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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2009-01-07, Page 6{ r. Play 6. .The Huron Expositor • January 7, 2009 News Goderich engineer studies using waste materlal to filter IandfiII leachate as low cost alternative 'Gerjrd Creel's Its an idea that environmental en- gineer Bibek Mondal has spent years researching at Ryerson University, but the proof is . in - waste materials can filter waste water. "The. message is it works," said Mondal. "It's proven science." The engineer at B.M. Ross and Associates in Goderich has spent the last two and a half years conducting re- search, testing the via- bility of waste products such as tires, paper and even glass, as an effec- tive low-cost alternative to filtering landfill leachate. "It would be wonderful if we could use waste materials to help reduce waste matter," he _said. "And there are several ways to use it." Although glass and paper also work with filtration, Mon - dal made tires his pre- liminary focus; the rea- son being, in Ontario alone, there are more than 12 million scrap tires generated every year more than one per person. While these are cur- rently used in asphalt mixtures, erosion con- trol and .other projects, there are still huge stockpiles of tires being stored at landfills, he said. )14 r1 `It's' very cost effective, much cheaper than stones or gravel;'— Bibek ravel;'RBibek Mondal, of B.M. Ross and Associates "Many landfill operators have scrap tire stockpiles and they will be glad to know that a little ini- tiative like this to use scrap tires and treat their landfill leachate can save them thousands every year," he said in an email to the Signal -Star. The benefits of tires, he said, are many -fold and begin with the properties of the tire itself. "If you think about the pa- rameters of tires, 4-4 T :- v You are invited to attend these area churches sr THOMAS ANGLICAN CHURCH A Congregation of the Parish of The Holy Spirit The Reverend Karine A. Farmer Jarvis St., Seaforth 519-527-1522 Sunday, January 1 I th Worship & Sunday School 9:30 a.m. EVERYONE WELCOME Morning Prayer Fri., Jan. 9th at 10 a.m. Council meets Tues., Jan. 13th at 7:30 p.m. BETHEL BIBLE CHURCH An Associated Gospel Church 126 Main St., Seaforth• 519-527-0982 Sunday School All Ages 9:45a.m. Sunday Worship 1 I a.m. Youth Group & B&G Club Wed. 7p.m. Pastor Mark Kennedy EVERYONE WELCOME NORTHSIDE UNITED Welcomes YOU Sunday 11 a.m. Worship Nursery & Sunday School 54 Goderich Seaforth 527-2635 www.cavannorthsideunited.ca . ST. JAMES ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH WELCOMES YOU 14 Victoria Street, Seaforth 519-527-0142 Sunday Mass 11 a.m. ST PATRICK'S, DUBLIN Saturday Mass 5p.m. Sunday Mass 9a.m. FR. CHRIS GILLESPIE EGMONDVILLE UNITED CHURCH 'Pastor Steve Hildebrand Worship Sun., Jan. 1 I th at 11 a.m. 10 a.m. Sunday School resumes Jan. 11/09 Come worship with us Elevator & Ear Buds Available FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 59 Goderich St. W. Seaforth 519-527-0170 Organist Susanna Lyman Sunday Service Jan. 11 at 11:15 a.m. Rev. Catherine Campbet) Nursery & Sunday School ALL WELCOME IJ they are a compressed.... good perme- able material," he said. A single tire can be stretched out to cover six times its own surface area, and Mondal said the question he had to answer was how to best use that absorbant surface area to reduce chemicals in landfill leachate. 7.b that end, he exper- imented with both tire chips and tire crumbs to see which state was able to remove the most bio -toxins from waste water. While both tests provided better ' filtra- tion than stone or ag- gregate, he said tire crumbs hadthe upper hand on the chips, since. the ironic compounds of \.. the tires were removed in the crumbs. As an added appeal to potential us- ers, the price of tires is far less than that of most filtration materials. "It's very cost effective," he said. "Much cheaper than stones or crushed gravel." One tonne of scrap tires, he said, costs as little as $10. Compared to stone or aggregate - which can cost as much as 100 -times more - tires. would provide significant savings for landfill owners. But what. happens when the tires are used up and how can they be dis- posed? Mondal said the filtration process not only takes harmful properties out of the water, but also from 'the tires themselves. After six months, or two filtration cycles, he said the tires lose much of their car- bon - their main pollut- ant - and 90-95 per cent of organic toxicity is re- moved from the water. When the lifespan of the tires is complete, he said they can be dis- posed of with the regu- lar landfill waste and new tires installed as the leachate filter. But, the applications of this research go be- yowl landfill . use, he said. Closer to home, the same principle can be applied to small manufacturin.g, as well as chemical processing plants - basically, any y place that generates toxic water. He said all that is needed to reduce that toxicity from the water before it is sent back for treatment is to fil- ter it through a garbage can packed with tire crumbs, thereby reducing the toxins being sent through our water mains. "Pass your effluent through that," he said. "See if you get a cleaner liq- uid than what you would put through the sewer lines." His research partner at Ryerson, Mustafa Warith, has been travelling the world pitching the idea. Mondal said countries such as Egypt, China and Hong Kong have already begun using scrap tires for filtration, while here in Canada, it's still taking time to sink in: However, Mondal said he has al- ready talked to local landfills; includ- ing Mid -Huron, to garner interest in the idea which he said is so simple, it should be common sense. "My - message to community, land- fill owners, and industry is: give it a try," he said. "It's not really taking a lot of money from you and if you get good success, there you go!" Mondal's papers, Comparison of Shredded Tire Chips and Tire Crumbs 'as Packing Media in Trickling Fil- ters, and Use of Shredded Tire Chips and Tire Crumbs as Packing Media in Trickling Filtration Systems For Landfill Leachate Treatment, have been published in the Journal of . Environmental Technology and the Water Quality Research Journal of Canada respectively. 'My message to community landfill owners and industry is: give it a try. It's not really taking a lot of money from Bibek Mondal ...t� get the tootS»ycU need to Find a job! Give yourself the adva4„ Attend a FREE One Day Workshop ✓ Resume Preparation ✓ interview Techniques Call your local Centre for Employ - t and 11 g. Goderich 519-524-2515 Clinton 519-4$2-1700 Seaforth 519-527-0305 .+ }J. • 14111 .r'