World’s Largest Wastewater Treatment Plant Gears up With Innovative ABB Technology
October 28, 2021
Considered the world’s largest wastewater treatment plant, the Bahr El Bakar facility in Sinai, Egypt, will deliver a world record-breaking capacity of 5.6 million cubic meters of treated water per day – the equivalent volume to fill nearly 2,000 Olympic swimming pools – for agriculture development projects and industrial production. The facility which has achieved three Guinness World Records this year: the largest water treatment plant in the world, the largest sludge treatment plant and the largest single operator ozone generating plant. Inaugurated last week, the plant will treat agricultural wastewater to provide treated water for crop production and restore 140,000 hectares of farmland to the east of the Suez Canal.
The project supports local government strategy to improve the environment, create jobs and bridge the water gap in Egypt, along with improving local infrastructure and providing resources to expand the cultivated areas, especially in the Sinai Peninsula.
“Providing resilient, energy-efficient, and cost-effective technology to this record-breaking wastewater treatment plant will help meet the needs of population growth and the changing landscape of this remote area in Egypt. It is an honor for ABB to provide a full package of products and solutions to this project, which will help better manage natural resources, raise efficiency, and upscale limited water supply for agriculture. ABB’s involvement in this project helps demonstrate how safe and smart technology can contribute to sustainable development in the country,” said Loay Dajani, Managing Director, ABB in Egypt.
ABB will deliver a range of high-end solutions to the project that are part of an integrated offer including technology from its Electrification, Motion and Process Automation business areas.
Located away from main utilities, the treatment plant will integrate renewables to create its own microgrid to support infrastructure and operations at the plant. ABB’s scope includes the installation and commissioning of UniGear ZS1 medium-voltage (MV) air-insulated switchgear with Relion® relays for protection and control and LV panels, which will ensure reliable and continuous power supply for central systems, processors and infrastructure including HVAC and lighting. With stable power, teams are kept safe, and the facility remains fully operational to decontaminate the large volumes of wastewater.
Energy and resource efficiency are at the heart of the new facility. ABB also delivered 20 Super Premium Efficiency IE4 motors controlled with 20 Ultra-low harmonic variable speed drives that will maximize energy efficiency and improve reliability of the plant’s pumping applications. The project also features ABB’s MV motors.
The project is also supported by the latest ABB AbilityTM System 800xA asset control system to enable efficient and sustainable management of the water treatment cycle through remote maintenance. With advanced process control technologies, operators have complete visibility and a rich choice of operational features to connect all systems and processes in one platform, increasing efficiency and performance.
“This project is one of the key strategic pillars supporting the national project to build Bahr al-Bakar water drainage system, which is considered the most important project of the Sinai Peninsula Development Program. Working together with ABB on this contract, will help realize an important milestone of the plans for this region and expand the cultivated areas in Sinai, providing local food security for citizens, and better manage water resources for agricultural and industrial projects,” said Ehab Girgis projet director from the Orascom/Arab Contractors Joint Venture which is executing this mega project.
