Conca del Llobregat Desalination Plant
- Environmental protection and sustainable urban systems
- 2006
- 2007
- 2008
- 2009
- 2010
- Developing
- Operating
- Stand-by
The desalination plant in the Llobregat, which came into service in July 2009, provides 60 Hm3 a year of potable water. This means both an increased water supply to the city of Barcelona and surrounding districts, and the incorporation into the regional ATLL (Aigües Ter-Llobregat) network of a high-quality resource.
Tomàs Cazurra Pérez, Director of Works II, Aigües Ter-Llobregat.
The plant, which is located beside the mouth of the River Llobregat, can provide a maximum flow of 200,000,000 litres of potable water per day, and in terms of water supply is the biggest of its kind in Europe.
Sea water is collected 2.2 km out to sea at a depth of 30 metres off Prat del Llobregat beach then piped to the desalination plant. The installation has complete pre-treatment facilities for sea water, including flotation, open filtration, closed filtration and cartridge filters to ensure that the water that reaches the osmosis membranes is of the best quality possible. For the desalination process itself, the plant has ten sets of membranes that can function independently. Among the newer elements incorporated in this installation are its pressure exchange systems, which provide a 50% saving in electricity consumption. After the water leaves the membranes it is remineralised and disinfected, then pumped to the tanks at Fontsanta in Sant Joan Despí.