January 17, 2007
Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corp.

Microza™ selected for largest-scale waterworks in the US
 
The Microza™ hollow-fiber membrane filtration system has been selected for a new waterworks facility to serve the metropolitan area of Minneapolis, Minnesota, with full-capacity operation scheduled to begin in January 2011. Located in Fridley, the plant will have a water treatment capacity of 360 thousand m3/day. This will make it one of the largest drinking water plants in the US, and among the largest plants anywhere to utilize a pressurized membrane filtration system for water purification. Selection was concluded after extensive testing and evaluation by the Minneapolis Water Works, confirming the outstanding performance of the Microza™ system.

Membrane filtration offers many advantages over conventional water treatment by sedimentation and sand filtration, notably the ability to efficiently and reliably achieve high rates of removal of pathogenic microorganisms such as cryptosporidium. With stringent regulations for removal of cryptosporidium from drinking water supplies scheduled to come into effect in the US, the adoption of large-scale membrane filtration systems for water treatment is projected to grow substantially.

Since 1997, Microza™ systems have been adopted at over two hundred waterworks plants in the US, including those currently under construction. While membrane filtration has generally been considered most suitable for smaller-scale installations, the excellent scalability of Microza™ systems has enabled their successful adoption at many large facilities. Asahi Kasei Chemicals will continue to pursue orders for the largest-scale water-treatment systems, which make the most of the Microza™ membrane's high mechanical strength and chemical resistance for stable production of high-quality water.

Outline of the Fridley Membrane Filtration Plant
Location: Fridley, Minnesota
Capacity: 360 thousand m3/day
Membrane system delivery: July 2009
Full-capacity operation: January 2011

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