ABB to automate membrane bioreactor at Singapore’s Tuas water reclamation plant

ABB has secured a contract from PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, to deliver a site-wide plant monitoring and control system for the Tuas water reclamation plant (WRP).

The contract is worth around $30m (S$40.5m) and involves the deployment process control systems across multiple facilities at the site.

ABB will leverage its ABB Ability 800xA control platform and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) for the deployment of the process control systems.

The overall system is claimed to integrate over 100,000 input/output signals from mulitiple assets into one unified control platform, thereby offering full visibility of operations across the plant network.

ABB will also provide advance process control solutions to enhance the performance and efficiency of the plant.

ABB Industrial Automation president Peter Terwiesch said: “Water demand in Singapore is currently about 430 million gallons a day, with homes consuming 45% and industry taking up the rest. By 2060, the need for water is expected to almost double.

“To meet this demand, it is essential to close the water loop and ensure every drop is collected, treated, and reused. We are happy to support this quest to treat and purify water at the Tuas Water Reclamation Plant, and simultaneously help to manage and save energy needed in the process.”

Tuas WRP is claimed to have 30% more compact footprint than conventional plants.

It will receive used water flows from the western Singapore through two different deep tunnels. Using membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology, the plant will then treat and purify 650,000m3/day of domestic used water to generate NEWater.

This is in addition to the 150,000m3/day of used industrial water treated and sent back to industries for reuse.

MBR is a filtration process in which membranes are used to separate different substances.

Tuas WRP is considered essential to the second phase of Singapore’s Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS), which is estimated to cost about $4.8bn (S$6.5bn).

ABB Energy Industries president Brandon Spencer said: “The Tuas Water Reclamation Plant has been conceived as a compact and energy self-sufficient installation. Our solution will enable a small team of operators on site to gain complete visibility of operations and access to all process data to take decisions that optimise performance in real time.”

In 2018, ABB partnered with water service manager TaKaDu to offer a water management solution to Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam.