ACWA Emirates completes MBR water treatment works for Saudi Aramco Shaybah oil field residential complex
ACWA Emirates, part of the ACWA Group, has completed a new state-of-the art wastewater treatment plant for Saudi Aramco, the world’s top exporter of crude oil and natural gas, to support the residential complex at the company’s expanding Shaybah oil field in the Empty Quarter.
The highest possible levels of water recovery are essential in the remote and challenging conditions of the Empty Quarter. The new plant incorporates the latest membrane bioreactor technology to provide increased capacity and environmental performance, replacing a conventional and out of date sewage treatment plant originally built by ACWA in 1997.
The new plant is designed to treat a works flow of 750 m3 per day with sufficient additional capacity to support growing demand at the Shaybah Field and is delivering 99% water recovery with high quality effluent for use in irrigation, in line with Aramco’s strict environmental quality standards.
The new plant is designed to treat a works flow of 750 m3 per day
Under the contract ACWA has been responsible for all aspects of design, engineering, installation and commissioning for the new plant including a six month operation and maintenance package to provide assistance and training. The 20-month project was handed over in December 2016.
Key components of the new plant include inlet pre-treatment headworks incorporating screens, grit and FOG removal, evaporation ponds with feed and return pump chambers, anoxic tanks, aeration tanks, plus the membrane bioreactor tank with air blowers, self-cleaning jet filters and all controls and instrumentation. ACWA has also been careful to re-use plant elements where possible. An existing aeration tank has been upgraded and modified to serve as a balance tank and the existing sludge drying beds have also been retained.
A smaller footprint in turn means a reduced requirement for extended civil works and with fewer process stages the solution requires less intervention for preventative and corrective maintenance. The solution also ensures flexibility of operation and can be simply upgraded with additional MBR modules as demand increases.