SCHOLARSHIPS & AWARDS
summit award® recipients
the project
achievement award
The Petro-Canada / City of Edmonton
Membrane Technology Project
This award is presented to a project demonstrating engineering, geological or geophysical skills and representing a substantial contribution to technical progress and the betterment of society. The Association will give credit to those firms and/or persons assuming key roles in bringing the project to completion.
There is increasing demand for clean water in the Edmonton region and a growing
concern for water quality in the North Saskatchewan River. Industries
in the area, including several refineries, are facing increased water needs. In
addition, Alberta Environment is balancing water allocation with the need for
responsible watershed protection. The City of Edmonton is leading the way
with solutions to these issues by making high-quality recycled water available
from the Gold Bar Wastewater Treatment Plant to local industries and recreational
and municipal users. In December 2005, Canada’s largest membrane-based
water re-use facility began delivering water to its first industrial customer,
Petro-Canada. The initial production of five megalitres/day will increase to
15 megalitres/day by 2008. Ultimately, the facility will be capable of
producing 40 megalitres/day.
The City of Edmonton and Petro-Canada negotiated a partnership arrangement to implement the project. It called for the City to design, build and operate the membrane facility with funding provided by Petro-Canada. Petro-Canada designed and built a 5.5 kilometre pipeline to carry the treated effluent from the Gold Bar plant to its refinery. Responsibility for operating the pipeline rests with Strathcona County.
The Membrane Filtration Facility was designed by Associated Engineering Ltd. and constructed by Sure-Form Construction Ltd. The membrane system was supplied by Zenon Environmental Inc. Constructing the membrane facility meant contending with limited onsite access, combined with maintaining plant capacities and treated effluent limits in accordance with the Gold Bar plant’s Approval to Operate. The pipeline was designed by Bel-MK Engineering Ltd. and constructed by Ledcor Pipelines for Petro-Canada. Installing the pipeline was no less challenging because the line runs through some environmentally-sensitive areas in Edmonton’s acclaimed river valley. The pipeline is suspended under two bridges and winds its way through two city parks and one provincial park.
Petro-Canada will be using the treated effluent as feedstock for its demineralization process and ultimately as process water. The City of Edmonton Parks and Recreation Department, Strathcona County and a cross-country ski club will also use the water. This project is an Alberta first for providing high-quality re-use water as an alternative to increasing demands on the North Saskatchewan River.