Hoechst Celanese

Year Submitted: 2003

Process: Stormwater

Industry: Chemical Manufacturing

Wastes Reduced: Wastewater

Substance: Leachate

Equipment: Dome

Location: Bishop, Nueces County TX

No. of employees: 1050

Contact: J. Garza

Phone: (512) 584-6000

Description:

When rain falls into an open hazardous waste landfill, the rainwater percolates through the contents of the landfill cell and is collected via collection headers in the bottom of the landfill. This collected rainwater, also known as multi-source leachate, is classified by environmental regulation as a hazardous waste, and must be managed as such. Before installation of this project, all rainfall (approximately 4.5 million gallons per year) that contacted the material in the Bishop's hazardous waste landfill would be collected and sent to the facilities injection wells for disposal.

P2 Application:

An air-inflated/supported structure (dome) was installed over the Class IH landfill at the Bishop facility to prevent rainfall into and rainwater percolation through the landfill cells. The 85ft. high dome, manufactured by Air Structures American Technologies, Inc. (ASATI), is made of 265,000 square feet of vinyl covered high tensile strength polyester fabric and is inflated by air blowers. The air inside is exchanged and replaced every two hours to facilitate work performed by personnel and equipment inside the dome. When the landfill is full, the dome can be deflated and moved to another location.

Environmental Benefits:

Installation of this dome prevents rainfall into and rainwater percolation through the landfill cells, thereby eliminating an estimated 4.5 million gallons of hazardous waste generation. This project also extends the life of the landfill by more than 30% since the need for daily capping with wind dispersion material was eliminated upon installation of the dome.

Details of Reductions

Additional Information :

Operating costs avoided by not having to dispose of this leachate in the facilities injection wells are estimated at $60,000 per year

Source: TCEQ