Inauguration of pilot plant for Stockholm’s future water treatment solutions
In a few years’ time, the world's biggest sewage treatment plant based on membrane technology will open in Stockholm. The projected facility will substantially increase the rapidly expanding city’s sewage treatment capacity, and simultaneously cut back on the discharge of eutrophic substances into the Baltic Sea. Last Wednesday the completed pilot plant was inaugurated at IVL’s Hammarby Sjöstadsverk research centre.
The Stockholm Water and Sewage Company plans to expand Henriksdal’s purification plant with so-called MBR technology – a system that achieves solid/liquid separation by filtering sludge through a physical barrier of microporous membranes. When the facility has been rebuilt, Henriksdal’s purification facility will be the largest water treatment plant in the world that utilizes membrane technology. Last Wednesday, the completed pilot plant – Pilot Henriksdal 2040 – was inaugurated and Stockholm’s future water treatment approach presented. Around 70 guests attended the opening ceremony. –There was a lot of interest, and we were a bit overwhelmed, but at the same time pleased that so many came to the opening ceremony, says IVL project manager Klara Westling. Tests are ongoing at Hammarby Sjöstadsverk to verify whether MBR technology will be able to handle the sharpened purification requirements and increased load expected to accompany Stockholm’s rapid growth. The tests show that the membranes provide efficient removal of nitrogen and phosphorus, and will be sufficient to meet future purification demands. An additional advantage is that membranes also trap particles and particulate pollutants, leveraging a potential scope for future post-treatment and further purification of wastewater from, among other things, drug residues. Read more about IVL’s work at Hammarby Sjöstadsverk Read more about Stockholms Future water purification plans If you have any questions, please contact: Klara Westling, klara.westling@ivl.se, +46 (0)10-788 66 31