Issue 49/2013 - Sasol and GE develop a new wastewater treatment technology

Sasol and GE have developed a new anaerobic membrane bioreactor technology (AnMBR) that can clean effluent from Fischer-Tropsch plants while also providing by-product biogas for power generation
.
The technology will be further developed
on a new demonstration plant at Sasolburg's R&D campus in Sasolburg, South Africa.

AnMBR uses anaerobic microorganisms capable of living in hypoxic environments, such as the sediment layers
of lakes, dams and oceans.
Sasol currently uses aerobic microorganisms to treat wastewater
from gas-to-oil (GTL) and coal-to-liquids (CTL) plants.
The by-product of the Fischer-Tropsch process is wastewater rich in organic acids and alcohols, which conventional (aerobic) treatment technology treats
by converting organic matter into carbon dioxide.
Anaerobes used in AnMBR can break down complex organic matter into simple components such as sugars as food for microorganisms
.
In addition, the decomposition process will produce a methane-rich biogas that can be used for electricity production, which will lead to an increase
in the overall efficiency of the GTL process.
(Pang)