Modular ABMet System to Reduce Selenium Discharge

GE has introduced a modular version of the company’s pioneering ABMet wastewater treatment system. ABMet is a patented biological water treatment system that uses naturally occurring microbes to reduce the amounts of selenium and other metals that can escape from coal mines and power plants and enter US freshwater supplies.

GE’s ABMet process involves runningwastewater through a biologically active filter, which is “seeded” with naturally occurring microbes that target selenium and other potentially toxic metals. While selenium is typically difficult to remove fromwastewater, ABMet enables the metal to be captured and converted into an easy-to-treat form.

Most of the initial ABMet systems that have been installed in the United States feature customized designs that enable mining and utility customers to meet their site-specific compliance requirements. However, in response to customers seeking a cost-effective system that could be installed quicker than custom-designed ABMet systems, GE now is offering its bioreactor watertreatment product in a scalable, modular format that further reduces installation time and overall project costs.

 The new modular ABMet system is particularly well-suited to meet the operational, regulatory and economic priorities of the coal mining industry.

 Earlier versions of customised ABMet systems are operating at several mining sites and four coal-fired power plants in North Carolina. In April 2011, GE announced that utility American Electric Power (AEP) would become the third U.S. utility to install an ABMet system at one of its coal-fired power stations to comply with its water permit requirements. AEP is installing ABMet at its Mountaineer power plant in West Virginia.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency first established a national water quality standard for selenium in 1987. In 2011, the agency is expected to propose a revised limit based on current selenium levels in fish and also is developing revised effluent limitation guidelines for the steam-electric power industry, which are expected to be released in draft form in 2012.

ABMet is certified under ecomagination, GE’s corporate-wide commitment to address challenges such as the need for cleaner, more efficient sources ofenergy, reduced emissions and abundant sources of clean water.