WATERPROOF MEMBRANES | PROCESSING
Keeping out moisture: waterproof membranes
Membranes that protect against moisture have recently been put to use in applications including a coal mine in the USA, a landfill site in Italy and a biogas site in Malaysia
Plastic membranes that resist water – in either liquid or vapour form – find use in a variety of applications, from housebuilding to infrastructure projects. In some cases, the membrane helps to ensure that toxic substances do not leach into the environment. Recently, an impermeable geomembrane from
Solmax was used in a project that turns palm oil waste into biogas. The project, in Malaysia, sees Ceneri using palm oil wastewater to produce biogas and use it as a fuel for power or steam generation. Biogas forms naturally when palm oil mill effluent (POME) decomposes, converting waste to energy. To be successful, the project required an
impermeable geomembrane barrier and floating cover system. The HDPE geomembrane provides the main barrier at the pond base to protect the environment and underground water from pollu- tion. The floating cover sits on the surface of the contained liquid – and enhances anaerobic digestion by excluding air (oxygen). It also limits the release of methane produced
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by the wastewater ponds – allowing it to be collected and used as a fuel. The methane is collected from around the perimeter via a perfo- rated piping system and then processed in either flaring or co-generation. The POME ‘lagoon’ was lined with Solmax 1mm HDPE geomembrane along the base and covered with a GSE HD 1.5mm geomembrane sheet for capturing the biogas. Solmax says its HDPE liners are ideal for applications that demand high chemical and UV resistance. The geomembrane has low permeability, low methane and water vapour transmission rates, long-term exposed weathering performance and good chemical resistance and mechanical performance. Solmax provided around 9,000 sq m of GSE HD smooth geomembrane, which exceeds the requirements of the GRI-GM13 specification standard to line and cover the POME wastewater pond. This created an anaerobic digestor to capture methane gas and use it in energy genera- tion for selling electricity back to the government.
Main image: An impermeable HDPE ge- omembrane from Solmax is used in a project to turn palm oil waste into biogas
� May 2023 | FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION 25
IMAGE: SOLMAX
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