Veolia to improve the La Cartuja WWTP in Zaragoza, Spain

This improvement plan is designed to increase the wastewater treatment plant’s energy and environmental efficiency. The total investment amounts to nearly 5 million euros and the improvements should save 600,000 euros a year in energy.

The Spanish subsidiary of Veolia Water Technologies is taking part in the energy efficiency and effluent quality improvement project that is being carried out at the La Cartuja Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). This plant has a treatment capacity of 1,000,000 equivalent-inhabitants and serves Zaragoza and several neighboring municipalities.

This improvement plan, which involves activities for a total investment of 5 million euros, is being undertaken by UTEDEZA, a company that belongs to the Veolia Group, which is in charge of operating the WWTP for the Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza. The plan includes a total of 7 actions aimed at improving energy efficiency at the WWTP, providing 600,000 euros in savings on the energy bill each year and improving the quality of the effluents discharged into the Ebro, reducing environmental impact during stormy weather.

For the actions in the environmental improvement section, the La Cartuja WWTP will be equipped with Veolia’s ACTIFLO® DUO process. This ballasted settling process using microsand was designed for a treatment capacity of 2.6 cubic meters per second that is first used for treating the excess water flow that reaches the plant during rain or storms before being released into the Ebro and for secondary scrubbing to remove suspended solids and ensure the right COD of the final effluent if the WWTP becomes overloaded. This process will also be able to operate as a conventional MULTIFLO™ settler for the treatment of return water from top to bottom, optimizing operating costs and improving the process’s overall efficiency.

With regard to energy improvements, the main action being carried out by UTEDEZA is a change in the aeration system on the biological reactors to obtain 1.4 million kWh in energy savings a year. Another major action consists of the installation of a hydraulic turbine to make use of the 8.50 meter drop between the purified water outlet and the surface of the Ebro, which should produce some 685,000 kWh of energy a year.

In all, the plan of improvement actions should provide energy savings exceeding 5 million kWh a year while helping to improve the quality of the water released into the river by ensuring effluents that are up to standard, with respect for the environment and the well-being of the residents of the capital of the Ebro.

Veolia Water Technologies has been working in Spain for 40 years and has offices in Madrid, Barcelona, Guipúzcoa, Tenerife and Zaragoza. Internationally, Veolia Water Technologies is one of the leaders in the design and construction of water treatment plants, with 2.1 billion euros in turnover in 2013 and employing over 10,000 people.

Veolia groupis the global leader in optimized resource management. With over 179,000 employees* worldwide, the Group designs and provides water, waste and energy management solutions that contribute to the sustainable development of communities and industries. Through its three complementary business activities, Veolia helps to develop access to resources, preserve available resources, and to replenish them.

In 2014, the Veolia group supplied 96 million people with drinking water and 60 million people with wastewater service, produced 52 million megawatt hours of energy and converted 31 million metric tons of waste into new materials and energy. Veolia Environnement (listed on Paris Euronext: VIE) recorded consolidated revenue of €24.4 billion* in 2014. www.veolia.com

(*) 2014 pro-forma figures, including Dalkia International (100%) and excluding Dalkia France.

Contact

María Jesús Fernández
off. : +34 91 660 4000
info.spain@veolia.com
www.veoliawatertechnologies.com

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