Siemens will market and sell the system, which combines membrane bioreactor technology with additional purification processes to treat organic wastewaters.
The company said that the EcoRight MBR facilitates re-use of treated effluent, feeding them directly to reverse osmosis equipment for reuse as boiler feed or cooling water, thereby complying with environmental discharge requirements.
The new wastewater treatment system, first conceived by Saudi Aramco and now under joint development by Siemens Water Technologies and Aramco Services, another Saudi Aramco subsidiary company, is designed to enhance wastewater treatment process for meeting regulatory requirements and water reuse applications.
The system, which is currently under final technical evaluation, is anticipated to be commercially available in early 2011. Apart from the EcoRight MBR, the two companies are also working on the development and future commercialization of other wastewater treatment technologies.
Isam Bayat, vice president of engineering service at Saudi Aramco, said: “Saudi Aramco’s long experience in operating a wide range of wastewater treatment systems provided valuable knowledge and insight, which helped to formulate the innovative ideas leading to the development of the EcoRight MBR.
“This innovation, combined with Siemens’ capabilities as a world-class developer of wastewater treatment technologies culminated in the development of the EcoRight MBR.”
