Bluewater Bio to deliver HYBACS solution for Saudi wastewater plant

Bluewater Bio, a provider of treatment solutions to the water industry, has been awarded a $2.6m contract by Marafiq to deliver HYBACS solution for the upgrade of the Saudi-based private utility company’s Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant (IWTP-8) at Jubail.

Bluewater Bio will install the HYBACS system to help the Saudi utility to increase the plant’s treatment capacity by 150%.

Following the upgrade, it will be able to treat 50 MLD of industrial wastewater.

Tunisian EPC contractor Engineering Procurement & Project Management was selected to manage civil construction and carry out enabling, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, control, and automation work.

IWTP-8 consists of three parallel but different treatment streams to treat industrial wastewater coming from the industrial cluster in Jubail.

According to the utility’s specifications for the upgrade, the existing treatment process must not be interrupted during the upgrade programme, and the solution must be a proven technology as well as energy efficient.

The upgrade at IWTP-8 will include the installation of 16 SMART units, which are high-rate bioreactors. There would also be capacity upgrades to the tertiary treatment stages.

The primary settled wastewater and return activated sludge (RAS) will pass through the SMART units and then into the three aeration lanes. These units speed up the rate of hydrolysis, thereby enabling the plant to accept higher load.

Besides supplying the company’s SMART units, Bluewater Bio will be responsible for process design, installation supervision, and maintenance of the units.

Bluewater Bio commercial director Fergus Rooksby said: “We look forward to working with EPPM and Marafiq in delivering our HYBACS process to help alleviate overloading at the IWTP-8. This contract will be our first HYBACS installation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and marks a significant milestone in our Gulf expansion plans, building on our award-winning 100 MLD HYBACS plant at Tubli WPCC, Bahrain.”