Russian oil company Bashneft will use GE’s new membrane bioreactor (MBR) with membrane-accommodating carrier (MACarrier) for treatment of refinery wastewater from the Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim oil processing complex and other enterprises of the Northern Industrial Block of Ufa. Strict discharge regulations and the need to reuse the treated water led Bashneft to also choose GE's ZeeWeed MBR, electrodialysis reversal (EDR), reverse osmosis (RO) and ion-selective ionic exchange technologies for its new wastewater treatment plant.

Today’s announcement represents the first application of GE’s MBR with MACarrier technology in Russia. It is designed to help industrial customers meet stringent water discharge requirements and enable greater water reuse while achieving cost savings and increased operating efficiency. Bashneft will use GE’s MBR with MACarrier technology to enable more efficient removal of oil products, phenols and other toxic substances from wastewater.

“Bashneft is committed to having the best water treatment system for our oil processing complex. GE’s advanced technologies will help us comply with stringent water discharge regulations for chemical oxygen demand and 20 other parameters. GE’s wastewater treatment equipment will enable us to make the water of the Belaya River cleaner,” said Alexander Korsik, president and chairman of the management board, OJSC Oil Processing Joint-Stock Company Bashneft.

The total volume of treated wastewater will be up to 84,000 m3 per day (84 MLD), which will be an unprecedented amount in terms of the volume of wastewater to be treated and reused at an industrial facility.

Bashneft will be using GE technology to rebuild its biological effluent treatment facilities to comply with state regulations governing effluent treatment and to enable it to reuse treated water. The equipment will be delivered by the end of 2014, and the startup of production facilities is scheduled for the end of 2015.

Advanced effluent treatment methods allow for the reuse of water and the minimizing of water intake. A distinctive feature of GE’s water treatment package is the absence of primary and secondary clarifiers.

Activated sludge is separated from treated water by ZeeWeed 500 ultrafiltration membranes at the aeration tanks discharge. Solid waste dewatering is performed by compact centrifuges. These features ensure the reduction of the area taken up by effluent treatment facilities and eliminate the possibility of environmental pollution.

“We’ve worked with Bashneft throughout the pilot program up to present day to devise a strategy that works best for treating the water from the Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim oil processing complex. GE’s advanced effluent treatment technology allows most of the treated water to be reused and reduces fresh water consumption. The project also signifies the first application of our new MBR with MACarrier technology in Russia,” said Yuvbir Singh, general manager, engineered systems—water and process technologies for GE Power & Water.

In April-July 2013, a successful pilot study of different technologies was conducted by GE in cooperation with Bashneft and State Unitary Enterprise—Institute of Petroleum Refining and Petrochemistry of the Republic of Bashkortostan, which demonstrated technological feasibility of refinery wastewater purification in compliance with the strict requirements of environmental legislation of the Russian Federation. According to the results of the preliminary study and further feasibility analyses, Bashneft chose GE’s MBR with MACarrier, EDR, RO and ion-selective ion exchange technologies as the basis for the project to upgrade the biological treatment facilities (BTF) of the Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim branch. To continue development of the BTF project, Bashneft requested that GE develop the basic design of the main technological equipment and processes. This was completed before the end of 2013.

About Bashneft

Bashneft is a vertically integrated oil company operating in more than 20 regions in Russia and abroad. In 2012, the company ranked eighth in oil production (15.4 million tons) and fifth in crude oil processing (20.8 million) among Russia’s oil companies. Bashneft accounts for 3 percent of total production and 7.8 percent of total oil refining in Russia. Bashneft oil refinery biological treatment facilities, located at its Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim branch, were commissioned in 1958. Industrial effluents, storm sewage and utility fluids from three Bashneft oil refineries, Ufaorgsyntez plant, Cherkassy oil pumping station and a number of other Ufa Northern Industrial Hub enterprises are currently taken to biological treatment facilities after preliminary mechanical treatment. Treatment facilities were modernized in 1983.

About GE

GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.

About GE Power & Water

GE Power & Water provides customers with a broad array of power generation, energy delivery and water process technologies to solve their challenges locally. Power & Water works in all areas of the energy industry including renewable resources such as wind and solar; biogas and alternative fuels; and coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy. The business also develops advanced technologies to help solve the world’s most complex challenges related to water availability and quality. Power & Water’s six business units include Distributed Power, Nuclear Energy, Power Generation Products, Power Generation Services, Renewable Energy and Water & Process Technologies. Headquartered in Schenectady, N.Y., Power & Water is GE’s largest industrial business.

See the site of Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim refinery