Refinery runs on the flow of recycled water
04 June, 2008
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Lord Mayor Campbell Newman today officially opened a plant to supply recycled water to the Caltex petroleum refinery at Lytton.
Cr Newman said the Wynnum Micro Filtration Reverse Osmosis (MFRO) Plant, situated adjacent to the Caltex petroleum refinery, made it possible to treat and reuse most wastewater flowing into the plant.
“This $35 million facility will save up to 4.5 million litres of precious drinking water every day,” he said.
“It uses Micro Filtration and Reverse Osmosis (MFRO) processes to produce recycled water that is safe for industrial use.”
Cr Newman said Council completed the first stage of major upgrades at the Wynnum Water Reclamation Plant in late 2007.
“Already, the mass of nitrogen discharged into Moreton Bay has reduced from 75 tonnes to just 11 tonnes per year – a reduction of 85 per cent,” he said.
“With less nitrogen in our waterways, we will see an improvement in the health of sea grass and other marine species, plus a reduced chance of algal growth.”
Construction of the MFRO plant began in April 2007 and the plant has been producing Class A+ recycled water since before the end of March this year.
The upgrade, which was subsidised by the State Government, was planned and implemented by the Brisbane Water Enviro Alliance (BWEA), a collaborative project team made up of Brisbane City Council, John Holland Group, Aquatec Maxcon, MWH Australia and John Wilson & Partners.
Cr Newman said this was an example of how Council could team up with major industry to ensure a sustainable future for Brisbane.
The Wynnum plant is the last of four water reclamation plants upgraded by the BWEA. Upgrades have been completed at Wacol, Sandgate and Oxley Creek Water Reclamation Plants.