Siemens to Provide Hypochlorite System to Irish Treatment Plant
Siemens Water Technologies will provide two onsite hypochlorite electrolytic chlorination systems to Dublin City Council for the Ballymore Eustace Water Treatment Plant in County Kildare, Ireland, according to a recent press release.
The systems, which will replace Ballymore's chlorine gas systems, are part of a series of enhancements that are being made to the 72-year-old plant over the next five years. Once operational in 2009, this will be the largest electrochlorination plant in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Ballymore is Ireland's largest water treatment plant, serving approximately 70 percent of Dublin. The expansion will allow the plant to increase its capacity from 250 Ml/d to 318 Ml/d, with a planned peak capacity of 400 Ml/d.
Through the electrolysis of a brine solution, the chlorination system produces a 0.8 percent sodium hypochlorite solution, consuming only salt, water, and electricity. This solution is stored in a day tank and injected into the distribution system by a metering pump. Fifty-seven liters of 0.8 percent sodium hypochlorite is equivalent to 0.45 kgs of chlorine gas or 3.79 liters of commercial sodium hypochlorite (12 percent).
The plant and its engineering contractor, Earth Tech of Dublin, considered onsite hypochlorite generation systems from other manufacturers, but Siemens provided one of the smallest footprints. Both units will operate in tandem producing 24 hours' worth of chemical during the 8 hour low-tariff energy period, thus saving costs.