Bluewater, Aqualia sign 5-year wastewater deal

London-based Bluewater Bio International said today it signed a five-year deal in Spain for its technology to generate reusable gray water from effluent.

The agreement with Aqualia Gestiόn Integral del Agua SA calls for Bluewater to install its wastewater treatment technology in the next eight to 10 weeks at a new municipal site in Avila, Spain, that Aqualia plans to operate.

As part of the deal, Aquila is expected to be Bluewater’s only sales representative in Spain. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Aqualia is the world’s fifth largest wastewater company and a subsidiary of Madrid-based builder Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (MCE:FCC.MC). Aqualia manages water and wastewater projects in 850 municipalities on five continents, serving over 26 million people.

Bluewater designs and builds wastewater treatment centers and trains staff but does not typically operate the plants.

Bluewater said the deal would open global markets to its proprietary hybrid Bacillus activated sludge (HYBACS) technology, an odorless waste-treatment process that produces a re-usable effluent.

The companies said they plan to leverage the partnership to break into global markets, especially the Middle East.

The HYBACS process can treat water from municipal systems, domestic sewage, industrial systems, dairy processing, meat processing, soft drink manufacturing and landfill leachate.

The HYBACS process removes a number of pollutants, including nitrates, phosphates, E.Coli and carbonaceous matter from domestic, agricultural and industrial effluents using the Bacillus bacteria. The system treats the biological waste in municipal wastewater down to 10 milligrams per liter of biological oxygen demand.

The grey water can then be used for process industries, irrigation and air conditioning projects.

The company said the HYBACS system can either halve the land requirement or increase the treatment capacity of an existing works, which reduces build cost. Bluewater said the system also reduces the electricity demand of a conventional plant.