SINGAPORE - Part of the water treatment system at the Choa Chu Kang Water Works will be upgraded with ceramic membranes, which will make the plant more operationally efficient and reliable.

Ceramic membranes are a type of artificial membranes used to filter out impurities during water treatment. They are used extensively in Japan at almost 120 water treatment plants.

When the implementation at the Choa Chu Kang Water Works is completed in 2018, it will be the first waterworks to use of this technology.

PUB will collaborate with PWN Technologies (PWNT) to develop a new CeraMac® plant at the Choa Chu Kang Water Works, which will have a daily capacity of 40 million gallons per day (mgd).

The new CeraMac® plant will be one of the largest ceramic membrane plants for drinking water treatment in the world.

PUB said in a media release on Tuesday that an 18-month trial of PWNT's CeraMac® demonstration plant wasused from September 2011 to validate the efficiency and reliability of its ceramic membranes in water treatment.

Mr Harry Seah, PUB's Chief Technology Officer said the PUB is always on the lookout for more innovative and cost-effective ways of treating and producing water.

He said: "We have been studying and testing the merits of ceramic membrane technology for a few years now, and we are satisfied with the results.

Suchmembranes can now be considered in other waterworks when they are due for upgrading, he added .

Upgrading works at the Choa Chu Kang Water Works will start later this year.