by Komoneed | Mar 6, 2024
The Australian-made innovation uses high temperatures without oxygen to make a carbon-rich product called biochar, which can be used in carbon electrodes for batteries and other advanced energy storage devices, or can act as a fertiliser or soil amendment.
The pyrolysis technology, known as PYROCO, thermally processes materials from waste streams, including treated sewage (biosolids) and food and garden organic materials destined for landfill, to remove pathogens, PFAS and microplastics, which can cause harm to humans and the environment. RMIT has filed patent applications to protect the technology that the team has developed.
Project lead Professor Kalpit Shah, from RMIT University, said the technology could help make the management of biosolids and other waste more environmentally sustainable and cost-effective.
“Around 30% of the world’s biosolids are either stockpiled or sent to landfill, which is a big challenge that PYROCO aims to address,” said Shah, Deputy Director (Academic) of the ARC Training Centre for Transformation of Australia’s Biosolids Resource.
RMIT and project partners South East Water, Intelligent Water Networks (IWN) and Greater Western Water have just completed the latest series of trials of the technology at the Melton Recycled Water Plant.
“The latest trials validated results of the first trials and showed further improvements,” Shah said.
During the first trials in 2021, the PYROCO demonstration unit turned biosolids into biochar and removed all pathogens, PFAS and microplastics.
The latest trials for PYROCO Mark 2 went further by using materials from other waste streams, and demonstrated enhanced safety features and automation.
“The Mark 2 unit processed food and garden organic waste as well as canola straw co-mingled with biosolids to create biochar,” Shah said.
“The trials we’ve just completed are an exciting step towards scaling up this innovative pyrolysis technology to prove the findings and operationalise it — this represents a real step-change in the field.”
The PYROCO Mark 2 pilot unit at Melton Water Recycling Plant. Image credit: Seamus Daniel
Following the latest trials, the partners are now progressing towards commercialisation.
South East Water General Manager Research, Innovation and Commercialisation Daniel Sullivan said the project could potentially address the water industry’s challenge of biosolids disposal, while also removing carbon from the atmosphere.
“We believe that this exciting technology has the potential to transform by-products of the wastewater process into a valuable resource, in a way that is the most carbon-efficient while maximising the quality of the biochar,” he said.
The Deputy Director (Industry) of the ARC Training Centre for Transformation of Australia’s Biosolids Resource, Dr Aravind Surapaneni, said the technology could help achieve progress towards Victoria’s net-zero carbon pledge.
“The European Union has highlighted the potential of biochar in breaking the carbon cycle, and we see this technology as an opportunity for the water industry to support the Victorian Government’s path to net-zero emissions by 2045.”
The Victorian Government, through the Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action (DEECA), contributed $100,000 to the $1 million project. RMIT University, South East Water, IWN, Greater Western Water, Barwon Water, Westernport Water and East Gippsland Water co-funded the remainder of the project.
The PYROCO Mark 2 pilot unit was commissioned and installed at the Melton Water Recycling Plant. It was built using the funding received from Victorian Higher Education State Investment Fund (VHESIF).
Top image credit: Seamus Daniel
by Komoneed | Feb 26, 2024
Quick Key Facts What Are ‘Coral Reefs’? Coral reefs consist of hundreds of thousands of coral polyps — marine animal invertebrates with hard calcium carbonate exoskeletons. Different species grow to form a variety of measurements and shapes — from the size of a pinhead to as large as a foot in diameter. Coral colonies are […]
The post Coral Reefs 101: Everything You Need to Know appeared first on EcoWatch.
by Komoneed | Feb 26, 2024
Our editors curate highly rated brands that are first assessed by our rigorous ratings system. Buying through our links may earn us a commission—supporting the work we do. Learn more. Our ratings team has scored 168 brands in the latest batch of brand ratings and uncovered some new, more sustainable brands worth checking out, […]
The post The 9 Best and Worst Newly Rated Brands of February appeared first on Good On You.
by Komoneed | Feb 26, 2024
Emus, which cannot take a backward step, are one half of our national coat of arms. Typically fearless of humans, Dromaius Novaehollandiae is unique to Australia, where it has roamed our sunlit plains for millions of years, and is believed to be a survivor of prehistoric times, with similar bone structures to dinosaurs.
Solar energy and emus belong together.
These ancient birds — reaching between 1.6 and 1.9 m tall, and capable of sprints up to 50 kph — have pecked a living from grasses, fruits, native plants and insects as they have roamed our sunlit plains and woodlands for millions of years.
In the wild, they can survive extended periods between drinks, consuming up to 18 L of water when available. But they have a very high water requirement in very hot weather and also benefit from regular supplies of refreshment to attain ideal condition when farmed for their meat, skin, oil, eggs and feathers.
“The wild population of emus — estimated at a healthy total of more than 600,000 — is protected by law. All birds used for commercial emu farming must be derived from farm-reared or captive stock, with these prized creatures getting a generous diet of ideal foods and a regulated daily drink to ensure they are healthy,” said irrigation specialist Peter Kidgell of the Yarrawonga branch of the national Water Dynamics organisation.
Kidgell was involved in a solar-powered irrigation project in partnership with Damien Kennedy Irrigation near Mulawa in NSW to help ensure the sustainability and cost-efficiency of an emu farm at Mt Gwynne that stocks up to 300 birds.
Grundfos Solar Q pumping technology.
An automated solar array that delivers the right amount of water at the time it is needed, with PLC control allowing this to be remotely adjusted according to conditions.
The technology involved — which he says has performed outstandingly well in its first year of service — is of an automated, remotely controlled integrated installation of a type that can be customised to other poultry and livestock industries needing assured daily supplies of water, delivered as efficiently and as sustainably as possible.
Central to the project is a PC-controlled array of 10 solar sets powering the 10 Grundfos Solar Q Submersible Solar Pump installations which draw water from a dam supplied by the Murray River. Each set is complete with six panels (max 150 LPM/500 kPa) powering the submersible pumps, which are of a range that can be automated for solar or wind power, depending on the location and type of installation.
These pump and solar array sets automate water supply to stock troughs in six paddocks, each of which also features an integrated and automated hydrant to supply water at zero running cost, Kidgell said. Excess water supply from the Solo system feeds back to the farmer’s dam, where a Grundfos Hydro Solo E system drives another pump set.
The system delivered is a complete package, extending from pumps, array frames, mounting poles, long-life polyethylene pipes and risers, and plug-and-play connections. It includes a Grundfos CU 200 SQ Flex controller incorporating status and simply operated control arrows for the power supply and float switch connection for the connection used to detect the level of a liquid in 18 L pressure tanks. The system can be programmed to send an alarm if the liquid level becomes too high or low.
“The beauty of a complete package such as this is that everything in it is optimised to work best with everything else on the particular system involved. With irrigation, one size or package type definitely does not fit all.
“A complete integrated and customised package takes full account of a host of factors, including site conditions and varying operating needs, and simplifies the skills needed to operate it. It also needs to be backed up with local onsite service as required and as the opportunity arises, a system can be upgraded in line with the onward march of technology. This is important, because irrigation technology is evolving as farmers of all types adapt to national imperatives, including metering requirements, and the business needs to get more productivity and sustainability out of less water,” Kidgell said.
Water Dynamics sees efficient irrigation as a critical input for agricultural production, playing an important role in food security in Australia and abroad.
“Given population growth and the need for food export growth in Australia, it is widely expected that the agricultural sector here will have to expand the use of irrigation over the years ahead,” Kidgell said. “This will become even more important as we have entered the El Niño drier phase of our climate patterns, which is expected to have a rising impact in the years ahead on this, the driest inhabited nation on earth.”
Even the hardiest of creatures — and emus have survived here for up to 80 million years — need their share of available water.
“These are big birds — the second biggest on earth behind their close relation, the ostrich — and at just a year old typically reach between 30 and 40 kg each. At that size, these ancient creatures really do appreciate the regular drink that modern technology can deliver.”
