The Development and Use of a Cost Estimating Tool to Compare Submerged and Pressurized Low Pressure Membrane Filtration to Granular Media Filtration

This paper describes a preliminary level design tool that was developed to compare foot print requirements, capital costs, and operational costs between granular media filtration and membrane technologies, both submerged and pressurized. The model creates an output for each filtration technology that allows an engineer to compare capital, operational and lifecycle costs as well as site footprint and associated land and building requirements.. This tool allows a preliminary analysis of the various technologies to be completed in minutes rather than days. The development of this tool has allowed the evaluation of different treatment technologies across a comprehensive scope of supply for various feed water qualities & plant capacities.