Stockpiles - The Answer
The answer is to keep the rain out -
then there are none of these problems of stockpile movement and
leachate etc. Keeping rain out has been difficult until
now but “Air-beam Roller Stockpile
Cover” (ARSC) answers all the issues. ARSC can be made in
sizes to suit your requirements. ARSCs are made from high
performance HDPE/LDPE laminate geotextile using specialist HF welding
technology. The geotextile is rated for at least 5 years’
external use. An ARSC for a 25 m x 25 m stockpile only weighs about
¼ tonne. The picture sequence on page 3 shows its use. When
the airbeam is inflated it is a rigid cylinder. The beam has low
rolling resistance because of its large diameter, which means that it
can be rolled across the stockpile easily. It only takes 2 people
about 15 minutes to roll out the cover and the same time to roll it
up. Rolling means that the cover is not smeared with the material
in the stockpile and that it is not ripped if the stockpile contains
sharps.
ARSC covered stockpiles are contained
and secure; they look professional, eliminate odour and maintain
quality so they are easy to spread. ARSCs are quick to deploy and
recover, they are reusable and inexpensive.
ARSC reduces haulage and spreading
costs: stockpiles can be sited on more sloping ground or closer
to housing than otherwise; this makes more land available.
ARSC improved quality - in a
trial, when the ARSC was taken off a stockpile of digested dewatered
biosolids after one month (May-June 2004) when the air temperature had
peaked at 28.8ºC (83.9ºF) the surface had dried to 28.6%DS from 20%DS
and the Escherichia coli content in the surface was only 1.85 log10 per
gDS; deeper in the stockpile it was 3.69- 4.07 log10. ARSC can
usefully be part of a HACCP-designed treatment protocol.
What does ARSC cost? - the
prices of ARSCs depend on the sizes and quantities ordered so please
contact TIM EVANS ENVIRONMENT to discuss your requirements and ask for
a quotation. Even with conservative assumptions, ARSC only adds
£1 / m3 to the total cost over 5 uses and that’s before offsetting
savings in haulage, etc. The breakeven compared with containment
with straw bales (which are much less effective) is less than 2 uses.
Using an ARSC is always less expensive than straw incorporation.