To help meet new regulations for nutrient removal the city of Ávila in Spain will install GE’s ZeeWeed 500D ultrafiltration membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology.

The city’s original wastewater treatment plant was constructed in 1991 to service 190,000 inhabitants with a 30,000 m3/day average flow.

However, due to new regulations, the discharge area of the Cogotas water reservoir was classified as a “sensitive area,” meaning that the new parameters have been placed on effluent quality and require reductions in nitrogen and phosphorous.

The upgrade of the plant’s wastewater treatment processes with the GE MBR technology features four ZeeWeed 500D trains and 32 cassettes. A fifth train is designed for the future expansion, which will expand the plant’s treatment capacity to 37,000 m3/day.

It is anticipated that the membranes will treat the same amount of water while removing all total suspended solids and complying with all other requirements.

GE’s ZeeWeed technology was selected for the upgrade of this plant by the Spanish Consortium Company as ZeeWeed can achieve the technical specifications required on the public tender by Somacyl. Somacyl was awarded the project by UTE EDAR Avila (a consortium formed by Aqualia and Volconsa).