Despite the uniquely testing circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic throughout 2020 Phoenix kept working, and we were even successful in completing a number of interesting projects, as described below.
In common with all businesses COVID-19 greatly affected business throughout the year, starting with the initial lockdown in the spring of 2020, and the pandemic continues to impact both the way we socialise and work as we write now in April 2021.
How We Reacted in 2020 to the Challenges of the Pandemic
Phoenix rose to the challenges faced during the year due to the pandemic. We changed our working systems to support working from home, while maintaining a presence at our Head Office and manufacturing facilities, to ensure that we keep providing our clients with the support they need and quality of services they have become accustomed to.
We developed new company policies and implemented COVID-19 secure arrangements to protect the health of our employees, clients, sub-contractors, and the public.
Through all these challenges we managed to meet the expectations of our clients, delivering our contractual obligations to meet budgets and deadlines. Just some of the highlights follow:
Chemical Dosing Upgrades
We completed the upgrade of seven existing chemical dosing facilities at Viridor leachate treatment plants during 2020, improving safety by installing integrated containment and barrier systems while installing high quality, up to date sodium hydroxide dosing pump arrangements at four of the sites.
One of this year’s Chemical Dosing Upgrades
Longford Methane Stripping
Methane stripping has again been a significant part of our work through 2020, with the design and build of the Longford Landfill methane stripping plant for Cemex.
The plant is designed to treat 50m3/day of leachate, pumped from eight extraction wells in the landfill. It is capable of reducing dissolved methane from concentrations of up to 15 mg/l to below 0.14 mg/l, before discharging to sewer.
The Longford Methane Stripping installation.
Containerised Pumping – Getlini Landfill
Our work with Getlini EKO Ltd in Latvia, on the refurbishment and upgrade of its Getlini LTP, continued through 2020. Getlini is the biggest landfill in Latvia, and we advised the client on a full refurbishment of the plant.
Phoenix designed and built two duty/standby progressive cavity pumping stations that were fully tested at our manufacturing facility in Cornwall, then transported to site in Latvia. We supported Getlini EKO in successful biological seeding & process commissioning of its LTP, which provides full nitrification and denitrification of up to 200m3/d of strong leachate before discharge to sewer.
The Containerised Pumping Unit for the Getlini Landfill.
DEFRA Funded Study of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Landfill Leachates, and their Removal During Treatment
Phoenix has always been proud to underpin the work we do for clients by fundamental scientific research.
As 2020 ended, we were awarded a major study by DEFRA, to:
– obtain and report state-of-the-art data on the presence of Persistent Organic Pollutants in landfill leachates, and
– their removal during treatment.
The extensive list of compounds to be examined includes PFOS, PBDE, PCBs and other materials of concern, and specialised sampling work began early in the New Year.
