It Costs How Much? How MBR Economics are Changing the Game

This paper describes the experience of the La Center WWTP plant upgrade to MBR and reinforces the notion that MBR technology is cost competitive with conventional approaches for wastewater treatment. MBR?s higher-than-conventional MLSS concentration presents users with a unique opportunity to substantially reduce biosolids generation. The flexibility to process water on an as-needed basis allows the membrane equipment (associated pumps, blowers, etc.) to operate along their performance curves more efficiently, resulting in much greater energy efficiency. The most clear-cut savings bonanza is the near elimination of potable water usage on site. By reusing high quality MBR effluent (95% reuse for La Center), potable water costs fell to negligible levels