ACWA Emirates completes MBR water treatment works for Saudi Aramco Shaybah Oil Field residential complex

DUBAI, JANUARY 9, 2017 -- ACWA Emirates, part of the ACWA Group, a leading water and wastewater solutions provider, 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.

With the emphasis on the highest levels of water recovery, essential in the remote and challenging conditions of the Empty Quarter, the new plant incorporates the latest Membrane Bio-reactor (MBR) technology to provide increased capacity and environmental performance, replacing a conventional and out of date sewage treatment plant originally built by ACWA in 1997.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 750m³ 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.

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.

Gary Jackson, Managing Director at ACWA Emirates said: "ACWA for this second wastewater treatment plant at the expanding Shaybah oil field is a great endorsement of our capabilities. The team has focussed on developing a robust solution capable of handling the harsh desert environment and built around our leading MEMTREAT membrane bio-reactor (MBR) technology to meet Aramco’s strict environmental goals for effluent quality and water reuse."

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 Bio-reactor 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.

Selecting ACWA's MBR solution brings a number of key benefits not least a compact wastewater treatment solution that provides a high quality disinfected effluent without the requirement for primary or secondary clarification and tertiary treatments associated with conventional activated sludge processes. 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.