Drinking water is a primary requirement for life for humans and animals. Our planet holds plenty of water, but clean water is becoming increasingly scarce.

H₂O, a primary requirement for life

In our country, we can practically always count on good quality drinking water, which comes out of our taps at low cost. In addition to the security of supply, we set increasingly higher quality requirements for drinking water. There is also growing demand for drinking water and diminishing availability of good quality fresh water. As a result, processes in water production locations continually have to be adjusted. Sustainability, energy conservation and reductions in CO2 emissions form increasingly important elements in the production of drinking water.

Beenen B.V. has been active in the drinking water sector for more than half a century. It began as an electrical engineering installation business, later adding automation services, and in recent years, has also been active as a turnkey supplier. Beenen usually works with fixed partners for this, forming an efficient and reliable construction team.

Because Vitens wanted to improve the quality of the drinking water at the Oldeholtpade production company in terms of hardness and colour, innovative changes were made to the production process. Three pellet reactors were installed to soften the water, each of them eight metres high with a diameter of 4.5 metres. The mechanical engineering installation was developed in partnership between Beenen and Rook. Ion exchange with resins in six boilers was chosen for the clarifying installation. This allows work to take place at a faster rate, with less regenerate. Finally, a membrane installation is used to make a large proportion of the rinsing water suitable again for recycling. Ultimately, a cleaner production process was achieved, with higher quality and lower operating expenses.

Beenen also works for Vitens at the Havelterberg and Spannenburg water production companies. Each year, more than five million cubic metres of water is pumped from the Havelterberg water production area in the Drenthe area. For the purification process, Beenen was involved in building a new filter building and processes such as the dosing of soda lye and air, marble filtration and treatment of rinsing water and sludge. Beenen builds on the knowledge obtained at Oldeholtpade at the Spannenburg water production company. Here, groundwater is clarified through ion exchange with resin in as many as 14 boilers. Here, too, regenerate is processed with the aid of a membrane installation.