GE system to help eliminate over a billion gallons of wastewater discharge into Yellow River

One of China's largest polyvinyl chloride and ion membrane caustic soda producers, Elion Chemical Industry Co. Ltd. in Erdos City, Inner Mongolia will virtually eliminate its wastewater discharge to the Yellow River using an advanced water reuse and wastewater evaporation system using an ecomagination-certified technology from GE Water & Process Technologies.

These technologies are said to meet increasingly stringent environmental standards for wastewater treatment and water reuse.

Once completed in early-2010, the system will enable Elion Chemical Industry Co. Ltd to protect water quality in the 5,500-km (3,400-mi) Yellow River, which suffers from rising wastewater discharge due to rapid economic growth and urban development. The GE water reuse system will also dramatically reduce the amount of water that the chemical plant withdraws from the river, alleviating the persistent decline in the river's water flow from overuse and drought.

Decreasing industrial water demand is critical to ensure continued economic growth in Erdos City and throughout China's water-scarce northern regions. The rapidly growing city is currently facing a shortfall in its water supply of about 272 million cubic meters (71.9 billion gallons) per year needed to achieve the level of development indicated in its 2010-2015 plan.

GE's advanced water technologies will recycle about 90 percent of the wastewater from Elion Chemical Industry Co. Ltd., or about 4.45 million cubic meters (1.17 billion gallons) of water per year. Combining ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis membranes with thermal evaporator technology from GE's broad portfolio, the system will produce high purity reusable water that will help ease demand on the city's water supply and provide environmental benefits to the Yellow River.

"GE's broad portfolio of advanced water treatment solutions can enable cities along the Yellow River and throughout China to build systems that will help them to meet the environmental goals set out in China's five year plan," said Steve Fludder, vice-president global sales, GE Water & Process Technologies. "We are committed to supporting China's efforts to restore and protect the health and availability of its water resources and are investing heavily in our operations in the country. Some recent GE initiatives include a new China Technology Center of Excellence for Water Reuse and a new manufacturing plant in Wuxi."

"We are extremely proud to be the first PVC manufacturer in China to implement GE's advanced zero-liquid discharge system," said Wang Wenbiao, Chairman of China Elion Resources Group. "This project will set new environmental and operational benchmarks for Chinese industry and will help the nation to protect the quantity and quality of our water resources."

Over the past several years, Inner Mongolia's gross domestic product has grown by an average of more than 16 percent per year, well above rates in the rest of the country. As water demand in the province continues to rise and place increasing pressure on the Yellow River, GE's broad portfolio will play a major role in helping industries to adequately treat and reuse water. GE's water reuse and ZLD systems are used throughout the world to reduce water demand and protect the environment for industries such as oil extraction and refining, power generation, chemical manufacturing, coal liquefaction, fertilizer production, and microelectronics manufacturing.