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NCTCE webinar to explore investment and cleantech capital
Raising capital and securing investment for cleantech innovation in today’s market will be the focus of the latest instalment of the National Cleantech Conference & Exhibition’s (NCTCE) webinar series.
According to NCTCE Director Peta Moore, the webinar series, Cleantech Conversations, has been well received to date, with over 100 registrations for each event.
“Next week we have an excellent panel of investment heavy hitters discussing the expectations of private equity, capital markets and governments for investment in cleantech in 2020,” she said.
Providence Asset Group’s Matthew Muller will facilitate the discussion with a panel of industry leaders explaining how they navigate the investment landscape, the opportunities in public-private funding and the core tenants of good investment.
Panelists include: The Table Club CEO James Burkitt, NERA GM Innovation and Stakeholder Engagement and NCTCE Advisory Panel Member Paul Hodgson, UNSW Knowledge Exchange Director Warwick Dawson and Societe Generale Australia Managing Director Energy & Natural Resources Stephen Craen.
Date: Thursday 2 July
Time: 12:30 – 1:30pm
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A new era for organics in NSW: DPIE
Through the Net Zero Emissions Plan and upcoming 20-year waste strategy, the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment is planning for the next phase of organics recovery in NSW.
The NSW Government’s recently released Net Zero Emissions Plan signalled a paradigm shift in state emissions policy.
With a plan to hit net zero by 2050 and 35 per cent reductions on 2005 by 2030, the NSW and Federal Governments will invest almost $10 billion over 10 years to reduce emissions in the state.
For the organics recycling sector, the headline target is net zero emissions from organics waste by 2030.
As organics waste comprises around 40 per cent of the red-lidded kerbside bin, the next steps for statewide recovery will focus on lifting recovery rates.
This is being explored through consultation on the NSW 20 Year Waste Strategy, looking at regulatory settings, infrastructure needs, end uses and renewable energy.
Amanda Kane, Manager Organics at the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE), heralds it as an exciting step forward for organics recovery in NSW.
“The plan aligns waste with a major climate action program for the first time, while also recognising that there are multiple benefits for organics recovery,” Amanda says.
She says the net zero emissions organics target links in well with the National Food Waste Strategy target to halve food waste by 2030, supported by the National Waste Strategy Action Plan.
Action points to meet net zero emissions will align with the 20-Year Waste Strategy, which closed for consultation on 8 May. The Cleaning Up Our Act Issues Paper, which was a key part of the consultation, canvassed options for the management of organics in the future.
This may include mandating source separation at a generator level and standardising household and business collections – supported by critical infrastructure and concepts such as joint procurement.
In the meantime, the NSW Government is providing $24 million in funding to support local councils and the alternative waste industry.
The funding package, which opened in mid-May, aims to help affected councils and the industry to implement or improve kerbside organics waste collections, purchase new equipment and upgrade facilities.
It includes $5 million in Local Council Transition grants to support councils impacted by Mixed Waste Organics Outputs (MWOO) regulatory changes with a range of project options, including strategic planning, options assessment, community engagement, rolling out new organics collection services or improving their existing organics services.
Amanda says with the bulk of funding for Waste Less, Recycle More coming to a close, a new round of collection grants will help to continue to support councils upgrading to food and garden organics (FOGO) collection in NSW.
On the commercial side, organics infrastructure funding for onsite systems was awarded last year to major institutions such as AMP Capital Investors, the City of Sydney, David Jones Food Hall and Taronga Zoo.
“Our goal has always been to increase processing capacity to match the increased supply where it’s needed, and we will continue to need to do that as we work towards the Net Zero Emissions goal,” Amanda says.
The infrastructure investment in the last round of Organics Infrastructure grants funding included $6.5 million for infrastructure announced last December – helping to build organics capacity in metropolitan Sydney.
One recipient was Australian Native Landscapes, which received $2.9 million to expand the capacity of its Badgerys Creek facility to process 45,000 tonnes more food waste into compost each year.
BetterGROW was also the recipient of a $1.5 million grant towards a 30,000 tonne per annum organics resource recovery facility at Wetherill Park.
Late last year, DPIE also awarded almost $3 million to five more collection projects, with FOGO services planned or up and running in 50 local government areas in NSW.
The funding boost aims to support local government while the 20-Year Waste Strategy remains in development. DPIE, with the EPA, will continue to undertake research into organics to improve investor confidence in collection and processing.
As part of this, a series of new datasets have been released that will inform the next steps for resource recovery and organics diversion.
This comprises an analysis of the performance of food and garden organics collections in NSW.
DPIE engaged consultants Rawtec to independently review and analyse kerbside red and green lid bin audits undertaken by councils across NSW.
Released in April 2020, the Analysis of NSW Kerbside Green Lid Bin Audit Data Report audited 38 areas/councils to understand the performance of kerbside residual waste and organics services.
Performance was measured at an individual household level by audited area/council and according to the bin size/frequency of collection.
Across all audited councils, the average proportion of available food and garden organics diverted from landfill was 85 per cent.
On average 44 per cent of available food waste was diverted from landfill, though this varied across the areas from five to 78 per cent. Garden organics rated higher in diversion rates, with 98 per cent of available garden organics diverted.
Contamination news was highly positive, with only a 2.2 per cent contamination rate by weight in the FOGO bin.
The research concluded that FOGO services were performing well in organics diversion. However, there are opportunities to improve diversion rates through food waste education.
It showed that reducing access to landfill disposal options through smaller residual waste bins and user selected services led to higher food waste diversion.
The best configuration was a small 120/140 litre residual waste bin, collected fortnightly and a large 240-litre FOGO bin collected weekly.
Amanda says the new report reaffirms that most people are doing the right thing and targeted education would improve results.
As part of ongoing education, DPIE has launched the FOGO Education Deep Dive – a project involving 24 FOGO council educators from around NSW.
The project will explore household behaviour in the kitchen and kerbside and test various interventions to further reduce contamination and increase recovery.
“Everything is aligning to recognise the value of organics as a waste stream and the opportunities for recovery, valorisation and beneficiation,” Amanda says.
For more information click here.
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Terex Washing Systems’ GreenLine engineered recycling solutions
Terex Washing Systems’ (TWS) GreenLine solutions are a packaged suite of end-to-end washing equipment offerings targeted at the recycling market.
Comprising standard equipment along with specialised recycling tailored products, they are packaged together in a pre-determined and balanced system based on TWS’ long running applications experience.
GreenLine solutions are designed to provide an easy entry to wash recycling processing for new entrants looking to develop a footprint in the expanding sector, as well as established customers in a replacement/expansion phase who require proven rugged out-of-the-box solutions.
For well in excess of a decade, TWS has provided specialist tailored equipment to customers recovering usable, sellable sands and aggregates from recycled or muck-away material that otherwise would have been destined for landfill.
While these ventures were somewhat pioneering, this segment of the industry, and its equipment scope and ability, have grown significantly over time; alongside the breadth of contaminants and composition of feed material.
TWS products packaged with AquaClear, Water Management Solutions and patented specialist units, launching in the coming months, allow TWS to simplify the waste recycling market.
The system couples TWS equipment with their expertise into fixed solutions for various materials from 60tph through to 300tph, while maintaining the ability to easily tailor for particularly specialist applications, demystifying the seemingly complex world of wash recycling.
For more information click here.
Bearing the energy burden in water treatment
The water industry is one of the largest industrial users of energy. The UN estimates that 0.62-0.87 KWh/m3 is required for wastewater treatment and it is estimated that electricity costs account for around 40 per cent of all operational costs in wastewater treatment plants.
Moreover, US Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has projected that, in wastewater facilities, 10–20 per cent energy savings can be reached through a better control and optimisation of the process.
It is therefore in the best interest of the environment and the economics of wastewater treatment plants, for operators to find efficiencies in energy use.
One component that plays a significant role in energy efficiency of the water treatment plants is the bearings, according to Tony Tormey, BSC’s Product Manager of Industrial Bearings.
“Bearings play an important role in the overall efficiency and sustainability of a water treatment facility. The energy savings might seem negligible but if you consider all of the gearboxes, pumps, aerators and electric motors that use different types of bearings, it makes sense,” he says.
BSC, as Australia’s largest distributor of bearings, offers the FAG X-life bearings by Schaeffler – a German-engineered brand that carries energy efficiency at the heart of its bearing designs.
Andreas Pieper, Manager of the Engineering Department for Schaeffler Australia, says Schaeffler’s FAG X-life bearings are designed with precision manufacturing techniques and incorporate design features that result in lower friction and therefore less energy consumption.
“The FAG brand consists of a wide range of cylindrical, tapered, and spherical roller bearings, axial spherical roller bearings, single and double row angular contact ball bearings, and four-point contact ball bearings – each offering a unique combination of features,” says Pieper.
“The X-life is a seal of quality and high-performance by Schaeffler. With the X-life series, Schaeffler has incorporated design and manufacturing improvements that increase the bearings’ load ratings, offer higher precision and improve energy efficiency.”
Surface finish plays a major part in the energy efficiency of the X-life series, according to Pieper.
“Smooth and uniform internal and external surfaces improve the bearings’ coefficient of friction. Schaeffler also uses a machining process – known as Plateau honing – that improves lubrication control and lowers friction in the bearings,” he explains.
While the bearing life depends on multiple variables, including the type of bearing and the application it is used for, Schaeffler estimates that a FAG X-life bearing lasts on average 7-20 per cent more than conventional bearings used for the same purpose.
BSC’s relationship with customers does not end with the sale. Tormey says the BSC sales and engineering staff work with the Schaeffler engineering team to solve any problems that a plant might be facing. The BSC team also offers site surveys, store surveys, plant mapping and onsite training upon request.
“When we visit a plant, the BSC and Schaeffler engineering teams make sure that the customer is using the right bearing with optimum specifications. We also look at the sealing arrangements to make sure that the bearings are protected against any ingress of dirt or water,” says Pieper.
“Our advice might be as simple as suggesting better protection against the sun, because heat exposure and ultraviolet rays accelerate the ageing process of the rubber material thus leading to earlier damage of the rubber seals.”
In some remote areas in Australia, the pump houses between the reservoir and the treatment facility are located kilometres away from a residential area.
“Using real-time condition monitoring can have great benefits in such cases,” he adds.
Popular hardware to enable this is the cost-efficient FAG SmartCheck unit which communicates signals wireless. Schaeffler experts regularly analyse and report the condition of the bearings.
Tormey further points out how important it is for water plant operators to have parts readily available. CBC’s footprint across Australia and partnership with Schaeffler means that customers have access to critical components at all times.
“BSC’s seasoned staff across our national branches are ready to assist customers with all sort of rotation needs. With Schaeffler’s superior FAG X-life product, we are confident that we can add value to your operations.”
Read more articles like this at: www.lets-roll.com.au
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