Containment

IECA's annual conference and expo, Environmental Connection, is the world's largest soil and water event. Environmental Connection is the industry's gathering place for developing business relationships, learning new ways...

A new conference is coming to address the future of changing stormwater regulations, MS4 design and implementation, community response to new approaches and other key issues in stormwater management...

After spending a number of years working in Australia’s geosynthetic engineering field, American Joseph Little returned to the States and founded the environmental consulting firm, Little Environments LLC in...

A slideshow of whales in geomembrane lining systems. When gas gets under a geomembrane, bubbles--or, "whales"--can form. A number of reasons may be responsible, such as installation damage, poor...

There continue to be many (whale) failures of geomembrane liners in waste water treatment plant lagoons and farm manure ponds. These failures are generally due to leakage through the liner, the inability to remove leakage, the generation of methane, and the subsequent inability to vent the methane. Dr. Ian Peggs of I-CORP INTERNATIONAL provides 24 points to follow during design and installation to prevent these failures.

When gas gets under a geomembrane, operations-impairing bubbles can form. A number of reasons may be responsible, such as installation damage, poor seaming, or a lack of appropriate construction quality assurance (CQA) measures like liner integrity surveys. These bubbles are commonly referred to as "whales," and they can impact wastewater facilities, manure lagoons, ponds and other lined installations. As this photo demonstrates, even 6 in. (150 mm) thick concrete slabs are insufficient ballast to prevent whales due to trapped air and rising groundwater under a geomembrane liner. Read more.

When gas gets under a geomembrane, operations-impairing bubbles can form. A number of reasons may be responsible, such as installation damage, poor seaming, or a lack of appropriate construction quality assurance (CQA) measures like liner integrity surveys. These bubbles are commonly referred to as "whales," and they can impact wastewater facilities, manure lagoons, ponds and other lined installations. As this photo demonstrates, even 6 in. (150 mm) thick concrete slabs are insufficient ballast to prevent whales due to trapped air and rising groundwater under a geomembrane liner. Read more.

The troubled Union-Go Dairy in Winchester, Indiana has finally resolved the problem of whales (“bubbles”) in the 21-million-gallon manure lagoon’s liner. It wasn’t a joke: on April Fool’s Day, engineers moved about the lagoon on flat-bottom boats and slowly released the gas from each swollen whale. A tube and valve device was used to minimize risk of an explosive release. Learn more here.;

The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) has released its White Paper #26: "Need for and Justification of Quality Management Systems for Successful Geosynthetic Performance." In it, the Institute notes that despite 30+ years of literature documenting the great many successes with geosynthetics, three areas still have experienced types of failures that may "set the stage for the justification of quality management systems." These areas: holes in geomembranes, geotextile filter failures, and MSE wall failures.

The Geosynthetic Institute's Dr. Robert Koerner (Director Emiritus) and Jaime Koerner (Special Projects Manager) have issued the Geosynthetic Research Institute's (GRI) White Paper #23, "U.S. State Environmental Agency Status with Respect To Reviewing and Permitting Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) Landfill Berms." They write in the open that "Many state departments across the country are being asked to approve permits for the construction of large mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) berms usually located at the perimeter of a specific solid waste landfill." Their survey yielded responses from 30 state agencies, giving this white paper significant feedback on the current state-of-practice in terms of regulatory acceptance, preparedness, concerns, and more. Download a copy here (PDF).

The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) has just published its White Paper #22: "Selected Geosynthetic Opportunities Associated with Energy Production and Transmission." The 16-page paper (available here as a PDF) from Drs. Robert and George Koerner looks at global energy use, geosynthetics in key sectors (e.g., oil and gas, mining, hydroelectric), and geosynthetics in renewable energy. The authors write, "...the geosynthetics community should focus efforts by being proactive with respect to the various energy sources as applies to federal and state agencies, public advocacy groups, local citizen groups and all related stakeholders." A chart of energy sources and the geosynthetic applications associated with them is included. Read more.

Anaerobic digestion has become an increasingly popular technology for treating wastewater. Not a new technology, it has been practiced in various industries in the United States for several decades. In the earlier days of its use, companies chose anaerobic digestion as a means for controlling odor as well as to meet industry regulations for waste management. Read a white paper from Seaman Corporation: "Anaerobic Digestion: Applying Geomembranes in A Wastewater Treatment Technology That Saves Cost and Lowers Carbon Footprints." Learn more here.;

While coal ash facility design has been all the talk, there are other challenging sites in need of re-evaluating the environmental security of. The Geosynthetic Research Institute (GRI) has published its White Paper #18: "Geosynthetic Lining Opportunities at Uranium Mill Tailings (UMT) and Low Level Radioactive Waste (LLRW) Facilities in the USA." It's a cursory but fascinating snapshot of the extent of base liner, capping systems, and affiliated geosynthetics potential for these critical containment sites. From environmental protection to slope stability, the incorporation of geosynthetic technologies could be as beneficial here as they already are (and already are required) for municipal solid waste (MSW) facilities. Read the six-page white paper, with a break down of some facility scopes, here (PDF). Learn more here.;

The energy continues to flow from Solmax’s international headquarters near Montreal. The company acquired the Houston-based assets of the former Brawler Industries, providing even more efficient service to key...

One of the world’s biggest manufacturers of geomembranes, Solmax Inc., is after 35 years of cross-border work establishing a physical presence in the United States. The company has...

International geosynthetics manufacturer Solmax has announced the addition of Doyin Adesokan, B. Eng. MSc. as its new Technical Manager. She brings to the company deep global experience in civil...

A new training program from international barrier system manufacturer Solmax aims to increase user understanding of conductive geomembrane. The three-day training will be held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada...

In 2015, there was little time for rest. Solmax launched four new products and filed two patents. We summarize some of the biggest developments here. These highlights...

International geosynthetics manufacturer Solmax has announced the appointment of company veteran Mr. Jean-Louis Vangeluwe as its new Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Vangeluwe has spent nearly two full decades with...

Mechanically stabilized earth constructions, such as MSE walls, have enabled economical, safe, more vertical constructions. Often, these designs have yielded shorter construction windows, offered vegetated faces, and reduced the...

APPLETON, Wisconsin - PRESTO GEOSYSTEMS®, a leading manufacturer of soil stabilization and stormwater products, introduces their new GEOWEB® MSE design freeware for GEOWEB geocell wall applications. The software creates...

TenCate Geosynthetics introduces TenCate MiraSlope® design solutions software for Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) applications. This easy to use software program of TenCate will assist engineers in determining the reinforcement requirements for reinforced soil slopes and walls.

Le parole del Ministro dell’Ambiente Orlando, che con il suo messaggio ha inaugurato la settima edizione di RemTech Expo (Fiera di Ferrara, 18-20 Settembre), suonano al contempo come un...

geosynthetica's newest column tracks the travels, lectures, work, current research interests, and so forth of engineers and others working with geosynthetics. Issue 1 catches up with I-CORP INTERNATIONAL's Ian Peggs, who recently visited Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Korea for litigation, site and company visits, IAGI certification proctoring, industry discussions and much more. Read "Catching Up With..." today and find out how you can contribute to it or be profiled.

Kickstarter is a microlending-styled fund-raising platform for creative projects. One of the projects gaining strong attention today comes from Designers Archie Lee Coates IV and Jeffrey Franklin of PlayLab and Dong-Ping Wong of Family Architects, who have developed the +Pool concept. The idea is to create public pools using ordinary water, even New York's river water. A geotextile-based filtration system would provide the frontline screening and treatment. Learn more here.;