Ordos City wastewater treatment facility view Toray

Coal Liquefaction, also known as a 'Coal to Liquid Fuels' (CTL) process, generates wastewater that requires advanced treatment for reuse and to meet strict guidelines for environmental discharge. Ordos City, located in the Inner Mongolia region of China, is home to some of the world's largest CTL facilities. A region with a semi-arid climate and little rainfall per year, a CTL facility in Ordos took initiatives to purify its wastewater to acceptable standards for reuse and meet zero liquid discharge (ZLD).

CHALLENGES
The industrial effluent generated by CTL facilities generally contains pollutants that are complex and difficult to break down. The Ordos CTL facility required a treatment system that could produce high-quality filtrate while being cost-effective and meet operational flexibility and safety. However, this site was the only CTL plant employing direct liquefaction (DCL) in China, and the plant could not model their wastewater treatment needs after reference sites. With the existing conventional treatment scheme, fluctuations in water quality recurred, and the color and COD parameters remained high. After unsuccessful trials using various biochemical treatment options, the end-user and consultants began evaluating membrane technologies.

Toray's MEMBRAY™ technology demonstrated the ability to deliver stable operation and long service life under complex feed water qualities. This project has helped cut down freshwater consumption and achieve ZLD goals with reduced footprint, and has become a key benchmark for other CTL facilities to recycle wastewater sustainably.

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