Sustainability Matters Jun/Jul 2014 by Westwick-Farrow Media

contents

June/July 2014

4 Leading the way How water contributes to liveable cities

The State of Waste 2014

Case Studies

LEDs for street lighting

Research & development

24 Turning wastewater into an economic resource 26

Products & services

32 Integrating modern technologies in water treatment process control 42 In my opinion Energy at the crossroads

On the cover

Plastic World, Carole Purnelle and Nuno Maya, Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2013, photo by Clyde Yee. The next Bondi Sculpture by the Sea exhibition is being held from 23 October to 9 November 2014. For further information, visit www.sculpturebythesea.com/exhibitions/bondi/ Information.aspx

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peaking at the launch of the City of Sydney’s draft advanced waste treatment plan, the founder and managing director of Do Something, Jon Dee, said the problem facing Australia in terms of energy and waste is that on the one hand we’ve got too much waste and on the other hand, with regards to energy, we’ve got the issue of energy security, the issue of greenhouse gas emissions and from a political point of view, energy prices. “What if we could create a solution that deals with the waste and creates an energy solution?” he says. Well that’s what the City of Sydney’s draft plan is trying to achieve. While the ‘energy-from-waste’ gasification technology solution detailed in the draft plan is not new, what is new, according to the City of Sydney’s sustainability manager, Chris Derksema, is applying gasification to the municipal waste in NSW. The detailed draft shows how gasification could be used to reduce resources sent to landfill, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create clean gas energy. Derksema says the council is not looking to own and run the plant; it will be going to the market to seek a market participant to provide a solution - either a solution for just the city’s waste or a commercial solution that could incorporate other waste streams such as C&I waste and other councils’ wastes such as Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (SSROC). The full story is on page 8. Carolyn Jackson sm@westwick-farrow.com.au

Leading the way

How water contributes to liveable cities

M Adam Lovell is the Executive Director at t h e Wa t e r S e r v i c e s Association of Australia (WSAA). Adam provides national leadership in policy positions for the Australian urban water sector on structural, institutional and regulatory issues, including industry reform, integrated water management, water quality, climate change, customer engagement and asset management. WSAA is the peak body for the urban water industry and its members provide water services to 17 million Australians.

To ensure we continue to enhance the urban water industry’s role in liveability we need to engage, partner and innovate.

any organisations are developing their position on liveability and how they contribute to liveable cities and areas. It’s a worldwide conversation and the urban water industry plays a key part. We know that water is a foundation for urban liveability. Without the provision of clean and safe drinking water and effective wastewater and stormwater services to protect the environment, our urban areas would not be the liveable, sustainable, resilient places we see today. Of course it goes without saying that our customers expect us to continue fulfilling this role. But contributing to liveability is more than just providing the services. Examples of how urban water organisations can enhance liveability are happening around Australia. One example is at Sydney Water, where four programs have been established to demonstrate its contribution to liveability. These include: People and places program; Land and waterways program; Growth and servicing program; and City futures program. The programs are being supported with the utility’s liveability themes of connect, collaborate and innovate. One example of the land and waterways program is the work at the Cup and Saucer Wetland. The project has seen Sydney Water partner with local council, other organisations and importantly the local community to replace deteriorated concrete riverbanks with sandstone and native plants and treat stormwater flowing from Cup and Saucer Creek. The collaborative work has improved aesthetics in the area and provided a habitat for wildlife, and includes seating and an outdoor classroom for local residents to enjoy. At City West Water, its Greening the West Strategy has the community at its core. Reflecting the themes of liveability, the strategy has strong community input to deliver positive outcomes for residents and businesses in the area. By partnering with local councils and other authorities including Department

of Health and VicRoads, the regional partnership aims to promote sustainable and healthy communities in Melbourne’s west by increasing urban greening. The strategy recognises that water authorities can deliver more to the community by extending its core skills beyond just water supply and management. Recent research conducted by Sydney Water shows that the water industry’s involvement in these types of projects and programs is welcomed by the community. The outcomes of this work are being used to guide the business to do those things that contribute to liveability in ways that their customers value. To ensure we continue to enhance the urban water industry’s role in liveability we need to engage, partner and innovate. Engage with our customers and local communities. Partner with government, the private sector and community groups and innovate to achieve different and broader outcomes that contribute to liveability. By doing this we demonstrate that water is not just a foundation for liveability - it’s part of enhancing and improving liveability for the future. Urban liveability also depends on water, energy, waste and other services collaborating in planning, then delivering new projects and precincts. Liveable communities may be viewed as more expensive but we don’t know yet how communities value liveability. Liveability in Australia supports a productive and prosperous nation. It is a point of difference we can be proud of. But challenges remain: we must ensure our customers and communities are engaged at the outset. Traditional engineering solutions don’t always present value to the customer and taking a focus on customers and working across the sectors provides the best chance of continuing to support a productive, prosperous and ‘liveable’ Australia. Everyone has a slightly different view of what liveability means for them, as does every government and organisation. The important thing is how we work together on key issues and opportunities that will demonstrate we all understand and want liveability to be real.

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The State of Waste 2014 Mike Ritchie*

Australia generates 48 Mt/year of waste (latest National Waste Data Report 2014). Despite steady increases in the rate of recovery (average 52%), the waste generated between 2002 and 2009 grew by 40%, while the population increased by only 10% (SoE Report NSW, 2013). There are more of us and we are generating more waste each year per person.

ffsetting the increased generation of waste, most states in Australia are now seeing recycling growing at a rate fast enough to start reducing total tonnages of waste to landfill. The significant exception to this is Queensland, where the government lowered the costs of landfill by removing the $35/t landfill levy. Since doing so, there has been a 20% reduction in recycling (and loss of jobs) as waste tonnes flood back into artificially cheap landfill. It has also seen 400,000 tonnes of waste being transported from Sydney to Brisbane to take advantage of the cheap disposal. That is an additional 10,000 truck movements per year on the Pacific Highway, in each direction! The sooner the Qld government catches up with the rest of Australia, the better. Landfill in south-east Qld is now the cheapest in Australia at less than $30/t and as low as $10 per tonne, since the Qld government removed the landfill levy. If you can landfill for $10/t, why

bother recycling? Rational business owners make rational decisions.

Jobs The really good news is that the growth in recycling in all the other states is creating new recycling jobs. Recycling jobs are largely recession-proof, greencollar jobs. Recycling is one of the only growth areas in the manufacturing sector in Australia. We create nine jobs in recycling for every job in landfill. Given the job creation potential of recycling, why does landfill continue to be the de facto method of waste disposal for 50% of what we generate? First and foremost - cost. Landfill is cheap. Most landfills were inherited from past generations and most still don’t include the cost of replacement in their pricing. Many landfills still do not make provisions for future liabilities such as 40-year monitoring, rehabilitation and gas management. The Productivity Commission (2006) rightly stated that all landfills should price in the full costs of operation and

externalities. Most private landfills do, many council landfills do not. Unfortunately, even some consultants still price landfills as free assets. One recent study advised a council that their cost of landfilling was only $23/t. On proper review and inclusion of postclosure costs, asset replacement, etc, the cost jumped to over $150/t.

Levies Increasing landfill prices via levies (to reflect their true environmental and financial cost) is starting to have an effect. Sydney landfill prices crossed the $300 per tonne threshold in 2012, and combined with new grant funding, is seeding a renaissance in recycling job creation and new infrastructure development. It is important to note that landfill levies are avoidable. If you don’t want to pay the levy - recycle. It only applies to waste put in the hole. As such we have seen landfill operators being one of the main beneficiaries of levies. They charge for the levy at the gatehouse and then

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Waste & recycling

use the levy as an effective subsidy for their recycling and diversion activities and only send the residual to the actual landfill. Only that residual attracts the levy. Landfill price rises are driving reform in all waste streams.

Household waste In the local government sector, key reforms include the implementation of a third ‘green’ bin for household garden and food waste and new 360 L recycling bins for those households that fill their yellow-top recycling bin each fortnight. (About 17% of households fill their recycling bin to capacity each fortnight and 30% of all recyclables are still incorrectly placed in the wrong bin and go to landfill.) Many councils are also contracting ‘Alternative Waste Technologies’ - to recover recyclables and organics for compost or digestion and only dispose of the unrecoverable fraction. Minor streams such as mattresses, polystyrene and e-waste are now also getting attention.

Commercial waste Commercial waste remains a key challenge, with many businesses having either no recycling or just paper/cardboard and metals. Landfill pricing provides a key incentive for more on-site recycling because economically rational business owners weigh up the labour costs of sorting materials against the costs of landfilling. Cheaper landfill equals lower recycling rates and vice versa. A move to weight-based charging for C+I front- and rear-lift waste will provide a key circuit breaker for business owners. At present most waste bins are charged by volume not by weight. So a business can pay as much for a skip filled with polystyrene as another with half a tonne of rubble. New weighing systems now permit legal trade based on weights. Weight-based charging will provide a direct price signal to business managers and will be the biggest single reform in the commercial waste sector for decades. Building new ‘C+I dirty MRFs’ to recover recyclables from mixed business waste is also a real game changer. We have a few small plants in Australia, not nearly enough. The rise in landfill levies, combined with new government infrastructure grants, is now making

Recycling jobs are largely recession-proof, green-collar jobs. Recycling is one of the only growth areas in the manufacturing sector in Australia. We create nine jobs in recycling for every job in landfill.

large-scale sorting plants commercially viable for the first time. Another emerging trend, again driven by landfill costs, grants and new state policies, is the rise of Energy from Waste (EfW) proposals. EfW is standard practice in Europe and Asia. Best practice EfW includes gasification, pyrolysis, plasma arc and incineration and variations on those themes. Recently, the NSW, Vic and WA EPAs have given the green light to EfW, on the proviso the material treated has first been processed to recover recyclables. Such plants must also meet best practice air emission standards and must be used for energy generation, not just waste disposal.

Construction waste The final piece of the waste puzzle is the C+D sector, which generates 40% of Australia’s total waste. This sector has the highest recovery rates, because the materials it processes can be more homogenous (timber, metal, concrete), costly to dispose of (and as such responsive to levies), and can be sold in large volumes back into robust construction markets. Much of the residual C+D stream waste lend itself to an EfW solution as well.

Role of government It is perfectly legitimate for governments to take different positions on the ‘recovery spectrum’ extending from low-cost landfills and low recycling rates through to higher recycling rates and generally higher-cost landfill (so long as all environmental externalities and risks are covered). The role of government is to clearly articulate where on that spectrum they intend to sit and then to develop the appropriate policy settings and funding arrangements to make it happen. It is the function of government to weigh the competing interests of resources, sustainability and cost. The industry is there to assist and invest where it can, once the direction is set. Setting clear goals and ambitions is the most important thing government can do. It is therefore pleasing to see many

governments at the national, state and local level taking a new interest in waste. Community engagement is a key aspect of such decisions. MRA has worked with governments around Australia to create realistic pricing and funding systems which maximise resource recovery while increasing community engagement and consent. In our experience, most communities support higher recycling rates and higher landfill prices driven by levies, so long as the levy revenues are hypothecated to better environmental outcomes. No-one likes paying taxes, but if we have to, better they be progressive taxes and send the right market signals rather than the wrong ones. Better that we tax pollution and improve recycling, than tax payrolls and increase unemployment.

*Mike Ritchie is the Director of MRA consulting where his 20 years’ experience in environmental policy and b u s i n e s s development has facilitated the company’s growth in waste, resource recovery. Mike is also a Sessional Commissioner of the NSW Land & Environment Court. Prior to launching MRA, he was general manager - marketing with SITA, GM of WSN and state manager of VISY. He has worked in local government as senior advisor to the Mayor of Brisbane and as a director of Liverpool Council. He was national vice president of WMAA, past president of WMAA NSW, chair of the Carbon Division of WMAA, and chair of the AWT Working Group. Mike was recently invited by the Victorian Minister for Environment and Climate Change to sit as a member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Waste and Resource Recovery Governance Reform.

Mike Ritchie & Associates (MRA) www.mraconsulting.com.au

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Sydney’s plan to turn its municipal waste into clean energy

case study

dvanced waste treatment systems could divert more t h a n 9 5 % o f S y d n e y ’s household waste from landfill and convert non-recyclable waste into a useful renewable gas to power city buildings and provide heating and cooling. Rapid population growth in our cities means that by around 2021 our landfill sites will be full, with the nearest facility 250 km away. Around 400,000 truck movements a year are required to dispose of Sydney’s waste. The City of Sydney’s draft advanced waste treatment plan shows how useful energy can be created from household waste, significantly reducing the loss of valuable resources to landfill and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The advanced waste treatment master plan aims to deliver an ‘energy from waste’ solution for Sydney by: • recovering material and energy resources from non-recyclable waste so almost no waste goes to landfill; • converting non-recyclable waste to renewable and non-fossil fuel gases; and • converting these gases into substitute natural gases to inject into the gas grid to deliver low-carbon energy. Advanced waste treatment by gasification is a long-term sustainable waste solution that is used in other major

cities around the world. Gasification generates a synthesis gas, called syngas, from heating and decomposing the waste. The syngas can be converted into a substitute natural gas that has renewable energy content because of the organic material in waste. The renewable gas could then be used to power the city. Any future plant would need to comply with the NSW Energy from Waste policy, which ensures there are no harmful emissions released. Lord Mayor Clover Moore said landfill sites produce huge amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas with 25 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. “It’s estimated this new technology could prevent around 196,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year equivalent to taking 43,556 cars off the road. The technology will also save ratepayers about $3.9 million a year by avoiding the waste levy costs of landfill. Every tonne of waste to landfill incurs a NSW waste levy of over $100,” the Lord Mayor said. “Our residents have done a terrific job of recycling and we’ve already met our target to divert two-thirds of household waste from landfill. “Currently, over 40,000 tonnes of household rubbish a year is processed to remove recyclables and produce low-grade compost, but one third of waste still goes

to landfill. The advanced waste treatment plant could reduce this amount to virtually nothing. “If we don’t try to reduce our waste, by 2030 the household waste of city residents is predicted to grow to 80,000 tonnes. This means after recycling and treatment, 27,000 tonnes of non-recyclable household waste would end up in landfill - equivalent to the weight of a cruise ship. “An advanced waste treatment plant is a viable solution already used in other cities around the world.” Along with the US and Canada, Australia is among the top three producers of waste per capita. Energy from waste technologies already plays a vital role in international waste management, with advanced waste technologies used across Europe, Asia and North America. Operating under NSW’s current regulatory environment, advanced waste treatment can be effectively used to deliver renewable gas straight to the grid. This substitute natural gas can be used for electricity generation, heating, cooking and air conditioning. This system is also designed to be able to fully integrate with future trigeneration plants to produce clean, local electricity, heating and cooling. In Australia there are multiple facilities generating power from wastes such as sugar cane residue, recycling rejects and commercial food waste. In the past 12 months, three major projects processing council-collected waste have been approved in Australia with more in planning.

For further information on the draft plan, visit www.sydneyyoursay.com.au.

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case studies index  S ydney’s plan to turn its

municipal waste into clean energy

 N utrients offset water pilot project

 T he sun keeps food cool

8 10 11

 T hermal imaging cameras optimise aluminium production

 S oftware integration provides

energy savings at shopping centre 12

 N ew sewage treatment technology

 Aged care facility using solar to reduce energy costs

 Watershed winery installs SunPower solar system

 Ontario’s organic waste-toenergy project

14 15 16

 New facility to turn

Pilbara’s mining waste into recyclables

research & development index  Researchers rehabilitate

bauxite residue 20

 Recyclable plastic

packaging to save one million eggs per year 20

 Success installing

wastewater treatment plants on slaughterhouses 21

 UQ cuts carbon emissions

with LEDs 22

 Biofuel crops on

photovoltaic farms 22

 Spaghetti-like membranes

capture carbon dioxide 23

Nutrients offset water pilot project A pilot project funded by Queensland Urban Utilities will not only have big environmental benefits but will also demonstrate a way to help moderate water prices. The trial is designed to prevent sediment and nutrients from entering the Logan River and is claimed to be the first-ever pilot program of its kind by a water service provider in Queensland. Environment Minister Andrew Powell said close to $1 million has been invested by Queensland Urban Utilities to repair 500 m of eroded riparian corridors near the Beaudesert Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) in the Logan River catchment. “The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection has been working closely with Queensland Urban Utilities and SEQ Catchments to manage increasing nitrogen discharges from the Beaudesert STP as a result of local population growth,” Powell said. “By stabilising sediment loads, Beaudesert STP will be able to continue safely at its current capacity in the short term without undertaking an $8 million upgrade. “This is a significant saving for Queensland Urban Utilities which will help moderate long-term costs. “It is estimated the riparian works will prevent approximately five tonnes of nitrogen and 11,200 tonnes of sediment from entering the Logan River each year due to natural erosion.” Queensland Urban Utilities CEO Louise Dudley said the initiative would benefit the environment and relieve price pressures. “We are very aware of the cost-ofliving pressures and the $7 million saving achieved through this project will help moderate water prices,” she said. “The river had carved steep cliffs through the landscape and was eroding

more than a metre of neighbouring river bank each year. “By changing the angle of the riverbank, about 17 Olympic swimming pools of sediment will be prevented from entering the Logan River every year. “This innovative approach offers a longterm solution to a long-term problem. “We have been able to counterbalance the impact of nitrogen in the water and also reduce local turbidity; with the added benefits of a new wildlife habitat and significant cost savings.” By reducing the amount of nitrogen being released into Logan River through riparian works, any potential increase in nitrogen during wet weather events is counterbalanced. The works will also help prevent other pollutants from entering the waterway and assist landholders with ongoing riverbank erosion. Powell said the project will run until 2019, with a possible five-year extension. “If this pilot lays the groundwork for other entities, there is no reason this model can’t be adopted by other water utilities across the state,” Powell said. “I hope the Beaudesert pilot is the first of many projects in Queensland to use alternative nutrient-reduction actions to achieve better water-quality outcomes, while delivering cost savings to water utilities and their customers. “I am therefore pleased to release today the guideline ‘A voluntary market-based mechanism for nutrient management’ to provide assistance to water utilities in using this approach.” The guideline is now available on the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection’s website at www.ehp. qld.gov.au.

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case studies The sun keeps food cool Complete Food Services is a wholesaler of quality food products to Melbourne’s cafes, restaurants, hotels and retail food outlets. The company has been supplied with a 200 kWp solar PV system by Yingli Green Energy Australia, known as Yingli Solar, through its distribution partner EnviroGroup. Complete Food Services’ Preston facility has been equipped with 800 YGE 250 W high-efficiency, multi-crystalline Yingli Solar PV panels, which are expected to provide more than 50% of the company’s daylight energy consumption. The installation will generate approximately 248 MWh of solar energy per year and is expected to reduce CO2 by up to 323 tonnes annually. It is anticipated that the company’s investment in solar PV will generate a return on investment (ROI) of over 20% per annum, reducing electricity costs by over $50,000 each year.

Daman Cole, Managing Director for Yingli Green Energy in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, said, “Solar power is a vital tool for companies such as Complete Food Services as they seek to reduce their operating costs and carbon footprint.” Cameron Munro, CEO of EnviroGroup, added, “EnviroGroup were delighted to assist Complete Food Services reduce their operating costs through the installation of a quality solar system using Yingli Solar’s high-efficiency panels.” “Solar power makes perfect sense for our business,” said Tony Osky, Founder and Director of Complete Food Services. “On hot sunny days our electricity usage is at its maximum as our refrigerators work harder to keep our products fresh. Solar fits perfectly with our needs as it operates at peak capacity on sunny days, generating more electricity and reducing

our overheads when they’re at their highest. “EnviroGroup demonstrated meticulous attention to detail by designing and delivering a high-efficiency solar PV system using Yingli Solar panels. We are delighted to be working with Yingli Solar and EnviroGroup for our solar needs.” Yingli Green Energy Australia Pty Ltd www.yinglisolar.com

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case studies Thermal imaging cameras optimise aluminium production

India’s JNARDDC institute is using thermal imagers to help aluminium production companies across the country save energy and find faults at a very early stage. Aluminium production is an energyintensive process, so saving energy at each step of the process is the primary aim of process engineers and designers. Infrared thermography has played an important role in predictive maintenance of these processes. Monitoring a production process can be performed best when processes are running, so online monitoring is particularly valuable. Slight temperature variations across a surface will indicate failing components, such as degrading electrical contacts. Thermography can also be used to inspect furnace ducts, bus isolator jumpers, casings, heating chambers or tanks.

Infrared thermography allows production managers to schedule their maintenance routines well before anything critical happens. This significantly reduces the production downtime. Predictive maintenance schedules help the industry to arrange tools and spares for repair in time, surveying such devices with thermal cameras for early detections of faults. The Indian Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre (JNARDDC) was supported by FLIR’s local distributor PCI, situated in Mumbai, who recommended JNARDDC use the FLIR P660 professional thermal imaging camera for predictive maintenance purposes. In India, aluminium production companies usually carry out thermography inspections only when the need arises. Others will perform inspections on a

yearly or half-yearly basis. The advent of thermal imaging in predictive maintenance programs has resulted in willingness to perform these maintenance routines more frequently, because inspection with thermal cameras no longer requires shutting down production. The FLIR P660 thermal camera is now frequently used by the team of Anupam Agnihotri, head and scientist at JNARDDC, and consisting of SK Thokal (electrical engineer) and N Warhadpande (electronics engineer). Although the institute is enthusiastic about the use of FLIR’s technology, customers were a little hesitant at first. “The operations people were a little hesitant at the initial period of inspection because they conceived infrared to be some kind of X-ray which would allow them to see inside the equipment,” said Agnihotri. “Others thought of infrared as being emitted by the camera and thought that it might harm their equipment.” Fortunately, it was an easy task for FLIR Systems and PCI to explain the benefits and background of thermal imaging. After a short training program, JNARDDC customers were convinced and understood the importance of online condition monitoring with thermal imaging. “Now operations managers demand to cover the problematic area more frequently than other areas,” said Agnihotri. FLIR Systems Australia Pty Ltd www.flir.com.au

Software integration provides energy savings at shopping centre BuildingIQ, an energy management software company, and SkyFoundry, owner of SkySpark analytics software, have announced the integration of their technologies to identify and create energy savings for the Mount Pleasant Shopping Centre in Queensland. BuildingIQ’s predictive energy optimisation software, which leverages variables such as occupant comfort, utility signals, weather forecasts and building characteristics, can now tap into SkySpark’s real-time metering data. The additional data allows BuildingIQ’s software to create a more advanced thermal model of the shopping centre and make automatic adjustments in order to maximise energy efficiency and reduce operating costs. “BuildingIQ’s solution is like an energy-efficient cruise control for buildings,” said Michael Nark, president and CEO of BuildingIQ.

“Through continuous modelling and analysis of the data that is collected from SkySpark, the system is able to make real-time adjustments to Mount Pleasant Shopping Centre’s heating and cooling operations that create verified energy savings. The simple installation process and ability to utilise existing infrastructure make it a great solution for retail, office and really any type of space.” The use of BuildingIQ’s technology has allowed CFS Retail Property Trust Group (CFX), which manages Mount Pleasant Shopping Centre on behalf of one of its wholesale funds, to optimise the performance of its asset and create a continuous, long-term return on a sustainable investment. BuildingIQ www.buildingiq.com

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case studies New sewage treatment technology Australian Innovative Systems (AIS) was recently approached by Taylex to help create a simpler, safer and more affordable alternative for sewage treatment. The companies’ custom-made sewage treatment system uses submerged electrolytic chlorinators instead of chemical dosing to treat black- and greywater. Historically, companies used a cocktail of chemicals such as chlorine dioxide, chlorine tablets or sodium hypochlorite combined with ozone-based technology to treat sewage, resulting in a cycle of regular chemical ordering, delivery and storage. Electrolysis was not considered a viable technology for treating low-salinity blackwater due to desired total dissolved solids (TDS) levels of over 5000 ppm in order for the technology to be employed. AIS’s technology has addressed both challenges, with the company designing a system to treat sewage using submerged

electrolytic chlorinators which produce chlorine on site. In collaboration with Taylex, AIS modified its existing AutoChlor system (which operates at TDS levels as low as 2500 ppm) for a Taylex treatment plant. The AutoChlor system is now processing 2000-5000 L of sewage daily without the need for chemical dosing. “At first we didn’t know if chlorine generation using electrolysis was possible in low-salinity wastewater or if it was going to be commercially viable,” said Taylex Director Alistair Le Plastrier. “AIS has been an extremely responsive and attentive partner in helping us to work through these issues and adapting their chlorination technology to meet our needs. “Producing chlorine via the electrolytic cells and within the treatment water itself is proving simple, easy and economical. Ultimately we think this will be far better for installers, operators and maintenance staff.”

Effluent leaving the primary chambers is broken down by anaerobic and then aerobic bacteria. The water is then separated from biomass before going through a two-step disinfection regime. In the first step, UV is applied to water that is super-chlorinated by a submerged, purpose-built AIS chlorine generator. Water is then disinfected a second time in an adjacent chamber via a second AIS chlorine generator. AIS’s own Genuine AIS Anodes feature in the technology. Australian Innovative Systems (AIS) www.aiswater.com.au

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case studies Aged care facility using solar to reduce energy costs Yass Valley Aged Care (YVAC) is a provider of aged and home care services which operates in Yass, New South Wales, and has capacity for over 60 patients. Faced with rising electricity costs from managing two facilities, the YVAC board decided it needed to invest in a financially viable energy solution that would help reduce its overall energy costs. Rowena Abbey, Mayor of Yass and a board member of YVAC, said, “Being an aged care facility, it was important that we were able to manage effectively the cost of our operational overheads. Our electricity bills were rising steadily and we have seen increases of between 5-7% over the last two years. This was a significant concern for us as we rely on funds generously donated by the local community and support from the Yass Aged Care Foundation for our operations.” Having seen Yass Soldiers Club switch to solar energy, Abbey felt solar was as a suitable option for YVAC. YVAC engaged Ygrene Energy to design and implement a solar panel array on the roof of the club. The installation incorporated 400 Yingli Solar YLP-50-29B multicrystalline panels, six SolarMax 15 kW 15MT2 gridconnected inverters and one SolarMax 10 kW 10MT2 inverter.

Based on the estimated annual cost savings and YVAC’s upfront investment, the solar PV system will be paid off in approximately four years. To help YVAC monitor the solar energy outputs from its system, Ygrene Energy installed SolarMax’s remote monitoring solution, MaxMonitoring, to display highlevel usage data that would allow staff to

verify the systems’ production through data sent to its MaxWeb portal. A SolarMax MaxMeteo solar radiation sensor was also installed to measure the irradiance and radiation energy values to provide a qualitative assessment of the systems’ performance. Ygrene Energy had its supplies and equipment shipped early during the day and used a telehandler to move it directly

to the roof. It helped minimise unnecessary vehicle movements during peak hours and installation work was only scheduled in the middle of the day to keep noise levels at a minimum. The roof works were completed within a week to reduce any impact on its residents. The completed 100 kW solar PV system provided close to 163,616 kWh of solar power or a third of its annual energy requirements. It reduced YVAC’s reliance on drawing electricity from the grid and its carbon emissions by 150 tonnes annually. YVAC was able to reinvest its savings from lower electricity bills into YVAC for the benefit of the community. Abbey said, “We had maximised the utilisation of our north-facing roof space in our buildings for the panels. If we had more space available, we would have increased the size of our solar PV installation.” The data extracted from SolarMax’s web portal allowed YVAC maintenance staff to manage the performance of the system. Its board members were also able to track energy yields and to effectively manage the operations’ budget. Sputnik Engineering Australia & NZ PTY LTD www.solarmax.com/au/en

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case studies

Watershed Premium Wines, located in Margaret River, Western Australia, has installed a 149 kW solar power system on a roof shared by the company’s barrel store and wine warehouse. The high-efficiency system, from SunPower, features 456 E20/327 solar panels with efficiencies of 20%. It is expected to generate approximately 238 MWh of emissions-free electricity each year - the same amount of energy needed to produce approximately 28,000 cases of wine. This will save Watershed $79,000 in energy costs annually and offset electricity use by 30%. “Winemaking is an energy-intensive business, so installing a high-efficiency and cost-effective SunPower solar system will help lower our overall operating expenses while allowing us to produce finely crafted Australian wines with an even smaller carbon footprint,” said Watershed Managing Director Geoff Barrett. “With a SunPower system designed to produce clean, reliable electricity for the next 25 years or more, this was a low-risk investment that made both economic and environmental sense for us.” Watershed owns the solar power system, which was installed by Sunwise Electrics, and will claim the associated large-scale generation certificates (LGCs) through to 2030. The winery expects to use solar energy produced by the system to offset electricity consumption C S 1 4 _ 9from 3 9 _the 1 local 8 0 _ network 1 3 5 -when 1 demand 2 0 1 4and - 0 energy 5 - 0 1 prices are at their peak, especially during vintage.

Watershed winery installs SunPower solar system

“Wineries from around the world have chosen SunPower solar technology to reduce electricity costs including Domaine Carneros Winery in the United States, Glenelly Wine Estate in South Africa, Luciano Sandrone Winery in Italy and now Watershed Premium Wines in Australia,” said SunPower Country Managing Director, Australia Chris O’Brien. Watershed has a commitment to environmentally responsible business practices, having already implemented initiatives to reduce water, raw material and energy consumption, improve wastewater management and install an energy-efficient refrigeration system. TSunPower 1 6 : 4 9Corporation : 3 5 + 1 Australia 0 : 0 0 Pty Ltd www.sunpowercorp.com.au

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case studies Ontario’s organic waste-to-energy project An organic-waste-to-energy project in the city of London, Ontario, Canada, will convert more than 65,000 tonnes of mixed organic waste a year into environmentally harmonious green energy and dry fertiliser. The privately owned Harvest Power Mustang Generation plant will process more than 15 different waste streams into biogas to generate electricity, as well as dry bio fertilisers. The 4.5 ha plant incorporating a Global Water Engineering (GWE) RAPTOR system - harvests waste such as grocery store rejects, kitchen and market waste, food processing residues, leachate, manure and slaughterhouse residues, which it converts into enough biogas (primarily methane) to generate 2.85 MW of electricity and 8.7 tonnes a day of dry bio fertiliser. Biogas replaces fossil fuels typically used to heat factory process plant such as boilers or to generate electricity. The London plant’s biogas production of more than 27,000 Nm3 a day at 62.5% methane is equivalent to 20,000 kg a day of fuel oil, or 7300 tonnes of the fossil fuel a year. Industrial wastewater plants equipped with similar RAPTOR technology have already achieved production rates of twice as much green energy a year. RAPTOR is a powerful liquid-state anaerobic digestion process that consists of enhanced pre-treatment followed by multistep biological fermentation. In the Harvest Power application, it is integrated into a process that begins with waste reception and storage, depackaging and conditioning, and the removal of contamination such as plastics, metals and glass. It then undergoes thermophilic acidification, anaerobic digestion by the RAPTOR process, post digestion, aerobic treatment of the liquid part of the digestate, sludge conditioning and drying. This is followed by biogas sweetening (removal of hydrogen sulfide), drying and then use in combined heat and power systems and engine generator sets of 2.85 MWe feeding back into the local electricity grid. The RAPTOR process consumes 76% of the potentially environmentally harmful COD (chemical oxygen demand) content of the waste, which comprises content of natural

origin that can be broken down into biogas by anaerobic bacteria. While the biogas is conditioned and utilised to produce energy, solids and liquid residuals provide valuable fertiliser products. The plant is significant globally because of the range of waste feedstocks it converts into useful products: market waste; kitchen waste; grease trap waste; dewater DAF flotation residue; paunch manure; pet food; ice-cream waste; food processing wastes; expired beer; and many other community sources. Furthermore, GWE President and CEO Jean Pierre Ombregt said the anaerobic technologies being employed at the Harvest Power site can pay for themselves in a year or two through savings in fossil fuel, while also protecting the environment from groundwater and air pollution. “Other green energy sources such as solar and wind power get the headlines, but waste product/green energy technologies such as those from GWE deliver the results in terms of base load and cost-efficiency,” he said. “This type of plant can be replicated anywhere there is a community, factory or process with one or more digestible solid waste streams. Such plants - including breweries, fruit, food waste, agro industries and energy crops including corn - can easily use this technology to generate energy. It opens the door to environmental and production efficiency gains globally.” The technology is represented in Australia b y CS T Wa st e wa t e r So l ut io n s , wh o se managing director, Michael Bambridge, says such initiatives are readily adaptable to a host of Australian cities. CST Wastewater Solutions www.cstwastewater.com

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case studies New facility to turn Pilbara’s mining waste into recyclables Transpacific has begun earthworks at a new $17 million recycling and waste management facility in Western Australia. The 10 ha site will be built on Ngarluma country on Warlu Way, Karratha, under a commercial land use agreement with the Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation. The occasion was marked with a sod-turning ceremony attended by Transpacific’s new managing director for its subsidiary company Cleanaway, Jack Perko; and the CEO of Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation, Paul Stenson. Perko said the ceremony was designed to thank stakeholders for their continued support. “The sod-turning ceremony celebrates the visible beginning of a new milestone for Transpacific; a facility with the capabilities and expertise to offer a truly integrated and holistic waste and recycling management service for the Karratha market,” he said. “The construction of this facility provides a strong and stable foothold into the local market, growing our reach and capabilities to process large-scale commercial and industrial waste in a safe and cost-efficient manner.” To be built by property and construction group Pindan, the facility will include:

• a weighbridge • a 460 m2 administration and operations office • a bioremediation area • a truck maintenance workshop • a tank farm • a purpose-built dangerous goods bunded area along with a bunded slab for quarantine materials, • a solid waste sorting shed. The site has the potential to process up to: • 20,000 tonnes of waste oil and packages liquid wastes per year • 10,000 tonnes of solid waste (including oil filters, rags, fluoro tubes, drums and general recyclables such as cardboard, paper, plastic and metals) for aggregation and recycling per year • 1 0,000 tonnes of waste (including contaminated soils) per year that can be fixated or bioremediated on site to allow for safe disposal. The facility is intended to ensure local construction and demolition waste can be processed closer to where it is being generated, thereby reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with transporting the waste approximately 1200 km to Perth. In addition, Perko said

the facility will see the employment of 35 local people with expertise in collecting, processing and managing solid waste and recycling; commercial and industrial waste; as well as liquid and hazardous waste. Perko said the facility should be open by the end of the year. Transpacific Industries Pty Ltd www.transpacific.com.au

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LEDs for street lighting Bryan Douglas, CEO, Lighting Council Australia

Street lighting is reported to be the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from local government, and the annual energy cost of public lighting in Australia exceeds $125 million (and more than $250m including maintenance). In this article, Bryan Douglas, CEO, Lighting Council Australia, explains the compelling case for converting street and other public lighting to LED technology and the reasons why municipal authorities need to exercise caution.

ccording to a report prepared for the Commonwealth Government in 2011, there are approximately 2.28 million street lighting lamps in service in Australia, with around 33% on main roads and 67% on local roads. Because of their longevity, controllability and above all efficiency, LEDs are now an attractive substitute for conventional mercury vapour, high-pressure sodium, metal halide and linear and compact fluorescent technologies used in minor roads and other public spaces. A further major environmental advantage is that LEDs do not contain the toxic substance mercury. These cost and environmental factors make an increasingly compelling case for the conversion of street and other public lighting to LED technology. However, while there is now suitable LED product on the market for streets and other public places, municipal authorities need to exercise caution when investing in the technology.

Case study 3: Seattle

LED street lighting comes of age Case study 1: City of Sydney

These cost and environmental factors

make

increasingly compelling case for the conversion of street and other public lighting to LED technology.

the Los Angeles LED Conversion Program replaced over 141,000 streetlight fixtures with LED units over a four-year period. The expected savings of the new lights has exceeded the initial program goals. Energy use has been reduced by 63% and carbon emissions by 47,583 metric tonnes a year. This proposal has generated savings in energy and maintenance costs that will pay for the estimated loan amount in seven years. Ed Ebrahimian, Director of the Bureau of Street Lighting at the City of Los Angeles, recently commented: “The importance of the LED Conversion Program cannot be overstated. It is a shining example of how green technology can be both environmentally responsible and cost effective. With the LED program, we have transformed the night landscape of the City of Los Angeles, made our city safer and pedestrian friendly at night, and have exceeded our initial program goals on both energy efficiency and CO2 reductions.”

The City of Sydney is in the process of replacing 6500 conventional lights with LEDs in central Sydney, Glebe, Darlinghurst, Zetland, Pyrmont, Kings Cross, Newtown and Redfern. More than 2600 street and park lights have already been installed. The City announced in August 2013 that it had saved almost $300,000 and reduced energy use by more than 25% since March 2012. Public lighting accounts for one-third of the City’s annual electricity bill and a large part of its greenhouse gas emissions. Importantly, more than 90% of people surveyed by the City said they found the new lights appealing and three-quarters said the LEDs’ white light (cool colour temperature) improved visibility. The NSW Government is following the City’s lead by encouraging 41 councils across Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter regions to work with Ausgrid to implement similar LED lighting projects.

Case study 2: City of Los Angeles In one of the largest solid-state lighting retrofit installations in the world to date,

Seattle’s publicly owned utility Seattle City Light is converting its residential streetlights from high-pressure sodium lights to LEDs. The decision was made after thorough evaluation and positive results from pilot projects. Seattle City Light has characterised the benefits of LED conversion as: • approximately 48 to 62% lower energy consumption; • h igh-pressure sodium luminaires, most installed in the mid-1980s, are at the end of their useful lives and failing. LEDs will provide better service reliability and lower maintenance costs; • reduction in greenhouse gas emissions: in manufacturing, when LEDs are in use, and fewer service vehicle trips for repairs will mean a reduction of about 20,000 tonnes of carbon each year; • replacement of luminaires with LED fixtures will provide three to four times longer field life than highpressure sodium; • LEDs are not affected by truck and roadway structure vibration; • b etter light quality (whiter/cooler colour rendering); • light quality improves safety because of depth of field and peripheral vi-

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sion enhancements without distorting colour. The utility has estimated the simple payback for LED conversion of residential lights at 7.7 years. Once all residential fixtures have been replaced, they will save the City an estimated $2.4 million in annual energy and maintenance costs.

Case study 4: New York City New York City has embarked on an LED conversion project which when completed will be even larger than that of Los Angeles. The project began along highways in 2011 and by 2017 240,000 lights will have been replaced across all five boroughs.

Australian road lighting standard It may come as a surprise that the current Australian standard for road lighting excludes LEDs. The Australian standard AS 3771 ‘Road lighting luminaires with integral control gear’ was published in 1990 as a consequence of a multitude of contracts and specifications issued by the former electricity supply authorities. In 2004 this was superseded by AS/NZS 1158.6 ‘Lighting for roads and public spaces Part 6: Luminaires’, which adopted some of the principles within the international road lighting standard. However it was - and remains - highly prescriptive, so

much so that it effectively rules out the use of LEDs. In an attempt to redress the prescriptive nature of AS/NZS 1158.6, Standards Australia committee LG-002 is now updating the standard. The first stage will see some reduction in the prescriptive elements and, importantly, the admission of LEDs. The second stage of the reform process will take longer and is expected to result in a standard that more closely reflects the international standard IEC 60598-2-3 ‘Luminaires for road and street lighting’.

International Energy Agency’s 4E SSL Annex The Solid State Lighting Annex was established in 2009 under the framework of the International Energy Agency’s Efficient Electrical End-Use Equipment (4E) Implementing Agreement to provide advice to its 10 member countries - one of which is Australia - seeking to implement quality assurance programs for SSL lighting. The goal of this work is to reduce the risk in using SSL products and to provide governments and consumers with recommendations they can trust when investing in SSL products. The performance tiers identify a suite of metrics and values related to minimum performance values of SSL for energy efficiency, lighting quality and safety.

In October 2013, the IEA published ‘Outdoor Lighting (Street Lighting)’ as part of the 4E SSL Annex. The performance criteria for this category of lighting include: • minimum downward luminaire efficacy (lm/W); • lumen maintenance; • minimum rated luminaire lifetime (F50); • colour rendering index (CRI); • colour maintenance (∆ u’,v’ at 6000 h); • operating temperature (range °C); • ingress protection (IP), impact protection (IK); • correlated colour temperature (K) and tolerance <6500 K; • chromaticity tolerance (Du’v’); • flicker (flicker index). Further information may be found at http://ssl.iea-4e.org/.

Mercury issues Mentioned earlier, the significant environmental attribute of LEDs is that they do not contain mercury. Mercury vapour, high-pressure sodium, metal halide and linear and compact fluorescent lamps constitute the vast majority of current street and public lighting - and all contain mercury. Currently, 90-95% of mercury-containing lamps end up in landfill. Given their numbers and the relatively high proportion of mercury in the higher wattage

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LED lighting

lamps, the amount of mercury going to landfill from road and street lighting is significant. Mercury in landfill converts to the toxic methyl mercury and spreads through the wider environment through air, water and soil. Hence, conversion to LED street and public lighting can have a major beneficial effect on the environment. But what to do with all those mercury-containing lamps currently in the system when they are replaced with LEDs or when they otherwise reach end-of-life? FluoroCycle is a voluntary program that diverts mercury-containing lamps from landfill. Local government, public utilities and others responsible for disposal of roadway, street and other public lighting are encouraged to join the program. For more information, visit www.fluorocycle.org.au.

Careful consideration required when investing in LEDs Earlier this year, Lighting Council Australia invited Professor Georges Zissis, head of the Light and Matter Research Group at LaPlaCE (Laboratoire Plasma et Conversion d’Énergie) at the Univer-

sity of Toulouse and a world-renowned expert in lighting systems research and design - and in particular its application for street lighting - to deliver seminars in Australia. In addition to his role at LaPlaCe, Professor Zissis is Task 1 Leader of the IEA’s 4E SSL Annex referred to above. Professor Zissis characterised the advantages of LEDs as high luminance, excellent colour saturation, high luminous efficacy, high energy conversion efficacy, small dimensions and lightweight, robustness, long life span, low-voltage power supply and ease of dimming. However, he went on to document some of the issues and problems with the technology. These included: • eventual limits to efficacy of around 250 lumens per watt estimated to be reached in 2025; • a marked difference between LED efficacy and system efficacy arising from thermal management losses, optical losses, ballast losses and photometry losses; • marked variations between claimed and tested performance; • falsification by some vendors of test certificates;

• a multiplicity of conflicting standards; • issues with power supplies which include poor manual soldering, unreliable wiring, low-quality components, low-quality chemical capacitors, hot points and low mechanical quality; • power factor and cosφ issues; • flicker; • blue light hazard; • environmental impact. Municipal authorities and others contemplating a switch to LEDs are well advised to do their homework. Speak to electricity utilities and others who have conducted LED trials. Above all, deal only with reputable suppliers.

research & development Recyclable plastic packaging to save one million eggs per year Recyclable plastic packaging that will save more than a million eggs from going to waste each year has been successfully trialled by UK supermarket Tesco. At the moment, Tesco’s free-range eggs are sold in pulp cartons. If an egg breaks in transit, it can seep through the box and damage other packs beneath it. Over eight weeks, the supermarket has been trialling new egg packaging - made from recycled plastic drinks bottles - in nearly 200 stores served by depots in the Livingston area in Scotland and in the Belfast area in Northern Ireland. If an egg breaks in the recyclable plastic packaging, the seepage can be contained in one pack. Other benefits are that the new

cartons will take up less space during transportation and less shelf space in store, and will decrease CO2. “We know that plastic packs reduce food waste - now we have a pack that will reduce food waste and offer customers a more environmentally friendly packaging solution,” said Tesco technologist Lee Gray. “If used across all our free-range egg range, then it will save on average more than one million eggs each year that would otherwise be going to waste. “The results of the trial are very positive and we hope to be able to roll out the packaging by the end of the year.”

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research & development Success installing wastewater treatment plants on slaughterhouses The wastewater with high organic content, such as the type discarded on slaughterhouses, can be cleaned of up to 96% of its pollutants thanks to technology developed by Mexican scientists, which also promotes the generation of renewable energy through the biogas produced during the process. “The project began 14 years ago with the aim of reversing the strong contamination problem that is caused when this type of water is disposed improperly, which may lessen the damage to rivers and lakes, smells, proliferation of vermin and bad visual landscapes that occur when the waste is disposed in the open,” says Adrián Rodríguez García, researcher at the Center for Research and Technological Development in Electrochemistry (CIDETEQ) located in Querétarom - a state in the North-Central region of Mexico. The proposed technology has proved to be efficient, robust, sustainable and easy to transfer. In fact, three plants have been installed in the country; one of them is located in Queretaro, another in San Luis Potosi (state in the North-Central region) and the third in Nayarit (west coast of Mexico). To reduce the emission of pollutants using the treatment plant, García explains, the research team first conducted a trail study. Then, the plant was installed at the outlet of the polluted water. The water is then subjected to a process of anaerobic digestion. “With this procedure water that can be used for irrigation is obtained, and it can be deposited safely in rivers or lakes as it loses up to 96% of the pollutants. Also, a solid residue without microorganisms is obtained with fertilising properties and biogas production," says the researcher. The latter occurs because during the treatment organic matter moves through various stages, and in each, a group of specific

bacteria carries out a mission. In the last phase, the acting bacteria are called methanogenic - they generate biogas that contains 6070% methane, a substance that serves as fuel. By obtaining the biogas in this way, it becomes a source of renewable energy. By installing a water treatment plant, slaughterhouses may save raw materials, supplies and (thermal and electrical) energy, increase productivity through process optimisation, minimise and utilise waste, as well as generate an alternative source of energy by biogas. García and his research team also built a mobile prototype plant in stainless steel which allows the presentation of technology, on request, as it is ready to connect to the water outlet trail and has the capacity to 500 thousand litres of fluid a day. “We have two patents registered with the Mexican Institute of Intellectual Property, one of which is for the type of reactor used and the other covers the whole process of water treatment. Additionally, we have a folder that includes technological specifications, techniques and comparative analysis of the production units, as well as the results of wastewater treatment and the operation manual of the prototype,” he says. García notes that in order to achieve the installation of such systems in more locations, the team is working with the Ministry of Sustainable Development (SEDESU) and the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (Sagarpa). The purpose is to connect with city and federal governments to introduce them to the technology and its benefits. Due to the progress of this work, the researcher believes that at the end of the year the team will begin working on the first technological applications.

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research & development

As part of The University of Queensland’s (UQ) ongoing sustainability program, its Property and Facilities Division recently replaced all lighting in three car parks on the St Lucia campus with energy-efficient LEDs. The energy savings have been considerable, with an 84% energy reduction equating to 750 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions saved every year. That’s the equivalent of running 100 average-sized homes and equals $100,000 in annual energy cost savings. Property and Facilities Division Deputy Director Geoff Dennis noted that the upgrade “saves energy, reduces the university’s carbon footprint and lowers operating costs, both in terms of electricity consumption and future maintenance”, thanks to the LEDs’ long life span. Property and Facilities Division Energy Manager Chris Collins added that the amenity for building users was another positive result from the project.

UQ cuts carbon emissions with LEDs

“The quality of the LED light provides a better service to car park users, yet at the same time light spill outside the building is reduced to the benefit of our neighbours,” he said. “Security is increased because the excellent colour rendition of the LEDs enhances the performance of the buildings’ CCTV cameras.” The project is the latest in the university’s commitment to reducing its environmental

impact in the built environment. Dennis noted, “While we’ve made it a priority to ensure all new buildings at UQ are designed to the highest sustainability standards, we also recognise that energyefficiency retrofits are critical to greening the university’s existing building stock. “The success of this project across all indicators reinforces the case for future investment in energy-efficiency initiatives at the university,” he concluded.

Biofuel crops on photovoltaic farms Scientists from Stanford University have created a model for solar farms that colocates crops and solar panels, resulting in a harvest of biofuel plants along with solar energy. Their idea has been published in the journal Environment Science & Technology. “Deserts, with a combination of high solar radiation and availability of large areas unusable for crop production, are ideal locations for large solar installations,” the researchers noted. “However, for efficient power generation, solar infrastructures use large amounts of water for construction and operation.” A co-located solar farm could help solve this problem, proving especially useful in sunny, arid regions such as the southwestern United States where water is scarce, according to lead author Sujith Ravi from the Stanford Department of Environmental Earth System Science. “Co-located solar-biofuel systems could be a novel strategy for generating two forms of energy from uncultivable lands: electricity from solar infrastructure and easily transportable liquid fuel from biofuel cultivation,” Ravi said.

Water is required to remove dust and dirt from photovoltaic panels to ensure they operate at maximum efficiency, as well as dampening the ground to prevent the build-up of dust. The researchers propose that any runoff could go on to nourish biofuel crops such as agave - a plant that thrives at high temperatures and in poor soil, and can be used to produce liquid ethanol. The plant’s roots would help anchor the soil and its foliage would provide ground cover, Image not to scale reducing the ability of wind to kick up photo credit: Sujith Rave dust. Ravi and his colleagues created computer simulations of a hypothetical co-location solar farm in Southern California’s San Bernardino County, where they found “water inputs for cleaning solar panels and dust suppression are similar to amounts required for annual agave growth, suggesting the possibility of integrating the two systems to maximise the efficiency of land and water use”. “Sujith’s work is a great example of how thinking beyond a single challenge like water or food or energy sometimes leads to creative solutions,” said co-author Professor David Lobel.

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research & development Spaghetti-like membranes capture carbon dioxide CO2CRC researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have installed a custom-built rig at Delta Electricity’s Carbon Capture Research Facility at Vales Point Power Station to trial new hollow-fibre membranes for capturing carbon dioxide from power stations. Currently, carbon dioxide is separated from flue gas using volatile liquid solvents, which are bulky and have a significant energy cost. Hollow-fibre membranes have the potential to substantially reduce the energy required to capture carbon dioxide, while having a smaller environmental and physical footprint than existing solvent systems. The membrane modules contain hundreds of tiny spaghetti-like tubes which maximise contact between the gas and the membrane surfaces. Flue gas passes across the outside of the tubes but only carbon dioxide passes through to the inside. The Vales Point rig is able to test three hollow-fibre modules at a time, providing the flexibility to test a range of new membrane

formulations. The project is funded by Australian National Low Emissions Coal Research & Development (ANLEC R&D) and supported by Delta Electricity. “The trials are an important step in developing effective membranes for industrial-scale use,” said Professor Dianne Wiley, CO2CRC Capture Program Manager. “The new membranes are highly selective for carbon dioxide in the lab, but until we trial them with real flue gas, we won’t see how well they stand up to industrial conditions.” Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is currently the only technology that can deal with the very large quantity of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion. CO2CRC has been developing innovative carbon capture systems since 2003. CRC for Greenhouse Gas Technologies www.co2crc.com.au

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Turning wastewater into an economic resource In a difficult environment for manufacturers, cost management has become a leading indicator for ensuring a viable future. A growing area in the effort to contain costs at manufacturing facilities focuses on the economic optimisation of wastewater treatment. pitt&sherry Principal Consultant Dr Steve Edwards has worked with manufacturers from a variety of sectors to help them achieve optimum results.

conomic optimisation of wastewater treatment is vitally important for Australian manufacturing and processing facilities aiming to curtail costs, according to Dr Edwards, who says manufacturers can optimise their economic choices when treating and recycling wastewater by investigating a variety of options. “What we traditionally regard as wastewater can be a misleading concept, as wastewater is in fact a resource that must be accounted for in terms of its energy output if nothing else, so sometimes there is an upside,” Dr Edwards said. “Manufacturers need to identify where they can reduce wastewater discharge and how the remaining resource might then be re-used in an economic and sustainable manner. More often than not the best economic outcomes can also the best for the environment.” pitt&sherry has worked with companies in the dairy and mining industries by analysing the economic case for different wastewater treatment methods.

Capital spend

According to Dr Edwards, the big question for manufacturers is how to find the right balance on capital spent creating

wastewater treatment assets before funds are paid to the local water authority for treatment. For one dairy facility development, pitt&sherry looked at the contractual requirements to provide a perspective between sending wastewater to the local authority, and the required spend to treat the water to a higher condition on site. It was found that the dairy manufacturer had several technology options. An approach that stood out was to move the waste through up to three stages of treatment for it to reach the required condition of the water authority. In this case, the treat-on-site option was a better economic outcome. As part of this process, the manufacturer also needed to decide how to spread its capital between these three stages. “Does the company heavily focus on spending its budget on stage one? Or is it more economical to spread the capital evenly over three stages?” Dr Edwards said. “This was a key economic question posed to the dairy manufacturer on this development. However, it can be difficult for the client to assess this question as there is a lot of information that needs to be processed.” Firstly, there are manufacturing claims which are often based on industry averages and norms for a treatment type. The company must know whether the claims being made are realistic. It also needs to understand the implications of the possible scenarios for its unique wastewater. “It will also bring up issues with peak flows and average flows of wastewater, which can add costs to the client because of charges on a number of different areas,” said Dr Edwards. “For this work, elements like peak flows and concentration of wastewater were analysed and included in recommendations to the client. Someone needs to sort through the claims and confirm what works and what impact each option has on life-cycle cost.” In this case, analysis was provided showing a 15-year net present cost

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difference of up to $4 million between options.

Risk analysis On another dairy project, pitt&sherry’s focus was more on the risks involved with the economic decisions the manufacturer had already applied to its wastewater treatment. The manufacturer was taken through a comprehensive hazard and operability study (HAZOP) for this purpose. pitt&sherry worked through various risk scenarios by analysing what would happen if the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) raised these situations, as well as the potential costs involved in these instances. A system capable of holding the water leaving the plant was designed, taking into account that the facility has a 24-hour cycle which produces small amounts of wastewater during the day then peaks at night. “Depending on the costs involved, a facility might look at the risks and say ‘if a tank bursts we’ve contained the spill on the other side from the water authority and from an environmental perspective’,” Dr Edwards said. “This still raises questions from the water authority of what would be done with the contained waste after the spill. The client did not want these risks or the excess costs of building and main-

taining complex holding and disposal systems.” To accommodate this, pitt&sherry designed a system with surges and flows that allowed for the wastewater to be contained in the factory for a short while when spilled, but then released once it reached the parameters of the wastewater authority. “The design allowed for additional tanks, which may not be used, but have been installed to take all of the extra water and have it properly treated by sensing the pH and pumping the water slowly back into the existing outlet, mostly without additional chemical treatment cost,” said Dr Edwards.

pitt&sherry established several options for the client, including guidelines for chemical and water use, and how they would impact capital expenditure. One option involved the design and construction of an 80 km pipeline to obtain fresh water from the local authority. “The principles don’t change despite the change of industry,” Dr Edwards said. “They are still the principles of sustainability: reduce use and recycle where possible. “If these principles are applied to each unique situation the economic gain will follow. It’s just a matter of receiving pay back in reduced disposal charges, compared to the cost of the equipment and the process.”

Mining scenario

Pitt & Sherry www.pittsh.com.au

pitt&sherry has advised one of Tasmania’s largest energy users of its options to economically optimise how wastewater is treated at its mining operation. For this client, studies into chemical use, how much chemical was being used and what kind of pipeline would suit the operation were undertaken. “This client wanted to optimise its capital investment, but at the same time was keen to investigate the possibility of moving to new wastewater treatment equipment,” said Dr Edwards. “And if new equipment was integrated, what are the economic implications of the new system for the rest of the process?”

Dr Steve Edwards is a scientist with a background in organic and natural products chemistry and aquaculture. Since joining pitt&sherry in 2007, he has gained extensive experience in process optimisation and process modelling, with a particular focus on carbon accounting (LCA) and energy and water efficiency.

This issue is sponsored by — Schneider Electric — www.sustainabilitymatters.net.au/white_papers/66944-Designing-a-metering-system-for-small-and-medium-sized-buildings 25

n products & services

Software for optimal energy efficiency in buildings Schneider Electric has launched Predictive Optimisation, a system that helps building owners and facility managers reduce HVAC energy use up to 25%, which typically equates to 6 to 10% of total building energy use. The software continuously monitors real-time weather forecasts, energy prices, tariffs and demand response (DR) signals, then makes small automatic changes in HVAC operations to provide tangible energy savings without impacting occupant comfort. It works by learning and collecting building data, then using the information to automatically create a thermal model. Algorithms calculate and respond to the best set points to optimise comfort and energy utilisation. Once the initial model is set, the software continues to adapt to changes to uncover opportunities for energy savings. The system also diagnoses and prioritises critical building management issues to help facility managers identify and remediates problems that are generating the largest amount of energy waste. The solution remotely leverages data from an existing building management system (BMS) or power monitoring system to self-optimise 24 hours a day across the building enterprise. The product enhances the value of an existing BMS, improves asset value, enhances efficiency, provides occupant comfort and achieves positive return on investment for users across industries, including healthcare, education, commercial offices, hotels, retail and life science. The system is smart grid-ready and provides performance measurement and verification efficiency results for green building certification, including National Australian Build Environment Rating System (NABERS). Schneider Electric Buildings Australia Pty Ltd www.schneider-electric.com.au

Water quality analyser The Thermo Scientific Orion Chlorine XP Analyser is an online process analyser that measures chlorine and other key water quality parameters in drinking water and industrial and wastewater treatment applications. Using colorimetric DPD chemistry, the device can provide accurate measurements of free, total residual and combined chlorine in water. The analyser also allows the measurement of other key water quality parameters, such as pH and temperature. With minimal maintenance, low cost of ownership and multiple parameter measurement in one unit, the analyser provides a cost-effective water quality monitoring solution for effective process water treatment control. Other features include: long reagent shelf life, 0-10 ppb resolution in any sample and auto zero calibration before every measurement for increased accuracy. Thermo Fisher Scientific www.thermofisher.com.au

Control Components

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products & services n

Water testers The Pocket Pro and Pocket Pro+ testers measure electrochemical parameters in a broad range of water applications. The family of 12 testers offers convenient portable solutions for pH, ORP, conductivity, TDS, salinity and temperature, delivering accurate results. The product runs on AAA batteries and includes a convenient sample cup to ensure maintenance and measurements are simple. It also features a large LCD screen, easy calibration steps and built-in diagnostics for pH testers. The Pocket Pro+ testers include replaceable sensors, a powerful backlight and multiparameter tester options. Hach Company www.hachpacific.com.au

Data transmitter Eijkelkamp Agrisearch Equipment has launched the Global Data Transmitter Multiple - a modem that provides end users all over the world with a safe and reliable way to always have continuous data sets. The product has six connections for diver water level loggers. The modem always delivers a continuous measurement series from the sensor. Should a transmitter not reach the server because of a temporary GPRS connection failure, the data sets will be supplemented at the next opportunity. The data is recorded on the logger and it can also be stored on Eijkelkamp’s server. The device communicates via encrypted connections with Eijkelkamp’s servers and, if required, with the user. It sends the data to the end user via email, a web portal or directly to existing systems and databases. The modem has an internal barometer and temperature sensor, and is available in GPRS and UMTS versions so that it can be used all over the world. The product detects potential problems with sensors, compensates measurement values and sends alarm signals based on measurement values and the status of equipment. The unit’s batteries normally last three years in the field. It is also possible to connect the modem to an external power source, such as mains power. Aqualab Scientific Pty Ltd www.aqualab.com.au

This issue is sponsored by — Schneider Electric — www.sustainabilitymatters.net.au/white_papers/66944-Designing-a-metering-system-for-small-and-medium-sized-buildings 27

BINTECH SYSTEMS

WATER SOLUTIONS

NEW INSTRAN ANALYTICAL MONITOR • SELF CLEANING • SELF CALIBRATING • AMMONIA • NITRATES

• FLUORIDE • SILICA • ZINC

n products & services

Intelligent logger Metasphere is introducing an intelligent logger called Point Orange to the Australian water market. The unit is designed to provide flexible outstations that are multipurpose and multifunctional. Point Orange is a low-power, battery-operated, IP68-rated compact logger that connects to DNP3 masters and support level 3 functionality. It comes with an internal modem (GPRS with a 3G option) and a software-switchable internal/external antenna. Remote management including remote firmware upgrades and remote configuration minimise site maintenance. There is a submersion sensor and an internal battery pack supporting up to five years’ life, with an optional external battery for more demanding applications. It provides real-time remote monitoring of up to five sensors. It has programmable I/O functionality for hundreds of configurable combinations and includes support for AI, CI and DI. The multiple configuration options include local monitoring of battery voltage, GSM signal and temperature. The unit provides long-term secure data retention, dynamic data recording and intelligent alarm functionality. Designed to be plug and play, it is simple to install, with a modern intuitive configuration application. It has been engineered to reduce or eliminate some of the CAPEX and OPEX costs involved; from lessening the need for site visits to the incorporation of industry-standard protocols (ie, DNP3) and remote firmware upgrades. Metasphere www.metasphere.co.uk

NEW CRONOS ECONOMY ANALYTICAL CONTROLLERS • RESIDUAL CHLORINE • DISSOLVED OZONE • DISSOLVED OXYGEN • TURBIDITY • SUSPENDED SOLIDS • PH/ORP • CONDUCTIVITY

Rotary screw compressors

LEVEL SYSTEMS • ULTRASONIC TRANSMITTERS AND CONTROLLERS • POINT LEVEL SWITCHES • MAGNETIC LEVEL GAUGES • SLUDGE LEVEL SYSTEMS • WIRELESS SYSTEMS

TOLL FREE 1300 363 163 sales@bintech.com.au

www.bintech.com.au

Kaeser Compressors’ ASK series rotary screw compressors are compact, refined and powerful. Due to the Sigma Profile air-ends, an innovative cooling concept and high-efficiency IE3 motors, the air compressors are said to perform up to 20% better than comparable products. The models are available for free air deliveries from 0.84 to 4.65 m3/ min, at pressures from 5.5 to15 bar. The integrated Sigma Control 2 controller provides efficient and intuitive control, while the energysaving IE3 motors and radial fan (with its own dedicated motor) keep energy use to a minimum. The unit also features optional frequency control and/or an integrated dryer. The product’s logical, user-friendly design allows all maintenance parts to be conveniently accessed from one side for easy servicing. When closed, the enclosure’s sounddampening insulation ensures quiet and unobtrusive operation. Kaeser Compressors Australia www.kaeser.com

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products & services n In situ pCO2 sensor Soil moisture wireless monitoring network Environmental monitoring specialist MEA is putting up-to-the-minute soil moisture readings into Australian growers and irrigators’ hands with the launch of Plexus - a wireless network which delivers the data directly to the web. Farmers can easily access their data on a computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone with information presented in an easy-to-understand format thanks to the company’s Green Brain software. The product collects soil moisture data from multiple points on the farm and delivers the data directly to the web every 30 min. The meshnetworking nature of the wireless network allows it to take measurements and route them back over hundreds of hectares to a central hub where the data is then uploaded to the internet over the Telstra network. Each network is customised to the grower’s requirements and is capable of measuring soil moisture, soil temperature and soil salinity. The collaborative nature of the field stations means that the network is reliable, as it can deal with damaged stations, lost links and complex terrain without losing their vital soil moisture reading. The Plexus units are powered by a solar panel which charges a lithiumion battery with an expected 8-10 year life span. They are essentially maintenance free.

Turner Designs offers C-sense, a compact, lightweight pCO2 sensor for measuring the partial pressure of gas in liquids. Designed for applications involving immersion in water, oil or water and oil mixtures, the product combines an oil-resistant membrane interface with a compact, temperaturecompensated, non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) detector. Small (<5 x 20.3 cm) and lightweight (<0.5 kg) with low power requirements (6-12 VDC, 80 mA @ 6 VDC) and a simple 4-pin analog output, the sensor is designed to easily integrate with monitoring systems. It is offered in three range configurations - 1000, 2000 or 4000 ppm - with accuracies at 3% of full scale and can be deployed to a depth of 600 m. Aqualab Scientific Pty Ltd www.aqualab.com.au

Measurement Engineering Aust www.mea.com.au

This issue is sponsored by — Schneider Electric — www.sustainabilitymatters.net.au/white_papers/66944-Designing-a-metering-system-for-small-and-medium-sized-buildings 29

n products & services

Aqualab Scientific is recognised as a leader in the environmental industry, supplying quality brands that customers have known and trusted for years.

Water Quality Instruments Water Quality Multiprobes measure and store temp, pH, conductivity, LDO (luminescent dissolved oxygen), self-cleaning turbidity, chlorophyll a, bluegreen algae, redox, depth etc.. in one rugged housing.

Water Level Sensors CBS Compact Bubbler Level Sensor Low Maintenance, low power with an intelligent pump strategy, no pump maintenance or lubrication required. SDI-12, 4-20mA. RLS Radar Level Sensor Contactless and energyefficient water level measurement. Flat antenna and inconspicuous design housing using diving bell principle. 35m range SDI-12, 4-20mA, RS-485.

Water Level Data Loggers Diver Data Loggers have become an industry standard in the measurement of water level and salinity in groundwater and surface water applications. The pressure transducer, temperature sensor, salinity sensor, data logger and battery are integrated into a single robust device.

Magnetic flowmeter for utility water applications Performance, reliability and intelligent diagnostics make Rosemount flowmeters a suitable solution for utility flow measurement. The easy-to-use, robust design provides the accuracy required to keep processes running. The Rosemount 8750W Magnetic Flowmeter is suitable for measuring water in utility applications. The fully welded sensor withstands vibration and the dual-chamber housing keeps electronics moisture free to decrease life-cycle costs and maximise process uptime. Every meter is tested at the factory so that it is shipped ready to install. Optional advanced diagnostics help the user avoid unplanned shutdowns. The product can also include an easy-to-use local operator interface that facilitates informed process management decisions at the point of measure. The advanced diagnostics include ground wiring, high process noise, empty pipe, and electrode coating. The SMV (in situ smart meter verification) is on demand from display. Emerson Process Management www.ap.emersonprocess.com

Sludge blanket and TSS sensors Unlike turbidity meters designed to measure the reflection of light off particles in clean water, Cerlic’s range of suspended solids sensors has been developed with industry using near infrared (NIR) transmission of light to actually see suspended solids (>40 µm) in wastewater. With this operating principle, they measure TSS concentration (mg/L or ppm) without the need for colour compensation. The CBX sludge blanket meter provides repeatable and accurate continuous measurement of both sludge blanket and fluff depths in clarifiers and thickeners. Like a yo-yo, the sensor is automatically lowered while the built-in pressure transducer (range up to 10 m) accurately records the depth of the user’s predefined fluff and sludge concentrations. The BB1 controller provides 4-20 mA output for both sludge and fluff levels, along with optional full sludge profile or digital communication via Profibus DP. A switch input warns of the rake/ scrapper position to ensure the sensor is retracted out of the way in time. While it returns, both the cable and NIR sensor are automatically flushed with jets of water (or air) to minimise manual maintenance. Since Cerlic sensors actually measure suspended solids concentration, they can be zero referenced on-site in regular, de-aerated tap water. Control Components Pty Ltd www.controlcomponents.com.au

30 This issue is sponsored by — Schneider Electric — www.sustainabilitymatters.net.au/white_papers/66944-Designing-a-metering-system-for-small-and-medium-sized-buildings

products & services n

Variable speed drive compressor Real-time control nitrogen system Hach’s Prognosys is an offthe-shelf RTC-N system which adjusts the nitrification process in real time, helping users meet ammonia control limits while reducing money spent on excessive and unnecessary aeration. The product is now available to provide confidence in instrument readings. It will monitor and display the reliability of instrument measurement values and identify when upcoming maintenance tasks are due in an easy-toread colour display. Hach Company www.hachpacific.com.au

Atlas Copco’s GA 7-37 VSD+ variable speed drive compressor is claimed to reduce energy consumption by 50% on average, compared to idling compressors. The product further realises a free air delivery (FAD) increase of up to 12%, says the company. It is said to offer improved performance and a compact footprint of less than half of the current GA VSD, due to its vertical drive train design. The heart of the product is an interior permanent magnet motor directly coupled to Atlas Copco’s screw element, all of which have been in-house designed. The drive train is a completely closed, oil-cooled unit that is both quiet and reliable (IP 66). With a silent motor and fully enclosed drive train, the compressor runs as quietly as 62 dB(A). All maintenance parts are easy accessible and the compressor allows for installation close to a wall or even in corners. The Elektronikon controls the main drive motor and regulates system pressure within a pre-defined and narrow pressure band. The controller can be adapted to the user’s specific needs. The product is available in a full feature version that includes the latest energyfriendly integrated refrigerant dryer. Atlas Copco Compressors Australia www.atlascopco.com.au

This issue is sponsored by — Schneider Electric — www.sustainabilitymatters.net.au/white_papers/66944-Designing-a-metering-system-for-small-and-medium-sized-buildings 31

Integrating modern technologies in water treatment process control Process control is vital to ensuring the integrity of the water supply chain in civil and industrial applications. Te c h n o l o g i c a l innovation relating to the design, installation and operation of process control equipment has consistently delivered improvements - but remaining viable in this industry requires staying abreast of the latest industry trends to ensure an efficient and effective system.

Remote control panel at a coal seam gas site, with MultiCELL controlling multiple water chemistry sensors.

ater is a finite resource, so the efficient management of this resource is a key driving factor behind industry investment. Much of the water that we use every day is actually on a continuous loop, constantly being processed after use so it can be returned to the environment before it is extracted again, treated and re-used. This process is dependent upon precise process control, monitoring and data recording to ensure that all the regulatory standards are maintained and that the environment and general population are protected. Sewage treatment consists of four main processes: screening, primary filtration, secondary filtration and tertiary treatment. On entering a sewage treatment works, dirty water passes through screens to remove paper, wood and other articles that could damage machinery or block pipe systems. Before the wastewater

progresses to the next stage, iron or aluminium salts are added to assist in the removal of phosphorus, while biological processes will remove nitrogen. The process of chemical dosing has to be controlled and monitored to ensure compliance with local water-quality standards. The remaining processes involve further settlement and filtration before the water can be returned to the local water course, from where it may be extracted to undergo further purification. The water is dosed with aluminium sulfate, which helps to bind the impurities together to form particles. This process requires monitoring of pH levels as well as effective mixing in order to be efficient. Removing taste and odour, as well as disinfection, are carried out to ensure that the final product is potable and meets the necessary regulations. The water treatment industry prefers to operate a centralised control system for each site, making it quicker and easier for operators to assess the equipment and processes on the site. With such a wide array of sensors, valves and pumps installed around the site, the most efficient controller will be one that is capable of multiple tasks while still being simple to operate. One example would be Bürkert’s type 8619 MultiCELL transmitter/controller, which utilises pH, conductivity and flow sensors, ORP and temperature measurements. The product is suitable for a wide range of applications in water treatment. It is compatible with most common sensors and has a modular design which allows additional hardware and software to be added easily. Each controller can be configured for a range of sensors and has up to six preconfigured I/O boards to accommodate any signal requirements. In addition, the product can be configured as a data logger, using the built-in SD card slot for data storage. The slot can also be used to save sensor parameters and control application settings to allow the

32 This issue is sponsored by — Schneider Electric — www.sustainabilitymatters.net.au/white_papers/66944-Designing-a-metering-system-for-small-and-medium-sized-buildings

Water treatment

With such a wide array of sensors, valves and pumps installed around the site, the most efficient controller will be one that is capable of multiple tasks while still being simple to operate.

Control panel within a water treatment process.

same settings to be replicated in other MultiCELL controllers, ensuring the accurate transfer of control parameters between sites. The controller has been designed with both the installer and the operator in mind. The system can be customised to clients’ requirements, while the intuitive user interface can be configured in four different views to display the most relevant information. A systems engineer

can, in many instances, replace an entire control cabinet with one controller that utilises a built-in display. Users only pay for the features that they require and, since the product provides a single controller/transmitter across a range of applications, inventory and training costs are minimised. Similar principles have been used in the design of the mxCONTROL multifunction controller, type 8620, which has ethernet or modem communication as well as the ability to control digital dosing pumps. The flexible programming capabilities enable integrators and end users to make fast program modifications during commissioning and maintenance. There is an SD card slot for data logging and saving parameter settings to save time when installing many units across different sites. By using a simple user interface, easily configured control programs and common sensors, the whole process from design to implementation is streamlined for efficiency.

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Both solutions allow direct connection to existing SCADA systems and other methods of site-wide monitoring and supervisory control. Adding connectivity to pH sensors and flow meters, for example, can add to the automation efficiency of a plant. Cloud-based monitoring solutions, such as Bürkert’s mySITE remote monitoring solution, can be added to any multichannel system to monitor sensor outputs. This supports email and text alarming, plus historical trending for process and maintenance optimisation. The continual development of the area of process control highlights the need to understand changing trends and adapt systems to remain efficient. By using in-depth knowledge of process control and working with the end user, the panel builder and the installer, it is possible to create a package that works for all concerned and delivers a simple-to-use, efficient and cost-effective solution. Burkert Fluid Control Systems www.burkert.com.au

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In my opinion

Energy at the crossroads

H Kane Thornton, Clean Energy Council Deputy Chief Executive

Clean Energy Week 2014 22-25 July Conference: Doltone House, Sydney. Trade show: Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park. For further information, visit www.cleanenergyweek.com.au.

osted by the Clean Energy Council, Clean Energy Week 2014 will be held across two venues in Sydney from Tuesday 22 July to Friday 25 July. The two-day conference program will begin at Sydney’s Doltone House and the trade show will be situated at the Sydney Showground in Sydney Olympic Park. Kane Thornton, Clean Energy Council Deputy Chief Executive talks about the week with Sustainability Matters. The theme of Clean Energy Week 2014 (CEW2014) is ‘Energy at the Crossroads’. How will the conference address this topic? This is an industry with an exciting future, but a variety of external factors will play a big part in how effectively we harness the power of our world-leading renewable energy resources this decade. With the Renewable Energy Target (RET) under review and a variety of other major policies in a state of flux, the whole energy industry is at the crossroads and there are a few different roads we can take from here. Clean Energy Week will look at some alternative futures for the clean energy sector, as well as the many opportunities and challenges faced by the industry. The RET review will be a timely topic at the event. What will be said on the RET that hasn’t been discussed before? Most readers will be aware that the RET review is the most critical issue facing the industry in 2014. The process is scheduled to wrap up early in the second half of the year, so we should be right in the thick of the review process by the time Clean Energy week starts. During the event we will gain some insight from politicians on the progress of the review and what we should expect in terms of outcomes. Some of the country’s leading CEOs and analysts will also discuss potential changes to the scheme and what they would mean for the industry. What are the three ‘must-see’ sessions at this year’s event? The Captains of Industry session at the Policy and Finance Conference will be an excellent session to see some of the

CEOs of Australia’s leading companies and institutions discuss the big issues. These will include: What will happen to the RET? How are old energy businesses reacting to new competition from low-cost renewables? What will happen to energy demand, gas prices and PV uptake rates? The Design Issues session at Professional Development Day will address the next major change predicted in the solar power industry - the use of affordable storage solutions for solar systems connected to the grid. Industry experts will discuss the importance of understanding customer needs for batteries and making sure they are the right size to do the job. The Journey from Residential to Larger Scale session at ATRAA, Clean Energy Week’s Residential and Commercial Solar PV Conference, should also turn up some interesting discussion. There are many challenges and risks for small and medium businesses making the move from household solar to the commercial-scale market, and this session will take a look at the journey some companies have taken to make that transition. How will CEW2014 be different from previous years? It is now free to attend the trade fair so we expect to see even more people passing through the massive exhibition. So while the event will remain the premium event for the clean energy sector, it will be even more accessible to those around the industry. We have also developed more focused conference streams. For installers, we have PD Day and ATRAA; for people in the solar sector (residential and commercial), there are specialised ATRAA streams and the trade exhibition; and for people interested in big clean energy projects, policy and finance, we have the Policy and Finance Conference. There is something for everyone and it is very targeted to what they are wanting to hear.

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