Altenburg
Altenburg Central Sewage Treatment Works
Altenburg, Germany / 01.2021 - 07.2023
The Altenburg central sewage treatment works were expanded to include new structures and plant engineering. The project focused on new facilities for sewage sludge treatment as well as the associated structural engineering works. As the main contractor, PORR Ingenieurbau Berlin was responsible for the refurbishment and expansion of the plant. The scope of work included specialist civil engineering works for the foundations of the new structures, earthworks and landscaping, concrete works, fit-out works, as well as the fabrication and commissioning of the new plant equipment. The detailed design was supported by pde Integrale Planung GmbH.
Facts & Figures
Company
PORR GmbH & Co. KGaA
Type
Supply and disposal facilities
Runtime
01.2021 - 07.2023
New infrastructure for sewage sludge treatment
The existing sewage treatment works were expanded to include several new structures. These include a coarse screening building with a screw pump station, a primary settling tank, two digestion towers, a gas treatment plant, a sewage gas storage facility, a machinery house, as well as various other shaft and pipework structures. In addition, Outdoor facilities, operational areas and technical installations were constructed to integrate the new plant components into the existing sewage treatment works site. Even before the technical installations could be commissioned, the foundations, shafts, structures and pipework for the subsequent wastewater and sewage sludge treatment were constructed.
17-metre-high digestion towers and a digester gas storage tank
Among the striking structures of the extension are two digestion towers, each approximately 17 m high, 14 m in diameter and with a usable volume of 2,100 m³ each. These are complemented by a sewage gas storage tank with a diameter of 18 metres, a height of 12 metres and a capacity of around 2,400 m³. The digestion towers were assembled on site from steel plates and form a central component of the new plant technology.
Structural engineering works involving tanks, shafts and pipework
In addition to the tank structures, the project included numerous other structural engineering works. These comprised a pipe jacking section approximately 220 m long, two relief shafts with enclosures for the photo-oxidation plants, an operations building with a pent roof, a dosing station with a viewing tower, as well as further shaft and pipework systems. The various structures were constructed in sections and connected to the existing facilities at the sewage treatment works.
Construction on a confined site whilst the plant remained in operation
The work took place within an existing sewage treatment works, which continued to operate throughout the construction period. To facilitate the construction of the new primary clarifier, the incoming wastewater was temporarily routed via a temporary lift pipe from the grit chamber directly to the aeration tanks. The individual construction phases were coordinated with the operational procedures of the sewage treatment works. Step by step, the extension to the central sewage treatment works took shape amidst existing structures, new tanks, pipework and technical installations.
The foundation for the expanded facilities
The completion of the new structures created the conditions for the use of the expanded plant technology in Altenburg. Even before the technical processes became visible in day-to-day operations, deep foundations, pipework, tanks and operational buildings were constructed to form the basis of the expanded sewage treatment works. Between the existing facilities and the new construction, a further section of the infrastructure for wastewater treatment in Altenburg thus took shape.
