme Office (EWI) was set up in May 2006 to spearhead the development of the environment and water industry. Led by Singapore’s national water agency, PUB and working with partner agencies such as EDB Singapore, IE Singapore and SPRING Singapore, EWI adopts a three-pronged strategy with technology as a key pillar. The vision is to grow value-added (VA) contribution from the water sector from $0.5B (0.3% of GDP) in 2003 to $1.7B (0.6% of GDP) by 2015.