2012-11-12 18:16:43 - At an in-house trade fair of the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) in Lower Saxony, Berkefeld, a subsidiary of Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies, presented its TWA 4 light mobile water treatment plant in full action. The plant produces four cubic metres of drinking water per hour and can supply up to 10,000 refugees. It fulfils the special requirements of aid organisations and stands out for its easy and safe handling in setting up, operation and transport, as well as its reliable process technology.

The TWA 4 light was designed on the basis of the experiences of drinking water experts in aid organizations, and operational experiences with other mobile plant types, to meet the special demands of operations in disaster areas. The TWA 4 light combines a number of process steps which, coordinated with each other, turn most sweet surface water into drinking water without problems. As the first step behind the raw water delivery, the system provides for an inline coagulation section which enables water production in a very short time. After a sand filtration there follows an activated carbon filtration to remove residual pollutants. A subsequent deposit chlorination prevents a renewed contamination of the drinking water. The system is completed by storage

for about 10,000 litres of clean water and distribution via two receiving stations with self-closing taps. Because the entire plant is operated by diesel pumps there is no need for any electricity supply. By utilizing natural slopes, the energy input for the plant can be reduced even further. The packed plant is transported on only two Europe palettes. The TWA 4 light is also easy to bring to the operating site with every airliner and also by land routes, so it is highly mobile and does not depend on additional transhipment equipment.

The plant has already been deployed successfully in disaster areas by several Red Cross organisations, such as following the floods in Pakistan. "The plant's extremely high mobility and its very easy and safe handling in setting up, operation and backflushing of the filter have proved themselves in action," says Yannick Liedtke, the responsible Project Manager at the Berkefeld water technology company. "We ensure high quality in the workmanship and components of the plants, and logistical supply of most of the spare parts and operating materials can be made locally in the country involved." Even in the case of a high degree of contamination of the raw water, the drinking water generated from it fulfils the demands of the World Health Organisation WHO.