Faced with flooding, a leading uranium facility had to urgently treat its water to protect the natural environment
In February 2006, the Narbonne area experienced very heavy rainfall which flooded the lagoon zone close to the plant. The lagoon ponds reached maximum capacity and could no longer take stormwater from the plain and effluents from the plant. To avoid polluted water flooding the natural environment, the facility had to be shut down and over 60,000 m³ of nitrate-laden water (5 to 10 g/l) had to be treated urgently. Areva called on SUEZ to find solutions to tackle this extreme situation without delay in order to restart production as quickly as possible.
Responding to the emergency and implementing sustainable solutions
Adapting an existing solution to provide an innovative response
- adapting the reverse osmosis technology to treat plant effluents
- running pilot tests and obtaining positive results
- providing mobile reverse osmosis units to treat effluents on site and implementing associated operational services
- treating over 60,000 m3 of nitrate-laden water in a very short period of time
Thanks to the flexibility and swift response of SUEZ teams, Areva Malvési was able to restart production just over a month after shutdown.
Recycling stormwater to protect the lagoon for the long term
- Set up a reuse process comprising 35,000 m3 basins, sedimentation tanks, filtration systems and 3-stage reverse osmosis systems
- Recycle highly concentrated process water: 50 to 150 mg/l of suspended solids at input, 0 at output, with a treatment flow of 25 m³/hr
- Make significant water and energy savings by reinjecting treated water into the industrial process
- Launch a new stormwater treatment facility to manage the risk of stormy weather (construction of new concentrate evaporation ponds and implementation of a new way of managing evaporation ponds, based on the Densadeg technology).
Areva Malvési demonstrated remarkable responsiveness to protect the lagoon from heavily nitrate-laden stormwater and ensure the continuity, profitability and sustainability of plant operations. SUEZ provided its technical skills and expertise, taking little over a month to find and apply cutting-edge solutions: 60,000 m³ of stormwater were treated and the plant quickly restarted production.
Local and institutional authorities appreciated Areva Malvési’s commitment to meeting its responsibilities and avoiding polluting the natural environment.
On top of managing an emergency situation, Areva Malvési improved its economic and environmental performance. By creating a new stormwater recycling process, the plant has:
- Significantly reduced the quantity of nitrates in water discharged into the natural environment, thanks to a cutting-edge filtration system
- Restored the evaporation balance, even during periods of exceptionally heavy rainfall
- Considerably increased its production capacity, from 15,000 to 21,000 tonnes/year