16 March 2021

Galdakao Hospital in the Basque Country (Spain) reduces waste management costs thanks to Veolia’s EVALED® technology

The new plant will allow the hospital to reduce costs associated with wastewater management, which is currently outsourced to an external company. In addition, with EVALED® technology, the facility will also align with its environmental policy thanks to a more sustainable management approach.

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The Veolia Group’s ambition is to become the benchmark company for ecological transformation. Present in five continents with nearly 218,000 employees, the Group designs and provides useful, practical solutions for water, waste, and energy management that contribute to radically changing the world. Through its three complementary activities, Veolia helps develop access to resources, preserve available resources, and reuse them. In 2023, the Veolia Group supplied drinking water to 113 million people and provided wastewater services to 103 million people, produced nearly 42 million megawatt-hours of energy, and treated 63 million tonnes of waste. Veolia Environnement (Paris Euronext: VIE) recorded consolidated revenue of €45.351 billion in 2023. www.veolia.com

Veolia in Spain signed an agreement with the Galdakao-Usansolo Hospital in Vizcaya for the installation of an evaporator to reduce up to 80% of Type V chemical waste volumes, which are currently managed externally. This move will enable the hospital to achieve equivalent cost savings and, in addition to the economic advantage, will support a more sustainable management model by lowering CO₂ emissions from transportation and producing a high-quality distillate that can be reused in auxiliary services within the hospital.

The offer is enhanced by the Hubgrade ESSENTIAL digital solution, which enables real-time remote monitoring of key operating parameters. This ensures greater control and allows Veolia to respond quickly in case of malfunctions or other issues.

The 80% wastewater reduction will be achieved using EVALED® evaporation technology, which effectively separates water from dissolved contaminants. Specifically, the unit selected by Galdakao Hospital is an EVALED® PC F model, using vacuum evaporation with heat pump and forced circulation. This system allows efficient low-temperature treatment of liquids with high dissolved solids content, minimising scaling and fouling.

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Evaporation technology minimises wastewater, generating two streams:
- A concentrate, typically reduced to 5–10% of the original volume
- A high-quality distillate, suitable for reuse (ZLD - Zero Liquid Discharge)

This solution guarantees treatment of up to 250 liters of wastewater per day, although the unit is capable of handling up to 700 liters daily to accommodate potential peaks or future increases.

This technology has also been successfully implemented at Ramón y Cajal Hospital in Madrid, where it has significantly reduced wastewater volumes previously managed externally, since its installation in 2017.

Companies are becoming increasingly aware of the need for sustainable environmental policies and seek solutions that minimise the volume of waste produced.

The proven efficiency of EVALED® evaporators in reducing wastewater volume and generating high-quality distillate, combined with the reduction of disposal costs, has made this technology ideal for various sectors: mechanical, pharmaceutical, chemical, food & beverage, mining and more.

Beyond lowering operational costs, evaporation technology offers a key added value: the recovery of materials used in production processes, such as:
- Metals in surface treatment industries
- Active ingredients in the food sector
- Precious metals
- Sodium sulfate

The economic benefits of evaporation are therefore both direct—from reducing disposal and operating costs - and indirect - from water reuse and the recovery of valuable by-products.

 

Want to learn more about evaporation technology in the pharmaceutical sector?

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