Articles
Re-tooling grows business and saves water
Drought and the fundamental need to stay in business has brought on a radical process re-engineering effort at Radford Meats in Warragul, Victoria.
[ + ]Make it so for communities in Australia and Asia
Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Australia work with disadvantaged communities in Australia and Asia to improve their quality of life through sustainable and appropriate engineering projects.
[ + ]Machine shop improves safety and efficiency
A large machine shop in South Australia was looking to reduce expenses and clean up the work areas around milling machines, lathes and other ‘mess-producing’ equipment.
[ + ]Recycling service onboard ships
TT-Line’s Spirit of Tasmania twin ships are ahead of the fleet when it comes to glass recycling, with both vessels recycling 400 kg of glass a week - equivalent to more than 117,000 stubbies diverted from landfill and recycled each year.
[ + ]Offshore pumps continuous operation
At the end of 1989, the KSB Group supplied the Norwegian offshore platform named Snorre A with five special pumps. The pump units have been in operation ever since. In order to maintain the pressure in the oil field, they have been pumping seawater into the oil field at high pressure for the past twenty years.
[ + ]Stormwater filtration solution
As far back as 2006, a large council depot in South Australia had an issue with silt and hydrocarbons entering its many drains in its large sealed yard. After looking through a few options, it settled on the Drain King by Spilldoktor as the best solution for the application.
[ + ]Producing plastic without fossil fuels
A team of South Korean scientists claim to have succeeded in producing the polymers used for everyday plastics through bioengineering, rather than through the use of fossil fuel-based chemicals. This research, which may now allow for the production of environmentally conscious plastics, is published in two papers in the journal Biotechnology and Bioengineering to mark the journal’s 50th anniversary.
[ + ]EcoForum encourages interdisciplinary thought
EcoForum Managing Director Paul Howlett said: “EcoForum is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary event designed to provide participants with the knowledge and networks they need to solve environmental problems and build business networks across the areas of climate change, water, waste and remediation.
[ + ]Wastewater algae to biocrude oil
In November, the New Zealand Minister for Energy and Resources, Hon Gerry Brownlee, opened what is claimed to be the largest wastewater algae to biocrude oil demonstration project in the world.
[ + ]Renewable product packaging
Dell is shipping its Dell Inspiron Mini 10 and Mini 10v netbooks in packaging made from bamboo, a renewable material that serves as a good alternative to moulded paper pulp, foams and corrugate often used in packaging.
[ + ]Hotel saving energy
Crowne Plaza Terrigal recently installed the mySmart Hotel Room Control System which intelligently controls the air conditioning in each of its 199 guest rooms. The Smart Digital Thermostat is easy and intuitive to use - it uses motion sensing and door switches to detect when the room is in use. The thermostat can be used in stand-alone mode, control the room lights or integrate with the hotel’s check-in system.
[ + ]Upgraded wastewater treatment plant
One of the UK’s largest wastewater treatment works (WwTW) is set to become a valuable source of renewable energy. The benefits of a major upgrade at Davyhulme WwTW in Manchester include the generation of electricity from biogas and the potential to provide a sustainable source of soil improver.
[ + ]Lamp recycling program
Fertiliser and housing insulation are but two of the by-products produced through Sylvania Lighting Australasia’s SYLrecycle lamp recycling program.
[ + ]‘Smart’ automation helping to secure Sydney’s water future
The construction of Sydney Water’s new desalination plant at Kurnell, south-east of Sydney, is in full swing and is said to be on track to become operational this summer. The automation and control of this innovative project is based on Profibus technology. Endress+Hauser was selected to be one of three key members of the main automation alliance to engineer and supply all general instrumentation to the plant.
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