Ringsend Waste Water Treatment Works, Dublin City

The Ringsend Waste water Treatment Plant Design, Build Operate Contract was undertaken
to provide preliminary primary,
secondary and tertiary treatment
(disinfection) for a 1.7 million, p.e.
Operations began in 2003
following construction which
started in 1999. The original
treatment works on the site had to
be kept Operational throughout
construction. The new works is
built on an old landfill and
required extensive piling to
support the new structures.
Ringsend is home to the largest
double decker SBR design in the
world and is also fundamental to
Dublin Bays blue flag status.
The wastewater arrives into the inlet channels at Ringsend from Ringsend Main Lift Pumping
Station, Dodder Valley Gravity Sewer and Sutton and Dun Laoghaire Pumping Stations. The
wastewater passes through fine screens (6mm) to remove paper, plastics and large solids.
Grit is removed in special tanks. 12 No. lamella primary settlement tanks which allow most of
the suspended solids in the wastewater to settle. The settled wastewater is pumped to 24
Sequencing Batch Reactors (SBRs) for secondary treatment. Micro-organisms developed in
the process are used to take organic matter out of the wastewater, along with ammonia and
nitrogen. SBR technology is used to achieve BOD/COD removal and nitrification.
The SBRs at Ringsend are the largest in the world and, uniquely, are contained in a two
storey structure, due to site limitations. The 24 SBRs are divided into 6 units, built three on
top of three. Each unit consists of 4 tanks, operating in sequence. While one tank is filling
with wastewater, a second is aerating wastewater with oxygen to accelerate the natural
biological secondary treatment. The third tank is settling wastewater and the fourth tank is
decanting treated wastewater to the next treatment stage.
The treated water receives
tertiary treatment in the form of
ultraviolet disinfection, to meet
Bathing Water Standards, before
being discharged into the Bay.
The entire treatment process at
Ringsend is totally natural.
Oxygen from the air is used to
treat the wastewater and heat is
used to treat the sludge. The
outputs from the treatment works
are:
Clean water
Biofert (fertiliser)
Energy
Over 50% of the energy needed to run the plant is generated from the sludge treatment.
Sludge is a by-product of the treatment of wastewater generated from the primary and
secondary stages. At Ringsend it is treated using hydrolysis and digestion before being
thermally dried, killing pathogens and producing a pasteurised, organic based fertiliser.
25,000 tonnes of Biofert is produced at the Ringsend Treatment Works each year. A by-
product of the sludge digestion process is biogas, which supplies over 50% of the heat and
electricity required at the Ringsend works.
KEY DATA:

Population Equivalent: 1.7 million
Dry Weather Flow: 4.65 m3/s
Flow to Full Treatment: 11.1 m3/s
Maximum flow to storm: 11.5 m3/s
Maximum flow to works: 22.6 m3/s
BOD: 98,400 kg/d
TSS: 101,000 kg/d



PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM