Federated Co-Operatives Limited’s Co-op Refinery Complex in Regina, Saskatchewan, is named Industrial Water Project of the Year at the annual Global Water Awards. The award reportedly recognizes the project, commissioned in 2016, as the most impressive technical or environmental achievement in the field of industrial water.
Using GE Water & Process Technologies’ advanced water recycling equipment, the Co-op Refinery Complex became the first refinery in North America to treat 100% of its wastewater on-site and then recycle the treated effluent for steam production, according to GE. Steam is used for heating, hydrogen production, to power equipment and for cooling towers.
Several years ago, the refinery expanded its operations to produce 30,000 more barrels of oil per day (BPD) taking it from 100,000 BPD to a 130,000-BPD facility, which increased its water usage. The refinery’s current water source is a blend of well water and city water, and restrictions on water use mandated that the Co-op Refinery Complex find a new source of water. Water & Process Technologies offered a solution combining ZeeWeed membrane bioreactor technology and a high-efficiency reverse osmosis system to recycle and reuse 2 million gallons of wastewater a day. Water & Process Technologies also provides the refinery with wastewater specialty chemicals and monitoring solutions to provide system optimization.
With a fully operational wastewater improvement project, the Co-op Refinery Complex’s reliance on raw water from the city of Regina aquifer will reportedly decrease by the equivalent of 3,100 households in Regina on an annual basis. By recycling 100% of its wastewater on-site, the Co-op Refinery Complex significantly decreases volatile organic compound emissions from its wastewater ponds and reduces the associated nuisance odors, according to GE.
For more information, visit: www.ge.com
