Digesters Emschermündung sewage works

The sewage works is 7.5km upstream from the mouth of the Emscher where the towns of Dinslaken – Duisburg – Oberhausen meet. When it was finished in 1976, with its 75ha the plant was the largest sewage works in Europe.
In 1995, the plant was expanded by the three then globally largest digesters plus company buidling and a staircase and lift tower.
The digesters are 46.74m tall, have a diameter of 29.60m and a capacity of 16,700m³ each.
Their sheer size aside, the three very visible digesters catch the eye by their arrangement and egg-like shape.
Starting from a cylindrical bottom, the shape forms a massive truncated cone where the digestion tank proper begins with a wall thickness of 75cm, continuously reduced to 40cm at the top.
The outside thermal insulation consists of 70mm thick insulating boards and was lined with band-coated, baking-varnished sheets of aluminium 1mm thick. Five different shades, stacked in height, make the façade visually attractive.
The methane produced during the digestion is used in the block-type thermal power station for heat and energy generation, while the digested sludge is pumped 19.2 km through pipelines to Bottrop along the River Emscher for further processing.

Author: Editorial baukunst-nrw
Last changed on 02.02.2023

Categories:
Engineering » Water Management