Benidorm invests 33,500 euros in the execution of improvements in the sludge pumping of the WWTP

Benidorm City Council, through the Local Government Board, has approved the execution of a project to improve and adapt the primary sludge pumping of the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), a necessary improvement due to the deficiencies of the facility's sludge line due to its age, design and dimensioning.

The project is included in Improvement Number 9 which appeared in the improvements to be implemented in the service when it was awarded.

As stated in the technical report, the Benidorm WWTP has five primary decanters, two of which are on Line 2. The function of these decanters is to settle all matter susceptible to doing so before biological treatment, a process that allows to obtain a reduction in the load contributed to the biological treatment and, therefore, a reduction in the oxygen requirement in it and, consequently, in the energy supply.

It happens that the sludge produced in these decanters is evacuated through three old pumps that are not very suitable for transferring sludge, as explained by the Councilor for the Water Cycle, José Ramón González de Zárate, “which is why they had numerous blockages and breakdowns.” The main consequence is that “the primary sludge purge flow rate was insufficient for several months of the year.”

The improvement to be carried out consists of replacing the submersible pumps used to pump primary sludge on Line 2 with three helical pumps “specifically for sludge treatment”. The installation of the new pumps will require reconditioning the wet pumping chamber as a dry pump chamber, as well as the valve system and boiler work.

The installation of three frequency converters has also been planned, which will allow the pumping flow to be reduced and the purge times to be lengthened, thereby generating fewer odours due to the shorter residence time of the sludge in the settler. In summary, as González de Zárate detailed, “What we achieve is that there are fewer odours and purge the same amount but more continuously, which at the same time leads to better performance of the sludge sieving equipment.”

The expected duration of this work is six months and the investment planned for its execution is 33,500.86 euros, already counting in this time the delivery times of the materials.