General Electric ABMet Correspondence 

ERG, technical contractor to EPA, contacted General Electric (GE) regarding input on the cost 

methodology for estimated costs associated with its ABMet anoxic/anaerobic biological reactor 

system. The following PDF includes a compilation of responses between ERG and GE 

regarding specific costing elements including equipment capital costs, installation costs, nutrient 

costs and dosages, electricity requirements, operating and maintenance labor requirements, and 

backwash flow rates. Elements claimed as CBI are highlighted in yellow. 
1 Cost Calculations 

Based on the attached curves contained with this letter, GE praposes the following structure 


modifications to the equations within the 22 March memo: 


Equipment Capital Cost = (1) 

-i~BJ) __-'-­

Where: 


y = Equipment capital cost in USD 


x = Design plant flow rate in gallons per minute (gpm) 


Installation Capital Cost = (2) 

Equipment Capital Cost X Installed Cost Factor 

Where: 


Installed Cost Factor = 


(CVil (3) 


y =Installed Cost Factor as a percentage of Equipment Capital Cost 


x = Design plant flow rate in gallons per minute (gpm) 

Nutrient Consumption = Nutrient consumption in gallons of nutrient per 1.000 gallons of 

water treated as per Section 2. Item 4 of this letter. 

Nutrient cost per gallon == ( GBI..') 

ABMet® Consumption == 0.36 kWh per lOOO gallons of water treated as per Section 2. Item 5 

of this letter. 

# wor,,"s (FTE) == GE recomm~nds calculation based on one (1) FTE as a requirement 

for the ABMft® system alone based on the following requirements: 

Operation Frequency Duration Min worker # 

Bulk Nutrient Refill l/month 2 hr 1 

Sampling (estimated) l/week 4 hr 1 

Cell Backflush* varies 3 hr 1 

Daily Plant Inspection daily 1 hr 1 

Weekly Plant Walk down weekly 2 hr 1 

Monthly Plant Maintenance (probe 

cleaning. etc) 

monthly 1 day 1 

Weekly Estimate - 18 hrs 
ppgy

Addition ofthe calculated GE equipment cost plus the calculated BOP/installation 

cost will yield an estimated total project capital cost. This combined cost is 

estimated to be +/- 25%. 

These costs include the same assumptions as the December 20091 curve other than 

the geographical limitation: 

• 	 Unionized contractor labor is assumed 

• 	 No special seismic criteria are incorporated 

• 	 Costs are based on executing project structure of consortium between GE 

and contractor with balance of plant engineering as a sub-contractor 

• 	 Costs are based on ABMet® system being an 'island' with integration into 

the full power plant system no being included (e.g. DCS interfaces. tie-in 

with existing wastewater plant. etc. omitted) 

• 	 Costs are assuming integration ofABMet® system into larger waste water 

facility. for example integrating ABMet® following conventional 

physical/chemical treatment with ABMet® backwash waste recycled to 

conventional system for solids removal 

1 "CBI ABMet® Cost CurveH Letter from J. Harwood GE to Sarah Holman ERG doted 17 December. 2009. 
submittal: 

• 	 Utility overhead and labor 

• 	 Plant tie-in/integration (e.g. DCS interface, feed water, effluent water line to 

discharge, etc) 

• 	 Pilings, caissons, etc 

• 	 Permitting 

• 	 Financing charges 

• 	 Other waste water processes such as pre or post-treatment, dewatering 

• 	 Backwash waste disposal/solids handling 

b. 	 Please provide a description of the assumed system design used as the basis for the 

provided cost curve. For example. how many bioreactor trains are assumed. how 

many bioreactor cells are assumed per train. what is the design residence time through 

each bioreactor cell. etc. 
600 6 15 x 15 x 26

800 8 15 x 15 x 26 

1000 10 15 x 15 x 26 

c. 	 Is the system design based on standard-sized bioreactor cells that are designed to 

receive a maximum flow rate through each cell and where additional traihS are added 

to accommodate increased flow? What are the deSign and maximum flow rates for 

each bioreactor cell? What determines whether additional trains are needed? How do 

total capital costs vary between configurations? 

For all systems (not including the 50 and 100 gpm systems), the designs are based 

on all trains operating optimally for the design flow rate. In events such as 

backwashing. the piping sized so that the remaining bioreactors can accommodate 

the full design flow over the brief duration ofthe backwash events or in the event 

that an individual bioreactor is to be taken off-line for service while still 

maintaining performance. 

2 ERG Memo to J. Harwood of GE dated 22 March. 2011. EPA DCN: SE00559.C1. 

3 EBCT = Empty Bed Contact Time. This is defined as the required reactor process volumelflow rate NOT including 

the displacement of the media. To compare this with previous correspondence using the term HRT (Hydraulic 

Retention Time). multiply the HRT by a foetor of 2 to arrive at EBCT. 
related engineering is included within the GE equipment scope. Insurance under 

the GE scope is only limited to insurance carried by GE for GE supplied 

services/liability. Insurance coverage such as builders' risk is included under 

installation. 

GE Capital Equipment Scope: 

• 	 All pumps 

• 	 All process valves 

• 	 All process instruments 

• 	 All reactor internals (media, biology, supply and collection headers) 

• 	 Nutrient dosing system including tank and first-fill 

• 	 Compressed air system 

• 	 Motor Control Center and PLC 

• 	 Process engineering 

• 	 Mechanical, electrical engineering for GE supplied portions of plant 

• 	 Spare parts (initial supply) 

• 	 Commissioning labor (GE supplied equipment) 
• 	 Waste disposal 

• 	 Raw materials, chemicals. and utilities during equipment start-up and 

operation, unless otherwise specified. 

• 	 All required permits 

• 	 Supply of telephone/fax/modem access while GE staffare on-site 

• 	 Laboratory services, operating and maintenance personnel during 

equipment checkout. start-up and operation 

f. 	 Does the capacity (in GPO) assume that the FGO operates 24 hours per day? What is 

the minimal operating period for the ABMet® system to ensure the viability of the 

bugs? 

Capacities assume 24 hour a day operation. The ABMet® system is not designed to 

be operated in a batch mode, therefore, operations such as 12 hours a day are not 

recommended. Equalization would be recommended to ensure as consistent 

operation as possible. There is no hard number for minimal operating period and 

such cases would have to be reviewed on an individual basis. likely through 

piloting. 
In theory this is correct os a reduction in temperature will slow the biological 

kinetics resulting in a requirement for an increased retention time in order to 

achieve the same result. Development and validotion work conducted since 2009 

has verified that the retention time used in this cost should be sufficient for 99%+ 

of the potential FGD installations in the US. Therefore, the system should not need 

reSizing. 

c. 	 In the 2008 meeting with EPA, GE indicated that geographic location will affect the 

installation costs of the system. How will location impact the installation costs 

represented in equation (2) above? 

Individual State regulations and policies may have an impact on the installation 

costs. Some states/utilities do not require unionized labor for example which could 

lower the installation portion. Others. like Pennsylvania, require the exclusive use 

of steel sourced in the US, which can be a premium depending on the timing and 

the market. Given the number of voriables, it is difficult to quantify any speCific 

impacts. 
wastewater without scaling the equipment? 

The units used previously were of titanium construction. It may be possible for an 

alternative material that will offer similar performance at a reduced cost. A heat 

exchanger vendor would be able to offer the most comprehensive analysis of the 

options. 

4. 	 Nutrient Costs. Does GE recommend that nutrients be continuously fed into the bioreactors to 

maintain bacteria regardless af whether the FGD scrubber wastewater is fed? If so, how does 

GE determine the minimal nutrient feed rates during instances where FGD scrubber purge is 

not being fed into the system? Does GE have nutrient cost data in $ per gallon of FGD 

scrubber wastewater treated and/or in $ per unit of nutrient added? 

GE recommends that nutrient is fed continuously during operation. During cases where 

the system is in stand-by without receiving feed water. nutrient would only be dosed 

periodically every few days as part of a maintenance mode. 

( eBl.') 	 /. 
James Harwood 

Industrial Sales Manager - ABMet 

enc. 

GRAPH - ABMet® FGD GE Equipment Cost $US per Gallons per Minute Capacity 

GRAPH - ABMet® FGD Installation Cost Component as a % of GE Equipment 
e ~ater &Process Technologies ABMet FG

$US per Ga
ABMet FGD Ins

_ Water &p:OC~~s Technologies 

as a % 
• 

G E Power & Water 

Water &Process Technologies 

James Horwood 

Industrial Sales Manager - ABMet 

North Americq . 

3239 Dundos Street West 

Deborah Bartram Ookville ON L6M 4B2

Canodo VP. Water Programs 

T 905 465 3030 14555 Avion Parkway. Suite 200 

jomes.horwood@ge.com Chantilly. VA 20151 

6 May. 2011 

Dear Ms. Bartram: 

Note that any information contained within this letter that is marked with a ..§ is considered to 

be Confidential Business Information. -~ 

Further to our call of 19 April 2011. GE has estimated sludge and solids yields for the ABMet systems 

proposed in our 11 March 2011 letter to you. The information below is a modeled estimate and may 

not reflect actual volumes in operating conditions. The modeling is based on the feed water criteria 

utilized for the estimates provided on 19 April. 

For this estimate. it is assumed that the entire system will be backwashed once per month with a 

recommended operating protocol that dictates that the backwashing of the system is spread out over 

that month to ease handling and minimize instantaneous volumes. For example. a system with 4 

reactor trains (8 reactors totall would backwash 2 reactors per week. 

Estimated backwash water volumes: 

Volume per Volume per Flow Rate Number of Number of backwash per backwash total Trains Reactors reactor 

tgpmJ tusgalJ 

50 2 4 

100 2 4 

150 3 6 

200 4 8 

300 3 6 

400 4 8 

600 6 12 

800 8 16 

1.000 10 20 
ABMet solids are generally co-Iandfilled with upstream clarifier solids. Given that they would amount 

to a minute fraction of the clarifier solids. the ABMet solids do not change the classification of the 

overall product. The ABMet solids can also be dewatered and handled separate and pass the TCLP 

test. 

Best Regards. 

James Harwood 

Industrial Sales Manager ABMet