Bluewater Bio Avila reference plant being mounted.Fernando Moreno, Director General of Aqualia, said: "We are pleased that the first HYBACS pilot plant in Spain has now been installed at Ávila and that commissioning is progressing well. Aqualia operates wastewater treatment plants across the globe and, therefore, the ability of Bluewater Bio's HYBACS process to significantly reduce both our capital and operational expenditure is extremely attractive to us. In addition, the technology can potentially be retrofitted into many of our current plants, enabling Aqualia to comply more cost-effectively with the increased nutrient removal requirements in Europe. We see tremendous potential for the use of HYBACS both in Spain and further afield, and are excited to work with Bluewater Bio to bring this leading technology to our plants."
Compared with competing processes such as conventional nutrient removal activated sludge, HYBACS produces treated effluents with average BOD (biological oxygen demand) values typically less than 10 mg/L from domestic sewage and removes at least 98% of the BOD from concentrated industrial wastewaters. It also consumes up to 50% less energy, whilst offering CAPEX reductions of up to 30%, OPEX reductions of up to 45%, and a footprint that is up to 40% smaller. HYBACS is well-suited to upgrading existing plants, leveraging more than 80% of activated sludge infrastructure.
Effective nutrient removal from wastewaters prevents the overgrowth of algae in seas, estuaries, lakes and slow-flowing rivers, thereby avoiding the consequent eutrophication (or 'smothering') of aquatic life. Spanish municipalities are required by law to remove pollutants and organic matter from wastewaters, but legal action from the European Commission alleges that treatment practices in more than 400 cities and towns across the country are currently below the EU standard for nutrient removal. Under a current EU directive treatment plants must now be equipped with proper removal technologies that meet the most stringent quality and nutrient standards in sensitive zones at risk of eutrophication.
Spain for years has been grappling with a severe water shortage problem. The Spanish Environment Minister, Elena Espinosa, has pledged to promote the reuse of treated wastewater in sectors such as agriculture, and has launched a National Plan for Water Reuse to triple the level of wastewater reuse between 2010 and 2015.
Bluewater Bio is the holding company of a group of companies which have developed a cost effective advanced biological solution for the treatment of wastewater called HYBACS (Hybrid Bacillus Activated Sludge).
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