Official commissioning of the quaternary treatment stage at the Bickenbach wastewater treatment plant (Hesse, Germany)
After around three years of construction, the quaternary treatment stage at the Bickenbach wastewater treatment plant was officially commissioned on 2 April in the presence of numerous representatives from business and politics. The quaternary treatment stage in Bickenbach treats up to 150 litres of wastewater per second and will in future reliably retain the largest proportion of hazardous and persistent micropollutants such as pharmaceutical residues, hormones, biocides and household chemicals.
Minister Hofmann: ‘Today is a good day for Bickenbach, for the whole region, for the whole of Hesse!’
‘With the commissioning of the quaternary treatment stage today, we have created something groundbreaking to further improve drinking water quality in the Hessian Ried,’ said Hessian Minister of Labour Heike Hofmann in her laudatory speech. Thanks to its existing state-of-the-art systems and the additional quaternary treatment stage, the Bickenbach wastewater treatment plant is now the most modern and efficient wastewater treatment plant in Hesse.
Quaternary treatment stage processes up to 150 litres of wastewater per second
The additional quaternary treatment stage processes up to 150 litres of wastewater per second and consists of a cloth filtration stage, an ozonation stage and a downstream four-stage activated carbon system.
16 HUBER Activated Carbon Filter CONTIFLOW® GAK units ensure the adsorption of trace substances that are difficult to oxidise and take over the biological degradation of the transformation products from the ozonation stage.
Before entering the quaternary treatment stage, a two-line cloth filtration system consisting of two HUBER Pile Cloth Media Filter RotaFilt® 2700 units ensures reliable removal of contaminants and impurities. If required, this stage can also be used as flocculation filtration for phosphorus removal.
The proven HUBER Pressure-Tight Door TT7 and the HUBER Manhole Cover SD5, which are also an integral part of the ozone reactor in Bickenbach, are almost standard equipment for ozonation stages.
Mayor Hennemann: ‘Decisive contribution to environmental protection’
The cloth filtration system began operating in Bickenbach back in November 2024, followed by the activated carbon stage in mid-February and finally ozonation at the end of March. ‘The first samples have already been sent to the laboratory for assessment,’ proudly reports Jörg Stanzel, Managing Director of the wastewater association for 22 years.
The aim of the new purification stage is to discharge the water from the sewage treatment plant as clean as possible. ‘This should be a major concern for all of us,’ agree Markus Hennemann, Chairman of the Association and Mayor of Bickenbach, and his deputy Birgit Kannegießer, Mayor of Seeheim-Jugenheim. ‘Not only are we making a decisive contribution to environmental protection, we are also doing something important for future generations.’
With its new modern quaternary treatment stage, Bickenbach is contributing significantly to the protection of the Hessian Ried. It is the largest groundwater reservoir in the state of Hesse and provides drinking water for around two million people in the Rhine-Main region.
Short TV report in the Hessenschau from 02.04.2025 (from minute 02:10): hessenschau from 21:45 Uhr on 02.04.2025 – view here
