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A full house was present all day for the first day of Geosynthetics Middle East. The event was opened by Irina Bender of SKZ, Helmut Zanzinger (SKZ), and Reda Ashkar (BMC Gulf).
Eleven exhibitors were in attendance including Geosynthetica underwriters Colbond and Huesker. Ian Peggs of I-CORP presented the keynote lecture on his thought on determining time to end of life of exposed high-density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembrane liners. Catrin Tarnowski (GSE Lining Technology GmbH) followed with “Durability of Geomembranes.” Detlef Schramm (Dow) discussed Dow’s many PE resin products in Europe, Latin America, and North America. Bob Denis, as entertaining as ever, presented Solmax‘s large EIA secondary lining project in Qatar. To round out the morning session, Fouad Ashkar (BMC) showed us many of their geosynthetic projects in the Gulf Coast Region, including the Palm Islands.
(NOTE: To read a full article on Solmax’s impressive secondary containment project in Qatar, see Carl De Leon’s article "Environmentally Conscious Containment Solutions for the New Petroleum Industry," April 2009, Geosynthetica.)
After lunch Roland Von Ah (Leister, conference sponsor) discussed their approach to HDPE geomembrane welding, and was followed by Sensor’s Silke Schwobken on geoelectric damage detection (leak location) technologies. Catrin Tarnowski presented again on colored geomembranes and Bob Denis again on a design algorithm for PVC geomembranes. It was interesting hearing Bob, an HDPE geomembrane manufacturer espouse the benefits of materials other than HDPE! Cristiano Scarilli (Edilfloor) described their geotextiles products used in landfill, the Peggs spoke again on exposed geomembrane caps with flexible solar cells attached. A lively discussion followed and the need for standards/specifications in the area, education of engineer and regulators, and how one ensures obtaining an adequate stabilizer formulation in a geomembrane. Not much different to concerns in all other parts of the world, including the USA and Europe.
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Leister (many thanks) sponsored a most-relaxing pool-side reception with excellent food in the early evening (see photos). It appears there are several companies interested in manufacturing geomembranes in the near/middle east region.
Tomorrow’s focus: geogrids, coir geotextiles, and sound control geosynthetics.
We close with some photos from the event:
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More photographs will be published soon.
Ian Peggs is president of I-CORP International. Visit I-CORP’s website at http://www.geosynthetic.com or write to him at icorp@geosynthetic.com.
