Reusing water from urban wastewater treatment plants in our industrial complexes

Tarragona Industrial Complex Project

An example of this commitment is the participation of our Tarragona Industrial Complex in a circular economy project aimed at reusing water from urban wastewater plants in the towns of Tarragona and Vilaseca. Even though this water is not suitable for human consumption, it's rather suitable for industrial processes, particularly in the complex's cooling towers and steam generation boilers.

This project, which has been in operation since 2012, first consists in collecting urban waste water at the discharge point before it reaches the sea. Then, after undergoing a treatment process followed by demineralization by reverse osmosis membranes, it is distributed to companies that consume it. This reduces water withdrawal from the Ebro and Gaià rivers, resulting in more water available to the communities in the area. 

Since we launched this project in which we're the main partners, we have used 40% of the total water treated, which represents a priority source of our supply. It has also reduced by around 10% the overall freshwater consumption, which can be used for other purposes.

Circular benefits

• Reduce consumption of freshwater from rivers, which results in greater availability for the population
• Preserve a natural water resource in a potential water-scarce area.
• Optimize scarce resource utilization through various organizations by promoting industrial symbiosis and circular economy.
• Guarantee the quality and quantity of the water supply and reduce pressure on a scarce resource that competes with other priority uses.
• Facilitates environmental flow release in the Gaià river from the safety reserve of the Gaià Reservoir.