On Monday, we had a guest lecturer come in to talk to us about remediation of contaminated sites. It was a good reinforcement to what I have learned in some of my other classes and definitely caught my interest. After class on Monday, we had some free time where my group and myself continued to work on the second project.
On Tuesday, the group and myself went to Poetto Beach. While everyone was off sailing, I enjoyed a nice nap on the beach. After lunch we all met up and continued our day on the beach where we caught some sun and played in the water. It was an extremely relaxing day that everyone appreciated. At night, we went out to dinner and then crashed and had a solid nights sleep.
Today, we started off the day by visiting Consorzio Industriale Provinciale Medio Campidano Villacidro, a waste management facility that has many facets to its repertuar, including anaerobic digestion. The biogas that the facility produces from the anaerobic digestion is done in two stages, one for hydrolysis (the more robust phase), and one for methanogenisis. Both stages produce methane due to the fact that the microbes that partake in both processes can not be totally excluded from one another. The total process produces anywhere from 60 to 80 percent methane out of the total gas volume. As compared to a landfill gas recovery system, this is roughly 10 to 30 percent higher. The facility also has three landfills, a composting facility, and a waste water treatment plant. It is interesting to note that the facility does its best to be sustainable by using certain end products from one waste management stream to facilitate the next. For example, the effluent from the waste water goes to creating the biological suspension used in the anaerobic digestion. The facility also had a wind and solar farm to produce energy that was then sold back to the grid. It was interesting to note that the main reason for low efficiency at the current time being are due primarily to monetary issues and a recessed economy. After our tour of the facility, we headed up to a park also in Villacidro where we hiked (kinda) to see a waterfall. After our quick trip, we came home and here I am writing the blog. Below are some pictures from the beginning of this week.
Poetto Beach
Various organic wastes next to the composting facility
The view from inside the structure that houses the methane gas that comes from the landfill. The outer bubble is used as a protective barrier. The inner bladder was not filled.
The biofilter on site
The wind farm and solar farm
The waterfall in Villacidro
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