German inge AG equips water treatment plants in Belgium with ultrafiltration technology

In the world water development report of UNESCO in 2003, Belgium has been the red lantern bearer with regards to water quality. Today, strict regulations administer the use of water and also the rates for water and waste water have increased. Looking for a long-term secure and cost efficient technology, two projects have now been awarded to the German company inge AG .
Comprehensive tests have been carried out in order to check the stability of the ultrafiltration membranes and to prove its reliability when dealing with the worst feed water qualities. Ralf Krueger, International Sales

Manager, summarizes the test results as follows: “Our dizzer® modules had to resist even the hardest water conditions, but on the other hand, this actually gives us a chance to show unique strengths of our extremely stable Multibore® membrane.” inge AG, a German technology leader in the field of drinking water, process water and waste water treatment, has therefore been awarded two projects in which its dizzer® modules will be implemented.
In the first plant water that has previously been used for the washing of vegetables is treated. Depending on the kind of vegetable, the water is polluted at very varying levels. After a biological pre-treatment, the water is immediately fed into the UF system. The varying pollution level of the water therefore reflects a large challenge for the stability of the membrane. The same applies for the second water treatment plant which provides process water for industrial companies. The water is taken from the river Gent which quality also varies depending on the season and on the amount of industrial pollution fed into the river.
Due to the relatively bad feed water quality, the membrane must be backwashed very frequently in order to clean the filter pores effectively. The intense pollution and the high frequency of the backwash stress the fibres enormously. Fibre breakages might occur – a risk that the operator cannot afford. The fact that even under high loads the Multibore® membrane did not show any fibre breakage has been one of the key decision criteria.
In addition to the reliability and safety of the technology also cost efficiency plays a major role. The in-out filtration method implemented by inge offers the end user significant cost advantages.

This makes the use of this technology not only secure but in addition also very efficient. Both water treatment plants are planned to be commissioned in the first half of this year.