All these areas will be explored at the 5th International Symposium on Waste Treatment Technologies (12 – 15 June) which, for the first time this year, is incorporated into the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management’s Annual Exhibition and Conference – CIWM 2006. The Symposium will focus on all types of thermal treatment technologies, as well as providing interesting insights into other waste management solutions and options.

The Symposium is organised by the Sheffield University Waste Incineration Centre (SUWIC). SUWIC chairman, Jim Swithenbank, commented:  ‘ The Symposium provides a unique opportunity to gain insights into all the key current issues relating to waste thermal treatment, ranging from the latest technologies to political considerations.’

Key sessions include:

Political and social issues - 14 June (14.00-17.00)
Waste management is subject to severe and frequently misguided political pressures. For example, it is not generally recognised that incinerators are required to meet much tougher emission standards than most other combustion plants such as power stations. This situation is largely due to the reaction of politicians to a UK public perception problem, and needs to be resolved.

Speakers include: Professor Vida Sharifi (Chairman), director of SUWIC, Sheffield University; Dr Phil Longhurst, senior lecturer, head of the integrated waste management centre, Cranfield University; David Levy, chair of The Air That We Breathe Group; Andrew Witty, principal policy officer, Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

Incineration – 14 June ( 09.00-13.00)
Large scale incineration is a mature, clean, well proven and widely used thermal technology for the diversion from landfill of waste that cannot be recycled or re-used. This session highlights important new developments in this field, and how several technologies are needed in parallel to provide a balanced and holistic waste management strategy.

Speakers include:  Dr Richard Marsh, research associate, Cardiff School of Engineering; Nick Dawber, managing director; ENERGOS; Dr YB Yang, postdoctoral researcher, SUWIC, Sheffield University.

Gasification, pyrolysis and anaerobic digestion – 15 June (09.00-13.00)
Pyrolysis, gasification and biological treatment technologies are often advocated for political rather than technical reasons, sometimes to avoid the option of incineration. However, their future role must be assessed critically.  For example, increased efficiency of power generation is potentially possible with gasification but this capability has not yet been demonstrated in practice. It is also important that the final disposal of all treatment residues is assured.

Speakers include: Professor Dr-Ing. Helmut Seifert, head of institute, Division of Thermal Waste Treatment, Institute for Technical Chemistry; Dr Simon Burton, senior scientific adviser, Waterman Sustainable Energy; Professor Paul Williams, Energy and Resources Research Institute, University of Leeds.

Waste management technologies and legislation – 14 June (14.00-17.00)
An increasing number of waste management technologies are being proposed that must be subjected to full life cycle analysis to establish long-term viability, effectiveness and efficiency, As well as scientific analysis, legislative factors need to be taken into account, for example possible impact of legislative changes and particular targets contained in waste legislation.

Speakers include: Dr Paul Dacombe, research fellow, University of Southampton; Dr Anthony Haden-Taylor, chairman and chief executive, Recycled Refuse International Ltd; Caron Thompson, sustainable construction manager, the Eden Project.

Site visits
The Symposium also incorporates two site visits.  Delegates can visit the Onyx energy from waste facility at Marchwood, Southampton on 12 June. This plant is capable of handing 165,000 tonnes of waste per annum and exports 14MW’s of electricity to the National Grid, enough to power 14,000 local homes. 16 June sees a visit to Compact Power’s thermal treatment plant in Avonmouth, Bristol. Compact Power has developed a new advanced thermal conversion technology for a wide range of wastes using pyrolysis, gasification and high temperature oxidation.

For further details on Symposium and CIWM 2006 attendance, on-line registration and information on the event visit www.ciwm.co.uk/ciwm2006,
e-mail: ciwm2006@ciwm.co.uk, or tel: +44 (0)1604 620426.