Thames Water
EUROPE
Ahead of the flow All short and long-term strategies will be managed under one roof thanks to an operational hub in Reading , allowing the whole network to be overseen from one vantage point .
The Reading base will also house important developments for Thames Water in the technological field , allowing the company to keep ahead of trends and innovate the latest solutions to the problems of today and further down the line .
One such innovation is a reactor which removes phosphorus from sewage , the first of its kind in Europe and in operation at Slough , Berkshire . With scarcer supplies of this finite nutrient , vital for all living organisms , the reactor can not only unclog pipes but also reverse the trend and treat phosphorus as a valued resource .
The reactor is producing high-grade fertiliser from waste , from which phosphorous can be recovered using Ostara ’ s nutrient recovery facility in Berkshire .
Another area of innovation which Thames Water is channeling investment into is THP ( thermal hydrolysis process ), which involves the heating of leftover waste sludge to 160 degrees Celsius at high pressure . This is then fed into anaerobic digesters where ‘ good bacteria ’ breaks down organic material to produce bio-methane gas that is burned to generate renewable electricity .
“ We are investing £ 250 million to treat future sludge volumes and hit our renewable energy target by 2015 ,” Collington added ,
Replacing water pipes
Solar panels
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