First Large-Scale UF System Based in North Dakota

A 2-million-gal-per-day (mgd) ultrafiltration (UF) system commissioned by Wigen Water Technologies in New Town, N.D., is the first large-scale municipal system in the U.S. to utilize Toray’s HFS-2020 UF membrane modules.

The startup of the New Town system signals a serious new entrant into the municipal UF market. This facility, project managed by Bartlett & West, is one of three UF systems ordered from Wigen Water Technologies for the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation to meet the demand for improved drinking water infrastructure, which has been driven by the oil boom in the region.

A 1.4-mgd system at Mandaree, N.D., also uses Toray’s UF membrane modules, as will a 1-mgd system at Twin Buttes, N.D., scheduled to startup in early 2012. Each of these systems draws water from Lake Sakakawea, which is located on the upper reaches of the Missouri River.

Toray’s module is a pressurized outside-in module with hollow fiber PVDF (Polyvinylidene Fluoride) membranes. Toray’s modules have a smaller footprint than other commercially available UF systems and therefore potentially a lower overall capital cost.

Source: Wigen Water Technologies