Treatment

Torrevieja wastewater treatment plant (WWTP)

Innovative solutions with
minimum environmental impact
 

Wastewater treatment is based on eliminating all residues that have accumulated in wastewater, returning it to the environment in optimum conditions, to protect aquatic ecosystems, avoid risks to public health, and obtain water that is suitable for reuse. This ensures the future of coming generations and the environment and achieves sustainable development.

The town of Torrevieja has a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) with a current treatment capacity of 60,000 m³/day, to provide a service to an inhabitant equivalent of 490,000, while the effluent quality is improved with tertiary treatment.

The facility consists of: pretreatment, homogenisation, primary decantation, biological treatment, secondary decantation and tertiary treatment with disinfection. The water line is completed by treating the resulting sludge with anaerobic digestion, thickening and dewatering.

Currently all treated water is reused for agriculture by irrigation associations.

The resulting sludge is used in agriculture as fertiliser or as fuel in concrete manufacturing (energy recovery) in the San Vicente de Raspeig CEMEX plant.

 

  1. Technical data and main characteristics

    • Treatment process
    Total oxidation activated sludge  
    Maximum dewatering by centrifuge  
    Final effluent destination Agricultural irrigation
    Final sludge destination Use as fertiliser or for energy recovery
    • Key figures
    Treatment capacity 60,000 m3/day 
    Population supplied 490,000 inhabitant equivalent
    Performance index for BOD5 elimination Over 99%
    Performance index for SS elimination Over 99%
    Performance index for COD elimination Over 96%
    • Data for 2021
    Water treated 6,523,500 m3/year
    Inhabitant equivalent supplied 136,158 inhabitant equivalent
    Water reused for irrigation 6,428,424 m3/year 
    Performance index for BOD5 elimination Over 99%
    Performance index for SS elimination Over 99%
    Performance index for COD elimination Over 97%
    Sludge for agricultural use 6,564 t/year
    Sludge for energy recovery 2,460 t/year
    Waste eliminated 0 t/year
    • Main characteristics
    Thick automatic grilles > 5 mm 4 Units
    Automatic fine solid sieving > 2 mm 4 Units
    Degritting - degreasing channels 3 Units (375.5 m3)
    Homogenisation pond capacity 7,500 m3
    Impulse pumps 7 Units
    Primary decantation 3 Units (2,290 m3/Units)
    Biological reactors 3 Units (9,720 m3)
    Aeration equipment 5 turbo compressors (12,500 Nm3/h)
    Dewatering 3  75 m3/h centrifuges
    Disinfection 5 sets of UV treatment equipment and sodium hypochlorite dosage
    Automatic control Remote control
    Tertiary treatment Consisting of nine rapid filtration sand beds
    Clarifiers 6  2,700 m3   circular units /units
    Central process control lab 1 units