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The first of the three prototypes of the
Cleanwater project installed at the El Toyo
Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Almeria
The El Toyo treatment plant in Almeria was
the location chosen for the installation of the
first Cleanwater 3000 prototype, one of the
three Cleanwater Project models that will
be installed and tested. A business plan will
be prepared based on the results to assess
the potential clients for the application of
this innovative electrochemical membrane.
FCC Aqualia, in collaboration with the
French company Ceram Hyd, is developing
the European Cleanwater project for the
application and marketing of a new water
disinfection technology based on the ge-
neration of chlorine on site. This process
could replace conventional disinfection sys-
tems based on the use of chlorine gas or
sodium hypochlorite, thereby reducing the
impact on the environment and improving
the safety of the treatment plants.
This revolutionary procedure uses a new
ion-exchange membrane with high con-
ductivity and durability properties, thereby
eliminating the need for transporting and
storing hazardous chemical compounds at
the facilities. A chlorine derivative with great
disinfection capabilities is generated on site
by using common table salt and with mini-
mum consumption of electricity.
The possibility is also being considered of
reducing the generation during the chlori-
nation process of organochlorine and triha-
lomethane, by-products that pose a threat
to human health and which are subject to
strict environmental regulations and water
quality directives.
The project includes a demonstration of
the disinfection technology at an industrial
scale for three different applications: water
re-use, production, and desalination. Three
FCC-Aqualia-managed facilities have been
selected for these demonstrations: the
Fresneda drinking water treatment facility
(Ciudad Real), the Racons (Alicante) desali-
nation plant, and the El Toyo (Almeria) was-
tewater treatment plant.
The project, with a budget of 1.66 million
euros, is 50% co-funded by the ECO-IN-
NOVATION Initiative of the European Union.
By developing this project, FCC Aqualia, a
partner and contributor of 342,387 euros,
reinforces its commitment to finding sus-
tainable and efficient systems that benefit
modern societies.
The objective of the project is
to implement and
market a new water
disinfection
technology based on the
generation of chlorine at
the premises. The other two
prototypes will
installed shortly at the
Fresneda (Ciudad Real)
DWTP and the Racons
(Alicante) desalination plant.