Water Treatment Specialists Tackles World Cup Water in Qatar

Systems from Siltbuster, the water treatment specialists, are being used to treat waste water generated during construction of the Doha Metro, in Qatar’s capital city. The Metro, which will be one of the most advanced rail transit systems in the world, is part of Qatar’s €130bn modernisation program, designed to support future development of the Greater Doha area, the State, and of course the World Cup when it is hosted there in 2022.

The Doha Metro will enter operations in 2019 with 37 stations. The lines which include underground, surface level and elevated portions are expected to be extended to 56 stations by 2026. The four lines of the Metro will link the major parts of the city such as the Education City and West Bay, the Lusail urban development area, Doha airport, the business and conference centre and of course the world cup stadiums.

Siltbuster is involved in this project as the construction involves a huge amount of tunnelling and concreting, generating a vast amount of waste water. By 2019,15 tunnel boring machines will have driven approximately 90 km of tunnel through the limestone below Doha. The water coming from underground cannot simply be discharged. It contains slow settling calcium carbonate due to the limestone geology, plus cementitious particles resulting from the grouting works carried out on the newly bored tunnel networks. This concreting work also means the pH of the water is routinely between 12-13, the equivalent of oven cleaner, making it highly polluting for the environment.

Siltbuster, is recognised as a world leading authority on waste water treatment. Its systems are used in over 33 countries and have been deployed on high profile projects such as The Raising of the Costa Concordia. When asked how to best tackle the water from the Qatar construction project, Siltbuster’s experts recommended the use of Hydrocyclones to remove coarse solids, a couple of HB50 units with chemical dosing to treat the water and also provide solids removal and 2 Filter Presses to dewater slurry.

Four such Siltbuster systems are now placed across the city and will be used for the next 6 years to treat the water when it is pumped up above ground. Each one treats approximately 50m3 per hour, removing the calcium carbonate to below 5mg per litre and reducing the water’s pH to between 6-9, well within discharge consents.

Commenting on the project Dr Richard Coulton, CEO of Siltbuster Group said: “It’s a great endorsement for the expertise of our team and the robustness of our technology that Siltbuster is once again being used on such a prestigious and high profile project.

“Our systems, which are all designed and built here in the UK, can be found on most major construction sites in the UK. To now see our reputation as an ‘environmental emergency service’ also really developing overseas, is good not just for our business but also for UK exports.”