Veolia to install anaerobic digester in major wastewater facility

French company Veolia is set to install an anaerobic digester at a wastewater treatment plant in Le Mans Metropole, an urban community of 19 municipalities.

Veolia has been selected to operate the wastewater treatment plant at La Chauvinière from 2018 for a period of nine years.

A number of innovations will be installed at the site in order to reduce its energy consumption as much as possible and become part of a circular model. This includes Veolia constructing an anaerobic digestion unit at the site that will produce biogas from the La Chauvinière sewage sludge. This unit will provide the same amount of biogas as that consumed by Le Mans’ bus network.

Elsewhere at the site, an innovative process will transform the CO₂ arising from the purification of biomethane into sodium bicarbonate, which will then be used in a neighbouring waste-to-energy unit.

“Working alongside Le Mans, we will make the La Chauvinière plant a real reference in the water treatment sector. This plant illustrates what tomorrow’s plants will be like, that is, firmly committed to the circular economy, benefiting from excellent service in the forefront of innovation, and delivering remarkable performance." said Frédéric Van Heems, Chief Executive Officer of Water for Veolia in France.