CH2M HILL Employees Awarded 2012 WEF Rudolfs Medal
July 19, 2012
CH2M HILL is pleased to announce that CH2M HILL's Rangesh
Srinivasan, Kar Munirathinam, Tim Harrison, Jeff Tudini,
and Tom Sandy have been selected as recipients of the Water
Environment Federation (WEF) 2012 Rudolfs Medal for their
paper, "Selenium Treatment of Mine Water Effluent in a
Fluidized Bed Reactor (FBR)," which was presented and
well-received at WEFTEC 2011 by Kar Munirathinam.
The Rudolfs Medal was established in 1949 and is
named after Willem Rudolfs, an active WEF member
and primary force in industrial waste research. This award
recognizes noteworthy accomplishments in any aspect of
industrial waste management research published in WEF
conference proceedings or periodicals.
"Industries face increasing public, media, and regulatory
scrutiny regarding how they source, treat, and manage
water. Receiving the Rudolfs Medal is a great
acknowledgment for CH2M HILL Water Business Group's
Industrial, Energy and Mining Platform, as it demonstrates
our expertisein technology applications and innovation in
the industrial water sector, and how we are helping our
clients achieve regulatory compliance with more
cost-effective solutions," said Steve Gelman, Director of
CH2M HILL Water Business Group's Industrial, Energy and
Mining Platform.
Mining operations are a major anthropogenic source of
selenium release in the environment. The implementation of
stringent selenium standards is challenging mining
companies to investigate and implement new technologies to
improve mine drainage water quality. An examination of the
fate of selenium through treatment at the most minute level
of detail is now critical. The award-winning paper
addresses a CH2M HILL-led study that focuses on activities
undertaken at a U.S. Appalachian mine facility to address
issues associated with meeting compliance for selenium. The
paper discusses a new innovative approach to selenium
removal using FBR.
Application of FBR technology in biological water treatment
has been utilized for over twenty years, but more recent
research, pilot studies and evaluations undertaken by CH2M
HILL are defining and capturing the potential of this
approach toward selenium reduction. The primary components
of the process include anoxic/anaerobic FBR treatment for
reduction of selenium, liquid solids separation, aerobic
polishing and filtration. This system successfully
achieves consistent discharge compliance at a reduced cost
compared to other potential technologies (e.g., reverse
osmosis) as well as within a smaller treatment system
footprint necessary due to limited available space in the
narrow valleys in the mountainous terrain. This project was
at the forefront of the development of a more efficient,
reduced footprint approach towards meeting the emerging and
challenging water quality criteria for selenium.
About WEF
Founded in 1928, the Water Environment Federation (WEF)
is a not-for-profit technical and educational
organization of 36,000 individual members and 75
affiliated Member Associations representing water quality
professionals around the world. WEF members, Member
Associations and staff proudly work to achieve our
mission to provide bold leadership, champion innovation,
connect water professionals, and leverage knowledge to
support clean and safe water worldwide. To learn more,
visit www.wef.org.
Headquartered near Denver, Colorado, USA,
employee-owned CH2M HILL is a global leader in
consulting, design, design-build, operations, and
program management for government, civil, industrial
and energy clients. The firm's work is concentrated in the
areas of water, transportation, environmental, energy,
facilities and resources. With US$6.4 billion in
revenue and 30,000 employees, CH2M HILL is an
industry-leading program management, construction
management and design firm, as ranked by Engineering
News-Record
and named a leader in sustainable
engineering by Verdantix. The firm has been named a FORTUNE
100 Best Companies to Work For five times and was named
Water Company of the Year at the 2012 Global Water
Awards.www.ch2mhill.com,
www.ch2mhillblogs.com/water,
twitter.com/ch2mhilland
facebook.com/ch2mhill.
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