HARM - High Attenuation Recycling Materials
The need to minimize the amount and foster the safe treatment of waste, and thereby reduce the risk of contamination; emphasises the importance of promoting technologies which are environmentally sound with products suitable for reuse/recycling.
This project establishes an experimental method to determine the performance of contaminant barriers built with natural clay and construction waste or biomass ash. The aim is to (1) evaluate the attenuation and containment capacities by these mixtures of contaminants in the long term, (2) develop design guidelines to construct barriers for waste facilities and similar applications, and (3) interpret their performance using numerical modelling tools.
Landfill leachate and CO2 gas are passed through different waste:clay mixtures in a geotechnical centrifuge which simulates realistic times, pressures and temperatures of landfill field. The geochemistry of the pore water barriers after permeation are examined to deduce pollutant removal and retention processes. The exposure effects of these barriers to an aggressive acid, rainfall or groundwater are studied too. Results are aimed at recycling industrial residues and conserving natural resources (clay) by constructing contaminant barriers. It will also provide an effective and more environmentally sustainable basis to control landfill pollution risks.
Sponsor
European Commission - Horizon 2020
Project dates
Start date: 13/03/2018
End date: 12/03/2020