CIA 2009 - issue 2

• Day 1:

1,023 Visitors

2 • WEDNESDAY • DECEMBER 2, 2009 • SUNTEC SINGAPORE

WHAT’S NEWS

p2

Discover imaginative and creative ways to manage trash at both local and national levels

organised by

Challenging delegates at the Sustainable Energy Conference

p3 The Sustainable

Energy Conference brought together many experts. You will want to know about energy demand and supply trends and about a case study in clean energy from Sanchuan

p5 For your

convenience, we reproduce the full Conference schedule for the “Sustainable Energy Conference” which concludes here today

p7 Check out some

more of the really cool stuff being exhibited this week

OUTLOOK

p6 In our

“Outlook” feature today, we examine the vital topic of renewable energy – an overview of the issues and a closer look at one specific area, geothermal energy

published by

Dr. Richard Bradley

Robin Pickup

by Matt Young

“We have had slumps since World War II, but in every year, electrical demand has increased - except this year when demand was 3.5% lower.”

But growth will return and when it does, Bradley sees Asia as the place that will determine energy demand growth; this carries a great deal of environmental responsibility. “We assume growth will continue,” Bradley added. “Non-OECD countries account for 93% of the increase in global demand between 2007 and 2030, driven largely by China and India. And whilst it is true that the IAEA countries are the largest consumers of energy, they are no longer the force that explains what happens in energy markets.”

He suggested encouraging governments to support industry performance standards in automobiles and adhere to building codes.

When world leaders converge in Copenhagen, Denmark next week to discuss climate change, he suggested emphasising “not outcomes, but measures.”

There’s clearly a lot of work to be done to make sustainable energy sustainable, but he believes that ASEAN “will continue to grow aggressively and that energy efficiency is going to

D

r.

Richard Bradley unveiled some daunting statistics yesterday.

Given Bradley’s position as Head of the Energy Efficiency & Environment Division with the International Energy Agency (IEA), anyone with a smidgen of concern about the environment would find them breathtaking.

For instance, between 2007 and 2030 – presumably more of a progressive era with all the attention the environment is now receiving – fossil fuels will still account for 77% of the increase in the world’s primary energy demand. “It’s a significant fossil fuel future,” Bradley advised.

In fact, renewable energy was 24% weaker in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to the fourth quarter in 2007.

“Investment in renewable energy is now more risky,” he said. “Demand is uncertain and it’s increasingly difficult to get financing because of the financial crisis.”

Bradley sees the world’s economic problems through the prism of electricity usage – or lack thereof. “Nothing indicates more clearly the effects of the slump and the fact that the world has changed than the demand for electricity,” he suggested.

be key.”

Robin Pickup, senior vice president, Energy, Lloyd’s Register Asia, who had earlier given the Chairperson’s Opening Address at the Sustainable Energy Conference, challenged attendees with a message about limited resources in a growing economic global landscape.

“The growth of economies coupled with increasing expectations of society for clean environments in which to live, face ever-higher demands on our energy resources and the supply chain.” he said.

“Responsible and accountable management is required to provide confidence for the stakeholders and prove that their future is assured and in good hands.”

He suggested that education, knowledge and the development of technologies are critical to a future of true sustainable energy.

VIEWPOINT

I am so excited. There are so “ many visitors, and I also met old friends.”

– Kazuhiko Ikeda, Komyo Rikagaku Kogyo K K

So far so good. We had “ around 251 visitors to the booth. Some of our major customers came as well. It’s as we expected.

”

– Vivy Toha, Weidmuller

HOTSHOT

Santa demonstrates his everlasting love for toys – big, small, and health-conscious. This is the Isoclean, a pharmacy isolator, from Esco Micro (Booth 4G2-01), and it comes with a pair of white gloves suitable even for Santa. It’s not often you can have a serious conversation with someone in such a suit, but this Father Christmas insists the Isoclean helps keep laboratory operators safe from possible contamination, from dengue fever, etc.

Note to Santa: it also could be handy for handling lumps of coal…

SPOTLIGHT

2

• WEDNESDAY • DECEMBER 2, 2009 • SUNTEC SINGAPORE

Taking the Trash Out… Innovatively

by Shantini Harriet

A

s the world’s penchant for more of everything has created an avalanche of waste, more efficient solutions to managing waste have now become a necessity.

Waste management practices differ from nation to nation depending on available technologies and government policies, but sooner or later the issue needs to be addressed.

Sometimes the most obvious solution can be staring us right in the face.

Traditionally, the waste management industry has been slow to adopt new technologies such as RFID tags, GPS and integrated software packages which enable better quality data to be collected without the use of estimation or manual data entry.

Trash bins, it would seem, have come a long way if companies involved in waste

management like the OTTO Group are anything to go by.

Finding more innovative yet practical solutions to fulfill the market’s needs, OTTO is the first and only company to come out with transparent bins for airport safety. So what else is out there in the “land of waste management”… binwise speaking, of course.

Bins with access control and pay-by-weight are some of the solutions which are gathering interest. Only used for recyclable products, access

to the system is controlled by a card reader. Volumes can be weighed and deducted from the customers’ allowances.

Data from the system can be transferred automatically and used to plan collection rounds.

Not only are the users’ details available on the access card during every trip for recycling but they get brownie points too for their troubles.

Installation of underground collection containers are optimised through prefabricated parts and precise assembly instructions. The intelligent lifting mechanism integrates raising, lowering, emptying and locking, and is compatible with standard lifting systems. With the added benefit of the RFID system, the monitor tells the administrator when the bins are full and ready for collection. This system is suitable for disposal of variable volumes of waste and can be used for plastics, organic waste, textiles and domestic waste.

Thus, environmental waste controls are becoming a necessary feature to ensure that waste management is properly monitored. If we can’t take the responsibility to reduce wastage, then someone else will have to come up with the solution no matter how minute the detail.

Advance Speaker Tips – from an Industry Outsider

J

onathan Chua doesn’t exactly know why he’s speaking at the Industrial Bus and Wireless Technology Conference on Thursday.

“It’s strange that I’m even invited to give a talk,” Chua said, “because I’m not in a process engineering, instrumentation or analytics field.”

But when you start talking to Chua, founder and CEO of Duration Inc., a technology consultancy company, you realise that he understands the wireless world very well.

That’s because his company has built software which is involved in transmitting data to mobile devices wirelessly.

Chua explained that “When we first started producing this type of development, it was for geographic data, weather, and crime statistics, it was down to the zip code level. Now we get down to the [small] neighbourhood level.”

Considering many plant operations are going wireless now, here are some tips from Chua: Be secure - that’s the biggest difference between the wireless and wired world; in the wired world you know physically where the data is at. Wireless potentially presents more risks. n You don’t have to commit to wireless everywhere.

With wireless, data packets can get lost. So be choosy about what is distributed wirelessly. n Wired is still more reliable.

If you’re running a nuclear plant over in the US, it’s different than Skype in Starbucks.

Wireless is getting better because the equipment is getting better, but there are still apparent differences between wired and wireless. As they wisely say on the MRT here in Singapore, ‘please mind the gap’. n

EDUCATION

• WEDNESDAY • DECEMBER 2, 2009 • SUNTEC SINGAPORE

Clean energy makes money Waste? No, Energy!

“China has

committed to reducing its carbon emissions by 10% by 2010, and is well on its way to achieving this.

”

– Anand Prakash

by Majella Gomes

Investment opportunity

I

“China has ample resources, and government policy makes it easy to focus on the area of clean energy,” Prakash explained, describing the Sanchuan project. China has committed to reducing its carbon emissions by 10% by 2010, and by all accounts, is well on its way to achieving this.

The Sanchuan project entailed generating hydroelectric power from a small dam near Yanjin, in the southwestern province of Yunnan, which has the second largest hydro resource in China, besides being one of the most rapidly growing industrialised areas in the country.

n his case study presentation on Sanchuan Energy, FE Clean Energy Asia’s managing director Anand Prakash gave concrete examples of how clean energy can be a win-win situation for both business and the environment.

FE Clean Energy is one of a few private equity fund managers whose speciality is the clean energy sector. It invests in projects that focus on generating tradable carbon credits from greenhouse gas emissions, especially on those that centre around energy efficiency and renewable energy, primarily in Asia, although it has interests worldwide.

Official help “Also, increased demand from eastern China has put pressure on Yunnan to ramp up its supply,” he said. “To expedite this, the government has lowered tariffs and removed distribution constraints. It was all these that attracted our investors to move in and buy up companies that were experiencing cash flow problems due to the recession.”

The profitability of these assets was further enhanced by the project partners. “The ADB and IFC were shareholders,” Prakash continued, “and we were in good hands with an experienced developer who was familiar with the work.”

Bumps in the road The project was not without its hiccups, however. FE found that local management needed beefing up, so it brought in foreign consultants and placed its own staff in strategic positions to ensure that things ran according to schedule.

And by all accounts, they have. The Sanchuan project is set to have a happy ending, with an IPO possibly in three to five years’ time, he said. Not only will there be extra power in Yunnan, but the people of the province will also benefit by having extra irrigation and flood mitigation measures.

“Population

growth is driving waste generation.

Increased consumption is not only generating more waste, it is putting a strain on resources.

”

– Allard Nooy

by Majella Gomes

I

f there were any doubts about waste being nothing but waste, they were all dispelled by the time Allard Nooy’s presentation was over.

Nooy, President (Asia-Pacific) of Covanta Energy, China, covered the topic of creating clean energy from municipal solid waste and how it can be turned into a profitable business.

Covanta is the largest energy-from-waste (EfW) operator in the world. Its operations worldwide include eight biomass to electricity facilities, five landfill gas to energy facilities, and two hydroelectric facilities, among others.

More people = more waste “Population growth is driving waste generation,” Nooy said. “Increased consumption is not only generating more waste, it is putting a strain on resources.” Part of the solution of the waste generation problem therefore is to use it as a source of renewable energy.

Municipal solid waste like household trash is burned to reduce it to 10% of its original volume; the ash produced can be used for road paving material and bricks. “One ton of waste will produce 500700 kWh and using this will avoid burning coal and other fossil fuel,” he continued.

In addition, this Waste to Energy (WTE) process has been designated as renewable energy by the US DOE. Beyond the 3 Rs The solid waste management hierarchy promotes reduction in use of resources, reusing

them, recycling wherever possible, recovering energy and limiting the use of land for waste disposal. EfW and WTE satisfy all these criteria. EfW, in particular, produces electricity with less environmental impact than almost any other source, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA.) To encourage a shift to renewable energy sources, governments are already offering incentives to reuse, reduce, recycle and recover.

In the process, countries which demonstrate their desire to conserve resources are becoming more attractive to investors who are becoming increasingly aware of environmental impact and what it means to the world’s population in the long term.

Long-term incentives In the case of incinerating municipal solid waste, the heat generated from the combustion chambers heats up water in steel tubes embedded in the walls of the chamber, turning the water to steam. This steam is sent through a turbine that generates electricity. Locally produced, this electricity can be generated in areas with larger populations, ultimately making it a cheaper proposition.

What may make more immediate impact, however, is the fact that such processes can offer predictable waste disposal cost besides being a solution to address local waste management challenges. In addition, “green” jobs can be created locally when facilities are operational, further stabilising and energising the local economy.

3

4

QUESTIONS

&ANSWERS

• WEDNESDAY • DECEMBER 2, 2009 • SUNTEC SINGAPORE

Infrared is not a Trivial Pursuit

CIA2009/EnviroAsia2009 ShowDaily Publisher/Editor-In-Chief Matt Young

We talk with sInfraRed CEO Raf Vandersmissen so you will never miss an answer to another infrared trivia question … or useful industrial application

A: In the recent crisis with bird flu and H1N1 in Asia - especially in airports, but also at other public places - people were using infrared cameras a lot. These capture the person’s face and try to measure temperature. The hottest spot on your face is actually between your eye and nose [remember that, trivia buffs]. That is as close as your face gets to your real body temperature. If that temperature gets above 37 degrees C, then it’s considered a fever. We have a camera that can detect that.

quick scan of recent headlines reveals the vast applications of infrared technology.

Last month, the San Jose Mercury News reported that an unmanned NASA Predator aircraft used infrared technology to help the U.S. Forest Service assess the damage caused by the recent California wildfires. Meanwhile, according to ABC News, a space telescope will scan for infrared glow of celestial objects beginning next month – bodies which are too dim or distant to be detected otherwise. And, back on earth, The Indian Express reported that the Japanese government, in observing a disturbing infrared ‘heat island’ in downtown Tokyo caused by auto emissions, urged more people to take the bus by offering them shopping coupons in return.

Raf Vandersmissen is no stranger to the wonders of infrared technology. As CEO of Singapore-based sInfraRed, he’s like a contestant on ‘Jeopardy’ just waiting for a question in his field of expertise. When asked one, or many, Vandersmissen is likely to unleash a torrent of facts and figures - and a fair share of myth-busting as well. It’s all relevant here at the CIA2009 exhibition, where infrared applications are abundant for the field of process engineering. Here’s a brief intro to those applications, together with a few odds and ends to remember for your next game of trivia.

Q: What are the challenges in making sure you’re not getting false readings with that technology?

Photographer Dwayne Foong

A: One problem is to define an area of the camera image where you’re most likely to see a face of a person. Combining face recognition software with a thermal image camera is theoretically possible. Placing a normal visual camera next to the thermal camera also may help so the field of view of the visible camera are matched to that of the thermal camera, so you can see the same scene and detect which is a high reading on an actual face.

Designer Winson Chua

A

Q: What is one of your most fascinating infrared applications at the moment?

Vandersmissen: We have a project where we’re trying to install infrared thermal cameras at an airport to look at planes landing and taxiing on the runway. The airport wants to record everything going on in case an incident happens. If there was an accident at night, such as two planes hitting each other, you would be able to see that. The good thing about thermal infrared is that if you look at the plane approaching the runway, the lights do not interfere with the image. With the thermal images, basically they do not see the light; they only see the heat.

Q: Can you give an infrared application particularly relevant to the Asian market?

Q: What are some areas of growth for you in the fields of process engineering and sustainable energy?

A: There is growth in solar cell inspection. Even though there are other ways to measure the efficiency of a solar cell, the good thing about our method is that you can do it in a very short time. Basically you can use our camera at video rate – 50 frames per second - and inspect at video rate. You don’t have to take one cell to do an inspection and have your result in an hour. Alternative techniques are also much more complicated.

Our way simply involves looking at the cell with infrared when you drive a current through it. The solar cell will emit invisible light. The amount of emitted light, visualised by infrared, is a measure for efficiency of the solar cell.

Q: And please give us a nice “shopping list” of infrared applications A: You can use it for plastics sorting. In the sorting and recycling industry, we sell a lot of short-wave cameras. The wavelength used is different from those in thermal imaging. In fact, there are many different wavelengths employed, even in infrared.

Gas detection is another application, using the mid-wave or long-wave range. Short-wave cameras can also inspect the quality of processor chips for PCs. At some stage of semi-conductor processing, you need to be able to see through the material you are working with and most of all electronic components in the world use silicone.

With our cameras you can see through silicone because silicone is transparent for short wave infrared light - just as glass is transparent for visible light. [another trivia tip!]

Editors’ note: sInfraRed is one of the sponsors of the CIA2009/ EnviroAsia2009 ShowDaily. Check out Booth 4H2-10.

Managing Editor Geoff Andrew Reporters Majella Gomes Shantini Harriet

Sales & Marketing Matt Young Published by

Media MICE Pte Ltd 6001 Beach Road, #19-06, Golden Mile Tower, Singapore, 199589 Phone: +65 9102 5680 Fax: +65 6491 5015 E-mail: enquiry@mediamice.com This publication is published by Media MICE Pte Ltd who is solely responsible for its editorial content. The editorial content is not necessarily the opinion of the organizer, Singapore Exhibition Services.

All rights reserved.

Printed by Sun Rise Printing & Supplies Pte Ltd

Sir Stamford Raffles unfortunately was unable to contribute to this issue of ShowDaily – he passed away in 1826!

• WEDNESDAY • DECEMBER 2, 2009 • SUNTEC SINGAPORE

5

Sustainable Energy Conference

Day 2 | Wednesday, 2 December 2009 | Suntec Singapore | Level 3 Rooms 301 – 303 Plenary Sessions 9:25am

Chairperson’s Opening Address Mehraab Nazir, Partner, Watson, Farley & Williams LLP, Singapore

9:30am

Industry Address Towards Realisation of Energy Efficiency & Conservation in Asian Countries • Common barriers for promoting EE&C in Asian Countries • Recommended priority programmes • Financial analysis (Case study)

Dr Kimio Yoshida, Deputy Director, Environment and Energy Business Department, Electric Power Development Co. Ltd (J-Power), Japan

10:00am

Achieving Value in Green Buildings: What Does it Take?

• Evaluating the ROI in green buildings and the technologies that accompany it: Is it justifiable in the long-term?

• Assessing the value of green projects • Managing on cost-sharing and transfer to buyers and tenants

Andreas Schierenbeck, CEO, Business Unit Building Automation, Siemens Building Technologies, Switzerland

10:30am

Morning Refreshments

Track 1: Energy Management & Efficiency Energy Improvements in Buildings & Plants Chairperson: Mehraab Nazir, Partner, Watson, Farley & Williams LLP, US 11:00am

11:30am

12:00pm

Keynote Energy Improvement in Buildings How can a Holistic Approach Be Adopted to Deliver Real Savings in this Economic Climate?

• Recommissioning existing buildings for greening efforts: Where are the challenges?

• Measuring actual performance aspect vs modeled consumption Ir Victor Cheung, Chairman of Public Affairs Board, Professional Green Building Council, Hong Kong Case Study Reducing Standby Electricity Consumption for Improved Energy Efficiency in Manufacturing Plants: The Standby Korea 2010 Case Study Kim Yung Rae, Team Leader, Energy Efficiency Label and Standard Program (including MEPS) & e-Standby Program, Energy Efficiency Standard Department, Korea Energy Management Corporation (KEMCO), Korea Maintaining and Refurbishing Plants • Proper maintainability and inspect ability review of the plant to ensure continual plant efficiency • Technical problems faced and how they were overcome Mohamed Daoud, Manager (Projects Quality) Engineering & Major Projects, ABU DHABI COMPANY FOR ONSHORE OIL OPERATIONS (ADCO)

12:30pm

Lunch & Exhibition Viewing

2:00pm

Deploying a Feasible Asset Management Plan to Reduce Energy Consumption • Need for companies in the energy supply chain, spanning oilfields, pipelines, refineries and power plants, to operate with a strategic focus for aligning their activities and efficiencies associated with their assets • Applying asset management strategy for helping to implement and maintain reliable and efficient operations thereby improving energy efficiencies • The asset management strategy to include a systematic and co-ordinated approach for activities and practices through which an organisation optimally and sustainably manages its assets and asset systems, their associated performance, risks and expenditures over their lifecycle for the purpose of achieving its organisational strategic plan Robin Pickup, Senior Vice President, Energy, Lloyd’s Register Asia

Track 2: Energy Alternatives Biofuels & Bioenergy Chairperson: Atul Saxena, Chief Executive Officer, Growdiesel Consortium, India 11:00am

11:30am

Applying Technology Efficiently to Extracting Biodiesel • Evaluating the technological process to sieving out biodiesel • How does feedstock availability and quality control hamper or improve production of biodiesel?

• Enhancing extraction techniques Dr Tatang Soerawidjaja, Chairman, Indonesian Biodiesel Forum, Indonesia

Case Study Investment Outlook and Viability of Sustainable Jatropha Cultivation in an Era of Falling Oil Prices: A Case Study from India, Indonesia, Malaysia & Columbia Naren Raju, Chief Executive Officer, Bio Energy Plantations, Singapore

12:30pm

Lunch & Exhibition Viewing

2:00pm

Panel Discussion Exploring the Commercial Viability of Biofuels to Combat Climate Change: How Likely is it to Take Off in the Next 5 Years?

• Industry update and users perspective on biofuel usage: Aviation and Automotive • Does the current economic and political climate justify the increased production and conversion to biofuels in the next 3-5 years?

• What are the investment concerns?

Moderator: - Atul Saxena, Chief Executive Officer, Growdiesel Consortium, India

Panelists: - Naren Raju, Chief Executive Officer, Bio Energy Plantations, Singapore - Luis Villa-Abrille, President, San Carlos Bioenergy Inc, Philippines - Salman Zafar, Chief Executive Officer, BioEnergy Consult, India

3:00pm

Cellulosic Ethanol Production in Southeast Asia: Prospects, Challenges and Technological Issues • Biomass Resource Base • Biomass Supply Chain Issues • Technology Trends Salman Zafar, Chief Executive Officer, BioEnergy Consult, India

12:00pm

Green Building Technology & Innovation • Incorporating energy efficient technologies in design and construction Tay Leng Chua, Assistant Managing Director, UGL Premas, Singapore

3:00pm

A Holistic Approach to Green Building Design Dr Uma Maheswaran, Director, ZEB-Technology, Singapore

3:30pm

3:30pm

Efficiency and Comfort without Additional Cost: Integrating Solutions for Buildings of the Future Lai Choon Hoo, Director of Engineering Solutions, Kaer, Singapore

4:00pm

End of Conference

2:30pm

Keynote Calibrating Prospects for Biofuels in Asia • What is the outlook like in the coming years?

• Value chains, enablers, constraints and the roadmap for successful and sustainable implementation of biofuel policies and projects Yash Mankame, Vice-President - South East Asia, East Asia, Australia & NZ , Praj Industries, Thailand

Assessing the Potential Sustainability of Production from Sugarcane • Investment issues • Technology trends Luis Villa-Abrille, President, San Carlos Bioenergy Inc, Philippines

Cultivating the Commerciality of Microalgae as a Biofuel Source • Investment issues • Technology trends Atul Saxena, Chief Executive Officer, Growdiesel Consortium, India

4:30pm

End of Conference

4:00pm

6

• WEDNESDAY • DECEMBER 2, 2009 • SUNTEC SINGAPORE

OUTLOOK

Welcome to the Future of Renewable Energy “Though Asia

has to play catch up with more developed countries in terms of renewable energy, it is expected that by 2020 China could be the leading renewable energy provider.

”

– Chris de Lavigne

by Shantini Harriet

I

t has become imperative that energy development starts to focus more seriously into renewable energy. Renewable energy development is linked to concerns about exhaustion and greenhouse gases of fossil fuels and environmental, social and/ or political risks of extensive use of fossil fuels and nuclear

power. Renewable energy includes solar, wind, biomass, biogas, geothermal and hydro.

During his presentation on renewable energy development trends and a progress overview of Asia especially, Chris de Lavigne, global vice president, consulting of Frost & Sullivan gave his analysis of what is happening at ground level in terms of alternate energy and

an overview of Asia’s growing green-stimulus plans for the future.

There is an indication that by 2030 energy and electricity consumption will be significantly higher with the rising prices of crude oil, gas and coal though reserves will be lower and carbon emissions will be higher. It is expected that Asia will see the biggest growth where

renewables are concerned as energy demand increases; it will also be the highest GHG (green-house gas) emitter, with an anticipated three-fold increase by 2030. “Though Asia has to play catch up with more developed countries in terms of renewable energy, it is expected that by 2020 China could be the leading renewable energy provider,” Lavigne further stressed.

With a supply-demand imbalance ensuing in the region, China (20%) and the rest of Asia (14%) will account for 34% of the world’s energy requirements in 2030, up from 26% in 2005. Moreover, GHG are set to triple in the next 2025 years at the current pace of development with China, India and Indonesia as the front-runners. Lavigne explained that “most of this will be from agricultural land emissions.”

Natural resources and the waste they produce will supply different constraints in renewable energy.

According to Lavigne, “there are a multitude of barriers in renewable energy – no uniformity among different

countries and politics plays such a big role in determining policies; this is something that won’t go away.”

If energy efficiency is improved, especially in Asia, and if smart policies are implemented, we can reduce energy consumption by 5-15%. It would help if subsidies for fossil fuel were stopped.

China is planning for 100 GW of wind in 2020 which is a 1200% increase from 2008.

Though opportunities in renewable energy are fraught with obstacles, it should be noted that wind and hydro are clean energy sources while solar, biomass and biogas are abundantly available and geothermal can also become a major energy source.

However, as attractive as renewable energy is, the overall costs per MW still remains higher than conventional sources of energy. Of course, the question is whether investors are getting a healthy return on their investment with renewable energy projects?

The answer is, arguably, that they will as they are the best for the 21st century.

Geothermal Energy – its place in a modern power system

by Geoff Andrew

Of course, any great development normally has risks to be placed alongside and the downsides of geothermal energy include :

W

hat do Indonesia and New Zealand have in common? The power to save the Earth may not be the obvious answer.

But, these two very different countries possess potentially such large supplies of geothermal energy that they could satisfy a significant percentage of their nation’s power needs.

Dr. Alex Smillie, vice president, Geothermal Operations, Star Energy Indonesia, shared his expertise in the geothermal field with delegates from the Sustainable Energy Conference yesterday.

His explanation of the technology helped some of the participants to grasp the strengths and weaknesses of geothermal energy.

It is certainly a freely available energy source in areas of tectonic plate activity, such as the Pacific “Ring of Fire” which impacts both

u High-risk

Dr. Alex Smillie

Indonesia and New Zealand in particular. Of course, exploiting that source can be far from free of associated costs, given the cost of extraction. And geothermal energy is not transportable – it cannot be moved from an area of high supply to one of high demand.

Smillie was also very bullish about a new extension to Geothermal Energy known as EGS, or Enhanced Geothermal Energy. EGS

can operate in geographical regions where there is no history of volcanic activity because water is pumped down into the solid bedrock of the Earth’s crust and forced back to the surface as steam. This method, although incurring more costs can avoid the need to match areas of high supply with those of high demand.

The speaker summarised the key benefits of geothermal as :

u Clean and renewable – if

correctly managed

u A natural energy which is

non-polluting

u Cannot be exported and

therefore not impacted by commodity trading u Long-term price stability u No seasonal applications or day/night fluctuations u Huge upside potential because of the extension into EGS

front-end investment u This currently results in only marginal returns on investment, requiring incentives to encourage developers to enter the industry u The very nature of the industry being located near areas of volcanic activity involves high risk for people and buildings But Smillie concluded with the viewpoint that “geothermal offers an economic way to reduce carbon and can be the basis for an efficient and sustainable power system. Therefore it offers an important opportunity to be a part of a diverse range of energy resources.”

COOLSTUFF

• WEDNESDAY • DECEMBER 2, 2009 • SUNTEC SINGAPORE

Tradition trumps technology

Going Underground With Waste

How would you like a waste bin that never seems to fill up and overflow? OTTO Waste Systems’ underground waste system (UWS) seems to offer a perfect solution. The UWS fits right in on any street corner without attracting any unpleasant odours or complaints from passers-by. Quite popular in Europe, this bin allows waste to be collected in a separate receptacle underground using a RFID system for monitoring. Not only does it help reduce carbon emissions as garbage collection days are reduced but you can also cut labour and maintenance costs. Targeting municipals and waste collection companies, Singapore’s National Environmental Agency (NEA)and n-parks are taking the initiative to pave the way in Asia for more environmentally friendly solutions like the UWS. (Booth 4D21-01)

Amid gleaming equipment, precision instruments and state-of-the-art machinery, visitors inevitably do a double take at Charankattu Coir.

Charankattu Coir is an ISO 9001/ISO 1401 Certified Coir & Jute company which is now using this natural method of erosion control in new and innovative ways. Managing Director C R Devaraj says that the coir matting supports seedlings and young plants until maturity, and is especially useful for turfing slopes. “The coir fibre can absorb water and release it slowly, acting like an individual dam for each seed or plant. It can be used as a substitute for peat moss,” he said. Best of all, it’s completely biodegradable! (Booth 4E3-01)

Creating a Stir

How do you create a tornado in a test tube?

You use an electromagnet of course. 2mag AG’s magnetic drives generate electromagnetic rotating fields without the use of moving parts, making them impervious to wear and tear, even at temperatures as high as 300 degrees C. These magnetic stirrers are for chemical, biotechnical and medical applications, and, depending on the number of stirring points, can stir volumes of up to 250 litres. But 2mag AG isn’t limiting itself only to laboratory applications; magnetic stirrers make stunningly attractive – and ultra-modern – light fixtures and illuminated furniture. (Booth 4F3-01)

Get Converted To Pro-M

Weidmuller’s new Pro-M is a solid, optimal and reliable power supply for machinery. The solid, slimmer than conventional facility enables installation without lateral spacing, thereby saving space on the DIN rail. Reliable for all applications, the Pro-M’s broad temperature range enables universal use. Unlike other two-phase operations, the three-phase Pro-M power supply modules continues to work reliably even if one phase fails. (Booth 4E2-01)

A Jacuzzi couldn’t begin to do what the Elmasonic P can T here’s nothing like a good soak in a bath to clean everything from head to toe.

Now, everything from glass to metal equipment can experience that same perfect bath cleansing, thanks to the Elmasonic P, by Elma.

The Elmasonic P, an ultrasonic cleaning bath, uses pulses that optimise power and noise levels – the only unit in the world with a pulse capability.

“The idea of pulse is to increase the power but keep the noise level lower,” said Karl-Heinz Schoch, Elma’s division manager of cleaning technology for industry and

laboratory. “Especially in the lab setting, it helps to reduce the noise affecting people’s ears.”

Another “sweep” mode, which takes advantage of a continuous change in frequency, distributes power for an all-around homogenous cleaning.

“One mode – pulse – is stronger while the other – sweep – provides a more even cleaning,” Schoch said.

Besides pulse and sweep, the Elmasonic P includes three other helpful operating modes:

• Normal Mode, which takes the Elmasonic P beyond an already excellent cleaning application into the realm of mixing, dissolving and dispersing and many more lab applications; • Degas, for quick degassing of samples or solvents in HPLC and general analysis of liquids; • Power regulation cleaning, which reduces ultrasonic power in steps for sensitive

surfaces or the impact to sensitive liquids on lab applications

The Elmasonic P actually comes in two frequencies ideal for cleaning. The 40 kHz ultrasound mode is ideal for coarse contaminations. “The lower frequency is actually more aggressive in its cleaning effect,” Schoch explained.

The 80 kHz frequency, meanwhile, is virtually silent, optimised for cleaning micro structures, or to introduce a minimum power impact on a liquid.

“A higher kHz level means the unit becomes much quieter,” Schoch said.

“You hardly even hear the unit.” It’s therefore perfect for extended cleaning periods in areas that require quiet. So we can react to both the need for maximum noise reduction and maximum power,” Schoch added.

The Elmasonic P comes with a virtual cockpit of digital display instrumentation, all of which optimise the ultrasonic

cleaning experience. It’s up to the operator to decide what to do with the Elmasonic P, which, like one of James Bond’s gadgets, has more functionality than meets the eye.

A pharmaceutical company may want to make a solvent using tablets in a very repeatable, reliable way.

A hospital might need to clean its metal instruments to ensure they are absolutely free from contamination. Or, a laboratory may need to clean its beakers to provide accurate test results.

In each example of cleaning, mixing, dissolving, dispersing and degassing, Elmasonic P can be relied upon to get the job done efficiently and reliably every time.

“We sell solutions - not products - but solutions to client problems and needs,” Schoch concluded. It just so happens that the solution is often an ultrasonic cleaning and mixing machine that works flawlessly.

Quick Facts : What You Must Know About the Elmasonic P: 3 Comes in standard, pulse, sweep, degas and power regulation modes; 3 Dual 40 and 80 kHz frequencies can be employed; 3 Six different unit sizes are available, including 3 L, 6 L, 7 L, 12 L, 18 L, and 30 L tanks; 3 A full digital display yields clear information; 3 Additional features include a pause capability to interrupt applications and temperature control, which initiates the ultrasound when a set temperature is reached.

Editors’ note: Elma (at booth 4F2-08 is one of the sponsors of the CIA2009/ EnviroAsia2009ShowDaily

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• WEDNESDAY • DECEMBER 2, 2009 • SUNTEC SINGAPORE

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