Séminaire Odeur 2014

I just returned from Séminaire Odeur 2014 in Quebec City.  I joined more than 70 professionals from the private and public sectors to learn about the latest in sampling, quantifying, neutralizing, eliminating, and managing odors.  Yann Contratto and Richard Leduc, my colleagues at OlfactoExpert, Inc. organized the seminar so that project owners, consultants, and vendors could learn about each other’s needs and opportunities.  Another college of MLMe, Francois Peron, President of Bioservice.ca., delivered a presentation on the success of Odocontrol solutions in neutralizing odors at WWTPs, compost facilities, transfer stations, landfills, and other odor generating facilities.

Francois Perron talks about the success Bioservice has in reducing and eliminating odor complaints.

What I learned:

For existing or new construction you can and should conduct a preliminary audit that includes:

• diagnosis of odor emissions under present conditions (zero point before construction) and future conditions
•  validation of the abatement efficiency of treatment methods in various operating scenarios
• odor impact study to assess concentrations in surrounding community based on site operating conditions
• prioritization of the impact of the various odor sources to guide the identification of appropriate odor solutions
•  public education and outreach regarding the site activities to local officials and residents

OlfactoExpert's preliminary audit will lead into an odor sampling program and analyses that will establish a realistic odor dispersion model and identify cost-effective odor controls, including design solutions, operational techniques, and odor neutralizing products.

For your existing transfer station, composting facility, and wastewater treatment operations now is the time to develop your warm weather odor management program.  BioService products and application techniques will keep those foul odors from becoming your summer headache.

My local team is ready to meet with you to discuss all your odor management challenges.  Call me at 413 313 6901.

Changing Weather Patterns Become Personal

I just returned from a visit to Ireland.  This trip was my own personal pilgrimage to visit the sights, sounds, and the descendants of family and friends my great grandparents left in Devlaune, outside Belmullet, in County Mayo.    To my delight this journey has become the beginning of a renewed relationship between my family’s people and the folks in the Mullet who have been keeping the home fires burning all this time.  I took lots of notes and photos that will support a grand family tale.  However, the following tells the story of my trip in the context of an emerging global reality.

My flight to Shannon was scheduled to leave Boston for a connection in Newark on Thursday, January 2, 2014: day one of the snowstorm.    Flights were being delayed and cancelled, including mine to Newark.  United rebooked me on a Saturday flight that would leave Boston for Chicago to London and then finally to Shannon.  I believe my arrival was early 2015.  With super assistance from Expedia (shout out to my agent Oscar here), I was able to double team the call queue and secured an earlier flight to Newark where my connection to Shannon was still on time.

Moving the boats back into Blacksod Bay after Christine passes

The plane from Boston to Newark was covered in snow.  From the gate I could see that the windshield was clear only where the wiper blades hit.  The tarmac was white.  This was clearly a plow-able event.  While on board waiting the snow continued to significantly pile up.  Well past initial departure time the pilot announced that we were waiting for de-icing treatment.   We were still a “go” despite the deteriorating conditions.  The pilot followed up by saying this was a good time to use our cell phones to contact our loved ones… he paused… to let them know our arrival will be delayed.  Note to United – bad choice of words and rhythm.  While they get your attention, it’s not for the right reason.  The poor guy in the seat next to me made the sign of the cross and remained in prayer until we got in the air.

This was my first experience taking off in such a significant weather event as well as being on a plane that was being de-iced.  The equipment was impressive, and I learned later so is the cost.  Large crane-like vehicles power sprayed the solution all over, under, and around the plane.  The pilot noted that once the de-icing fluid was applied we needed to take-off soon after.  And so we did.

When we landed the snow had not yet reached Newark.  I still had seven hours before my next flight was scheduled to leave.  I watched the departure board turn red as the arriving snow grew steady and more flights were being cancelled.  My departure time, however, was holding.   But that too changed about 45 minutes before scheduled take-off.  It was moved back an hour, we boarded, we de-planed, we boarded again, and two hours later we took-off, but not before major de-icing procedures.

I landed in Shannon late Friday morning just after the first wave of storms that were the worst to hit Ireland in more than twenty years.  Coastal areas, particularly in the west, were hit by torrential rains, wind gusts exceeding 75 miles per hour, and wave heights up to 65 feet.   Superstorm Christine began on Thursday January 2 and came to an end on Tuesday January 7.

I planned to drive on Saturday from Limerick to Belmullet following a direct route along the coast and through Galway.   The hotel staff strongly encouraged me to take an inland route as news reports and updates from their family and friends indicated that many roads were impassable.   I prepared a new route that brought me through Athlone and Ballina.  I then needed to worry about the condition of N59 and R313, the roads from Ballina to Belmullet.   Thankfully, the drive was uneventful although standing waters in the roadways were common.  Once I reached Belmullet the effects of the storm were more apparent.  Roads along Broad Haven Bay had been undermined and seaweed and other debris were strewn about.

Storm swells at Blacksod Lighthouse

My destination on the Mullet Peninsula is surrounded by water with the open Atlantic on the west and Blacksod Bay and Broad Haven to the east.  For the next several days my travels were dictated by the waves of rains and winds relieved by periods of sun and calm, while back home in the northeast the Thursday and Friday snowstorm was followed by record breaking cold.

I have a tendency to experience things in the context of my public works consulting.   (Note to me:  stop that)  In Ireland, storm Christine displaced people, stranded communities, caused injuries, and resulted in power outages.  Early assessments of infrastructure damage included extensive roadway washouts, damage to buildings including washing away of the lighthouse on Inisboffin Island, undermining of flood prevention structures, and a huge sinkhole in Tramore.   Damage costs are estimated to exceed 300 million euros.  An editorial in the Saturday Irish Independent calls out that the Irish can’t ignore the fact that winter storms are getting longer and more damaging.

Yes...it's windy

These two weather events on either side of the Atlantic caused damage and deaths for, thankfully, a relative few.  The rest of us experienced varying degrees of disruption and annoyance.  It’s understood, no matter what the cause, that on a global level extreme storms are becoming stronger and more common.   These disruptions affect all of us.  Government resources are redirected to address emergency responses.  Travelers are stranded, rerouted, and delayed affecting families and business.   Industries experience losses because of operational shutdowns and delivery and shipping delays.   Schools are cancelled.  Medical appointments, cultural events, and social activities are postponed or cancelled.  Some of these seem minor, but what if they become the new norm?  Governments, to varying degrees, are incorporating climate change impacts into their infrastructure planning and emergency management, but are we, as individuals, ready to accept the effects of climate change into our lives?  Just something to think about.

Road damage in Belmullet from storm Christine.

ICMA 2013 Odor Discussions

EMetrics is an Advanced Odor Management Tool

I joined my odor management clients Bioservice.ca and OlfactoExpert, Inc. at September’s ICMA Annual Conference in Boston.   It was a great opportunity to meet and speak with municipal managers throughout North America.

Francois Perron, Yann Contratto, and I manned a booth for two days at the Hynes Convention Center. Visitors to our booth came from throughout the US and Canada.  Odors from wastewater treatment plants and pump stations dominated their concerns followed by odors from feedlots and other agricultural operations.  In some cases, managers were giving us contact information for facility owners in neighboring communities where odor emissions were crossing town lines.  Just as I was concluding that there was predictability among all these concerns, I spoke to a manager from Missouri who had a concern about odors from a wastewater treatment plant and a closed landfill.  His story continued with describing an expanding underground burn at the landfill and its potential threat to another closed waste site allegedly containing radioactive materials!  Prioritization is important in this case.

Yann Contratto, Francois Perron, and I were able to respond to our visitors’ non-nuclear issues.   We all agree that their odor management programs need to identify cost effective techniques and products that solve the problem.   EMetrics is a tool developed by OlfactoExpert that provides a more accurate measure of odor concentration.   EMetrics gives the project owner the knowledge to locate the specific sources, identify mitigation measures, and select a solution based on effectiveness and costs.  Solutions could include mechanical improvements, operational changes, and application of odor neutralizing products.

Visitors to our booth also included representatives from several engineering and consulting firms specializing in wastewater treatment and waste to energy facilities.  They recognize that the fear of odors associated with these operations can stop a project in its tracks.  EMetrics can actually provide an odor impact study before a facility is built.  Using available meteorological data for the proposed site and odor data from a similar operation, EMetrics can map out an odor impact zone.  This allows for odor mitigation techniques to be built into the design and facility operations.  EMetrics assessments and mapping also provide a great public education tool that addresses odor management before it becomes a problem.  These consultants are interested in discussing how EMetrics can support a design team pursuit and provide consultants a competitive procurement edge by acknowledging and addressing odor management concerns up front and reducing community opposition. 

Yann, Francois, and I will be following up with our new connections (not so much the nuclear issue) to discuss specific options to address their odor concerns.  If you feel your community needs to let in more fresh air or you want to learn more about EMetrics, please don’t hesitate to contact Mary Louise Monahan Enterprises at 413 313 6901 or send me an email at mary@marylouisemonahan.com.

Chicago’s Historic Public Works Projects Continue to Support the City’s Residents

Chicago is a magnificent city and exciting to explore from a public works perspective.  I recently attended and participated in the 2013 American Public Works Association International Public Works Congress and Exposition at McCormick Place in Chicago.

In addition to learning more about public works trends, new products, and innovative approaches, Congress is a great opportunity to see how the environment, politics, and history of the host cities support infrastructure development.  Lake Michigan dominates Chicago’s history.  In addition to supporting shipping, tourism, fishing, and other economic drivers, the lake is the source of Chicago’s drinking water supply and the receiving water for the discharge of the region’s treated wastewater. 

I learned on my boat tour on the Chicago River how one of the city’s earliest public works initiatives was to change the flow direction of the river.  APWA considers it one of the top ten public works projects of the century.   Originally the river flowed into Lake Michigan.  Historically rivers were viewed as disposal sites for untreated wastes.  And in some cases, they still are.  As the industrial activities grew along the river and the population increased, pollutants and wastes in the river also increased.  Remember, the river was flowing into Lake Michigan, Chicago’s source of drinking water.  Cholera and typhoid cases increased dramatically in the mid-1800s and public health officials recognized that the drinking water from Lake Michigan was a cause.  The City, using dredging, canals, and locks, reversed the flow of the Chicago River so that now Lake Michigan flowed into the river as opposed to the river flowing into the lake.  This reversal in flows sent Chicago’s wastes down the river to St. Louis, Missouri and on into the Mississippi.  St Louis filed suit but before the court case could begin, the newly created Metropolitan Sanitary District finished the project, reversed the river flow, and sent Chicago’s waste into the Mississippi by way of St. Louis.

And in a look back on how Chicago and all cities and towns took pride in their public works projects, this blog includes photos of the exterior and interior of the Chicago Avenue Pumping Station located on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile.  The Gothic exterior is made of limestone and it was designed by W.W. Boyington.  The pumping station and water tower were one of the few structures left standing after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871.  It still serves as a pumping station as well as a visitor’s center and small theater.

Investment in Infrastructure has Economic Returns and More

On Thursday, August 15, 2013 I went on the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority Advisory Board Annual Field Trip which included a tour of Boston Harbor hosted by staff from the MWRA and Boston Redevelopment Authority.   The boat tour included 157 local officials, residents, and consultants from MWRA’s 60 member communities.

The boat traveled from Deer Island to the Zakim Bridge where it began its return trip.  The program speakers began by emphasizing that the money spent to cleanup Boston Harbor and transform it back to a recreation and natural resource is directly responsible for the economic investment and development that followed.  For two hours BRA staff updated us on the economic development initiatives realized along Boston’s waterfront.   Among them are Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, new high end condominiums, improvements to the harbor islands, and development in the Seaport District. 

BRA speakers noted that sea levels are rising and that ongoing development along the waterfront will need to adapt to climate change impacts.  BRA is currently collecting data from a climate change survey and is contemplating regulations for new development. 

I learned that developers along the waterfront are already taking into consideration rising sea levels and the increase in storm intensity.  The new Spaulding Rehab hospital includes windows that can open.   This is the result of lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina.  When hospitals and other emergency facilities in New Orleans lost power, the lack of ventilation and windows that did not open created oppressive work conditions.

On the boat, representatives from the MWRA recognized the efforts of fellow passengers former Governor Michal Dukakis and Federal District Court Judge Richard Stearns.  Governor Dukakis’s administration worked with the court, legislators, stakeholders, and residents to develop and implement the Boston Harbor Cleanup program.  This resulted in the creation of the MWRA and the design, construction, and operation of the Deer Island wastewater treatment plant. 

The plant is a state of the art facility that serves as a technical resource for engineers and governments from around the world looking for local solutions for water quality issues and wastewater management.   In the past two years I have organized and participated in Deer Island plant tours for delegates from Pakistan and the Philippines.  The Philippine delegation included the judge and local officials from Manila, where the judge had recently issued an order for the cleanup of Manila Bay, similar to the court actions that initiated the cleanup of Boston Harbor.

Infrastructure investment supports local and regional economies.  State Representative Carolyn Dykema and State Senator James Eldridge of the Massachusetts Water Infrastructure Finance Commission noted that the Commission identified funding gaps for water and wastewater of over $20 billion.   They are proposing legislation that would commit to funding loans and grants to support water and wastewater projects throughout the Commonwealth.  These projects would improve water quality, include innovative ideas, generate economic development, and encourage a greater use of the Commonwealth’s waters.

The cleanup of Boston Harbor is an example to the world of how investments in water and wastewater infrastructure result in economic, environmental, health, and recreational returns.  It’s the right thing to do. 

The benefits of the Scuderi Split-Cycle Engine at treatment facilities are a “no brainer”

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Did you know that the Scuderi Split-Cycle Engine (SSC) technology with compressed air energy storage capability provides 30% more efficiency and that this is the only known engine that can both produce and store compressed air energy?

With large pumps, motors, drives, and other equipment operating 24 hours a day, wastewater and water treatment facilities can be among the largest individual energy users in a community (EPA, An Energy Management Guidebook for Wastewater and Water Utilities, January 2008).

MLM has worked with many treatment plant owners who truly want to incorporate energy efficiency and savings into their treatment processes.   In many cases the initial high capital costs associated with the design and purchase of renewable and energy efficient alternatives stopped these projects cold.  The purchase costs associated with the Scuderi engine are comparable to the purchase price of conventional engines and motors and will provide immediate savings on energy costs and enhance the long term sustainability of the operation.

The Scuderi engine is a split cycle design that divides the four strokes of a conventional combustion cycle over two paired cylinders, one intake/compression cylinder and one power/exhaust cylinder, connected by a crossover port.  This configuration provides benefits to the combustion process which enhances efficiency.  The SSC engine can also include compressed air energy storage (CAES) capability when an external air-tank is connected to the crossover port of the engine.  The engine’s compressed air energy storage capability provides off-peak energy storage and on-peak energy usage, increasing total generation.

The SSC engine can run on any type of gas, including natural gas, biogas, CNG, and others.   The benefits of the Scuderi Split-Cycle Technology are not limited to treatment facilities.  Scuderi’s SSC technology provides immediate opportunities for waste to energy operations including anaerobic digesters at wastewater treatment facilities, landfill and composting facilities, and other projects that have goals of energy efficiency, power generation, and long term sustainability.

Unlike conventional generators which intake either air first, or air and fuel simultaneously, the SSC engine can inject low pressure fuel first during a non-firing revolution and only introduces high pressure air just before ignition.  This is particularly advantageous for use with biogas fuel systems because the SSC engine can intake more low pressure biogas per revolution than a conventional engine. 

MLM and the team love to talk about sustainability and are excited about adding Scuderi to our conversations.

Environmental Protection Agency

http://www.epa.gov/

Scuderi Group, Inc.

www.ScuderiGroup.com

Borås, Sweden – A City of Closed Loops

I just returned from a trip to Borås, Sweden to learn more about the City’s ultimate goal to be free from fossil fuels.To achieve this dream, Borås recognizes and manages waste as a product with value that can be transformed into benefits such as district heating and cooling, biogas, and electricity.

MLM led the development of the technical tour and worked with representatives from Borås Energy and SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden to develop a three day program that included classroom learning and visits to the City’s waste collection stations and centers, the Sobacken waste recovery center, the Rya combined heat and power plant, Gåsslösa wastewater treatment plant, and Borås’s cultural and outdoor recreation spots.  Tour participants included members of the American Public Works Association who wanted to learn more about Borås’s successes and challenges in developing a comprehensive waste to energy program so that they can apply this knowledge in their own communities.

Our hosts were Jessica Magnusson from SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, and Pär Carlson and Linda Eliasson from Borås Energy and Environment AB.  Jessica, Pär, and Linda were generous with their time, knowledge and enthusiasm about the City’s successes in moving closer to the goal of zero fossil fuels.

In Borås the waste management operations are owned by the community and managed through the city council.  Borås has approximately 102,000 residents. All are required to separate their household wastes into multiple streams, including packaging, metals, glass, plastics, paper, and batteries.  Organic household waste is disposed of in black bags and remaining combustible waste in white bags.  Ultimately 99% of Borås’s household waste is either recycled or used for energy recovery.

With respect to waste management and disposal in Europe, an accepted premise is the one who produces should pay.  Fees are charged to the packaging industry to offset costs of disposal for packaging products.  Pharmacies are required to accept old or unused pharmaceuticals to help keep them out of the water systems. 

At the conclusion of the tour, participants shared their thoughts.  Participants noted that Borås is successful in securing the support and participation of residents and government in the waste to energy programs.  Borås has established an aggressive public outreach and education program that targets students, teachers, residents, and landlords.  US participants also noted that communities are not taking full advantage of anaerobic digesters at treatment facilities to produce energy.  

MLM and other tour participants will continue this exciting relationship with our friends in Borås to learn and share knowledge regarding our programs and policies to create sustainable communities.

American Public Works Association

www.apwa.net

SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden

www.sp.se

Borås Energi och Miljö AB

www.borasem.se