One of the big challenges of the city of Campinas, located in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, has been the treatment of sewage. A significant amount is still being discharged into rivers without treatment, jeopardizing the safety of the water available downstream for the population.
As part of the city’s master plan for sanitation, the SANASA Capivari II project is one of the actions the city is taking to achieve 100% coverage. The Capivari II project is the first municipal wastewater plant in Brazil to use advanced-membrane technology. The plant has been designed to treat 365 l/s in its first phase. SANASA has plans to expand this plant capacity in the future.
GE, jointly with Odebrecht (one of the largest construction companies in Brazil), has been selected to supply and build the entire wastewater treatment plant for SANASA, using the advanced ZeeWeed immersed-membrane bioreactor technology. The project will be divided in two phases and is expected to treat 182.5 l/s in each of these phases.
One of the most important benefits of this project for SANASA is that, besides providing a superior and stable wastewater quality effluent, it allows the sale of the treated effluent, which can be used by the industries of the Campinas region.
GE’s innovative ZeeWeed membrane technology uses immersed hollow-fiber membranes to separate particles from water using microscopic pores. This technology produces high-quality treated effluent by removing virtually all harmful pathogens and suspended solids. ZeeWeed 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. ZeeWeed membrane technology is an approved product under ecomagination, GE’s corporate wide initiative to solve tough environmental challenges.
Similar projects are projected to be implemented in other Brazilian municipalities, considering the amount of investments needed to achieve the water and wastewater universal coverage in Brazil.
The advanced membrane technology will be an increasing technological trend in municipalities due to the qualitative and quantitative beneficial aspects of water and wastewater treatment.
