By Bruno Pedroni and Chris Kelsey – The BW Expo is Brazil’s most important gathering for service and technology presentations regarding the sustainable management of wastes, water, wastewater, energy, and air. With an international exhibit hall and conference program, the biennial show brings together key companies and thinkers for networking and technology transfer.
BW Expo 2017 will be held in São Paulo 7 – 9 June 2017. With it co-located with the equally large Construction Expo 2017, the geosynthetics field will play an important role.
BW EXPO 2017 & GEOSYNTHETICS
The rapid growth of waste production in Brazil has presented significant challenges to national and regional policies for waste collection and management. The promulgation of the National Policy on Solid Waste (Law 12305/2010), which establishes several actions and goals, focuses on the decommission of out-dated municipal dumps, greater utilization of recycling or reuse of materials to minimize waste streams, and burial of all remaining wastes in properly designed landfill cells (including geosynthetics for environmental protection).
The exhibition at BW Expo 2017 will offer a great deal of needed options for public and private entities to improve their waste management practices. Drainage and venting solutions, geosynthetic lining and capping systems, groundwater monitoring solutions, solid waste handling equipment, slurry treatment machines, odor control solutions, and environmental sanitation treatment solutions are just some of the services and technologies that the expected 3000+ attendees will seek.
A geosynthetics pavilion is even planned, which will be a first for the event. (More will be published about this on Geosynthetica soon.)
Engineer Vinicius Benjamin, Director of Eng Consult, notes that for Brazil landfill sector, geosynthetics are of great and growing importance.
“For each application, some type of geosynthetic can perform the same function when compared to natural materials with the same efficiency,” says Benjamin. “Drainage systems and protection of geomembranes can be made using nonwoven geotextiles and drainage geocomposites; barrier systems can be done with geomembranes and geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs); covers might use geotextiles and geocomposites; geocells can be used to create stable embankments for leachate or stormwater collection pits; etc. The cost-benefit ratio in each of these cases is at least equal to conventional solutions.”
The market has significant room for growth, according to a study by the Brazilian Association of Public Cleaning and Special Waste Companies (ABRELPE). From an energy perspective alone, properly engineering landfills throughout the country is expected to provide up to 500 MWh of power annually within the next 30 years. That is enough power to support 3.2 million people. Geosynthetic lining and capping systems will play a significant role here.
ADDITIONAL BW EXPO 2017 HIGHLIGHTS
BW Expo 2017 will also present innovations for sustainable air, water, and energy management. A major part of the conference’s success is that it is the only event that combines the four macro-sectors linked to environmental sustainability. The 2015 edition of BW Expo was supported by more than 100 companies and 3000 visitors.
In addition, BW Expo will be co-located with three events:
- Construction Expo 2017 (International Fair of Buildings and Infrastructure Works)
- M & T Parts and Services 2017 (Exhibition and Congress on Technology and Management of Equipment for Construction and Mining)
- Summit 2017
Together, these events form the largest construction and environment event in Brazil.
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Bruno Pedroni, Editor of Geosynthetica Brazil, wrote the initial article on this event. Chris Kelsey is Editor of Geosynthetica.net.
