Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Ultrafiltration and Reverse Osmosis Plant
Uisce Éireann
Upgrade
Dublin, ROI
The Ringsend WwTW requires large quantities of potable grade water (mains supply water) to support its many industrial processes including Polymer Make-up, elements of the Thermal Drying process, Boiler Feed Water, Centrifuge Cooling, Odour Control Systems, Thermal Hydrolysis, Pump Seal Cooling, and Washdown all of which amount to around 1300m³/day.
In addition, Final Effluent is also used as wash water in a number of areas of the plant, most commonly for cleaning and wash-down operations. In 2011, CAW in partnership with Dublin City Council, carried out a feasibility study to assess the economic and technical merits of recycling final effluent to reduce the demand for mains-supplied water.
The Study concluded that final effluent which was subjected to Ultrafiltration and Reverse Osmosis treatment could indeed be used to replace much of the potable water usage.
Project Highlights
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As a result of the findings of the Feasibility Study, in 2012 CAW undertook the first contract to design and build the Ultrafiltration and Reverse Osmosis Plant for the treatment and reuse of final effluent at the Ringsend WwTW, aimed at reducing mains water consumption on the Site by providing 550m³/day of treated water.
CAW was responsible for the design, supply, installation and commissioning of the Ultrafiltration and Reverse Osmosis Plant, including all civil engineering and building works.
As part of a significant capacity upgrade programme, CAW designed and delivered an upgrade to double the capacity at the Ultrafiltration and Reverse Osmosis plant in 2024.
The process involves extracting final effluent from the outfall channel using wash return water pumps to pass the effluent through ultrafiltration membranes producing a permeate water which is chlorinated and then pumped through a dedicated network of clean water site distribution pipework and storage buffer/break tanks. Some of this chlorinated water is then passed through a further stage of Reverse Osmosis treatment and pre-filtration before being fed into the on-site steam-generating boilers.
The quality of the reverse osmosis water is such that it reduces the blowdown cycle time on the boilers when compared to boilers fed on potable water, with the added benefit of also reducing energy consumption.
The delivery of the Ultrafiltration and Reverse Osmosis Plant was completed by CAW over eleven month (January to November 2012) at a cost of c.€1m, providing 550m3/day of water, thus reducing the requirement for mains supplied water by 85% at the time.
Since 2012, when Ringsend WwTW treated wastewater for a population equivalent (PE) of 1.64 million, the facility has undergone significant upgrades to expand its capacity to 2.1 million PE. Ongoing upgrades will further increase this to 2.4 million PE.
As part of these infrastructure improvements, the demand for treated water has also increased and in April 2024, CAW as the Existing Operator at the Ringsend WwTW, was awarded a VO from Uisce Éireann to upgrade and expand the capacity of the existing UF Plant to a nominal capacity of 66m3/hr.
CAW was responsible for the design, supply and installation of the upgrade and expansion to the UF Plant which included:
- Replacement of the membranes on the existing UF Skid plus the expansion of the existing membrane configuration to provide a nominal treated water permeate output of 66m3/hr .
- Supply and Installation of a new CIP Tank.
- Supply and Installation of a new Flow Control Valve.
- Supply and Installation of a new Hypo-Dosing Pump
- Replacement of PLC55 and the UF Package Siemens PLC, with a redundant set of PLC’s in a ‘hot-standby’ configuration
Sustainable Development
CAW is strongly committed, not just at the Ringsend WwTW but company-wide, to sustainable development and the delivery of best practices where it involves the prudent reuse of waste streams and waste resources and the protection of the environment. Within this commitment lies the recognition that water is one, if not the most valuable, resource on the Earth.
In executing the delivery of the Ultrafiltration and Reverse Osmosis Plant, and subsequent capacity upgrade, at Ringsend WwTW, CAW has reduced the Works demand for mains-supplied water significantly, thus making a significant contribution to the conservation of water through the implementation of sustainable development based on the recovery of potable grade water from the final effluent stream.
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