FRIDAY 18 JUNE 2021 / 10:00 - 13:00 (GMT+2)
Howard Robinson, Phoenix Engineering (UK)
Tim Robinson, Phoenix Engineering (UK)
The management of landfill leachates, at both operational and closed landfill sites, is probably the biggest environmental challenge facing landfill operators. In spite of the first simple and well-engineered leachate treatment plants having been commissioned 40 years ago, many expensive and more-advanced plants continue to be designed and constructed, that either do not work, or fail to meet design objectives. Frequently, these failures arise from just a few simple mistakes.
The webinar will provide a simple brief introduction to the characteristics of landfill leachates, and will then progress to examine treatment processes which can be adopted. Initial processes, often required before pretreated leachates can be discharged to sewer, will include methane stripping, and removal of hydrogen sulphide, and design parameters will be discussed.
The main focus of the treatment part of the webinar will be on aerobic biological treatment processes, which have proved to be the most successful and reliable treatment systems internationally. Many detailed case studies of full-scale systems will be described and illustrated with operational data over extended periods. Howard and Tim have been at the forefront of developing such processes for many decades, Howard having developed and adopted the first use of the Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) process for leachate treatment, more than forty years ago. Simple treatment processes will be described and illustrated, progressing to some of the largest and most advanced leachate treatment systems in the world.
The lecturers will also describe several world-leading plants which have been adapted to incorporate full nitrification and full denitrification processes, as discharge standards become increasingly demanding.
The webinar will allow for interaction with delegates, and a full package of detailed reports, case studies and guidance will be provided afterwards.
Howard and Tim Robinson work for Phoenix Engineering in the UK. They each have first class honours degrees in Environmental Science, and have spent their whole careers working on characterisation and treatment of landfill leachates. Howard has pioneered leachate treatment processes since the mid-1970s, and been responsible for the design and commissioning of more than 100 full-scale plants, in many countries of the world. Tim’s university dissertation was on a novel single tank nitrification/denitrification system for treating leachates from old landfills, for which he was awarded the title of “Young Author of the Year” by the CIWEM, in 2014. They continue to work closely together, and have presented many leachate training courses, both at the Sardinia Symposia, in the UK and overseas. They very much look forward to this course!
