This year''s Pentecost excursion of ISAH took place on the 22nd and 23rd May. Destinations were Hamburg and Stade.
On the first day, the journey went directly to Hamburg and there to the Köhlbrandhöft/Dradenau sewage treatment plant. There, not only more than 1.8 million inhabitants but also the industry is connected, resulting in a connection size of more than 2.4 million inhabitants (see HAMBURG WASSER). This makes the Hamburg plant one of the largest sewage treatment plants in Germany. A special feature is the sludge treatment and recycling, which also takes place at the plant. This area was then the focus of the guided tour that Hamburg Wasser made possible for LUH students. The sludge dewatering, digestion, drying, and sludge mono-combustion were visited. The last station also included a detailed introduction to the flue gas cleaning system installed there, as well as preparation for the provision of boiler feed water. In the VERA incineration plant, 120,000 t of sewage sludge and other foreign sludge and screening residues are incinerated annually (see VERA Klärschlammverbrennung).
The afternoon program was dedicated to the drinking water subject. The Water Forum as well as the Water Art Elbe Island Kaltehofe were visited. On Elbe Island, the participants were introduced to the history of Hamburg''s water supply since the middle of the 19th century, including the devastation caused by the cholera epidemics (see Stiftung Wasserkunst Elbinsel Kaltehofeunst). This was followed by a visit to the Water Forum, the largest and most modern water museum in Northern Germany (see HAMBURG WASSER). There, water technologies could be marvelled at in life-size models, such as cross-sections through vertical filter wells and quick filters, as they are usually found in waterworks.
On the 23rd, a visit to the Dow Chemical Stade plant took place. The program included a tour of the plant followed by a detailed presentation of the wastewater treatment. Special highlights were the inspection of the tower-biology, the introduction to the maintenance of the large steel tanks (32,000 m³ each), and the discussion of current challenges in the treatment of the highly saline wastewater.
We would like to thank HAMBURG WASSER and Dow Chemical and their employees, who gave us an extremely friendly welcome and, with beautiful weather, provided us with deep insights into the practice of municipal and industrial water management!
