The Benidorm WWTP improves the management of wastewater sludge with a new silo with greater storage capacity

The Benidorm Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) has completed the installation of a new sludge silo that replaces the old sludge storage hoppers. The new structure increases its storage capacity to 150 cubic metres and has weighing cells. The two old hoppers had a capacity of 30 cubic metres each.

The new hopper will be operational in approximately one month once the connection work with the area where the new state-of-the-art dehydration element is located is completed, a dehydrating screw that replaces and covers the capacity of the two oldest centrifuges and complements the existing ones, which are responsible for leaving the sludge in optimal conditions for reuse.

The Mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, visited the WWTP this morning, accompanied by the Councillor for the Water Cycle, José Ramón González de Zárate, and representatives of Hidraqua, to observe ‘in situ’ the installation of the new silo that will soon come into operation.

Pérez has recalled that the hoppers that are being replaced “are more than 45 years old and must be changed to improve the reuse of sludge and, therefore, protect the environment”. The action, which has an investment of around 150,000 euros, is part of ‘Improvement 10’ of the contract for the operation and maintenance of the wastewater treatment and purification system in Benidorm. This improvement includes investments in the improvement and replacement of the WWTP equipment.

However, before carrying out this intervention, it has been necessary to carry out other phases of the improvement, such as the removal of the old sludge hoppers that are no longer in use, the dismantling of the old weighing scale, the dismantling and removal of the old centrifuges, the execution of a new reinforced concrete foundation slab for the new silo, the actual installation of the new silo with integrated weighing cells and the supply and installation of the sludge dehydration screw.

Within the ‘Improvement 10’, the dehydrated sludge pumps have also been replaced in silos, since only two pumps were available and now, after the change, the capacity is unified in just one.

Pérez has specified that the investment, which is the responsibility of Hidraqua, will mean “the improvement of the sludge that originates from the purification, which is used in processes such as fuel for cement plants, composting or as fertiliser for public gardens and organic orchards” he indicated. The old hoppers “no longer provided the necessary performance and that is why we have updated them with another one of greater size and versatility”.

The sludge resulting from the wastewater treatment process is dehydrated before being introduced into the new silo. Subsequently, this sludge is loaded onto trucks that distribute it for later use as fertilizer, compost or fuel for cement plants. “In addition, it provides much more room for storage and not having to stop the sludge line of the WWTP” explained the mayor.