Large UF Plant on Final Tests in Minneapolis

(February 7, 2006, as appeared in WaterTech Online)

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — What its engineering design firm is calling the largest membrane ultrafiltration (UF) plant for potable water in the Western Hemisphere is now in operation and will soon undergo performance testing, according to a Feb. 2 press release from the design firm, Black & Veatch.

The plant is in Columbia Heights, MN, a northern exurb of Minneapolis; operated by the Minneapolis Water Works (MWW), it has a current capacity of 70 million gallons per day (mgd), and will eventually be able to operate at 78 mgd, according to the release.

Black & Veatch says only a 72 mgd facility in Singapore, which the company also designed, is now producing a greater volume of potable water with membrane ultrafiltration, the release said.

The plant's UF system replaces what had been a granular media filtration process used by the MWW; the new plant treats lime-softened, clarified, variable-quality Mississippi River water and provides high-log removal of pathogens such as Cryptosporidium, Black & Veatch said.

The release said the plant has control, laboratory and educational facilities, and operates with 40 UF units supplied by the Ionics, Inc. division of GE Infrastructure, Water & Process Technologies; it also includes storage and feed equipment for membrane cleaning.

Copyright 2006, WaterTech Online