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 Making sustainability pay |
10/08/2010
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| Following last year's launch of sustainability guidelines by the Engineering Council, Steed Webzell takes a look at today's key issues and responsibilities |
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Energy Event |
10/08/2010
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| Energy efficiency and energy saving are right up there on plant engineers' agendas. Brian Wall previews the forthcoming Energy Event 2010 conference and exhibition |
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Money for new energy |
07/06/2010
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| Building energy strategies are changing thanks to the latest government incentives. Dr Tom Shelley reports |
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Hose pump distils solution |
01/03/2010
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| Plant engineers at whisky manufacturer Chivas Regal say they selected a Verderflex Dura 10 peristaltic hose pump for a lime-dosing water treatment
application at the Glenlivet plant, because of its suitability for dosing abrasive and viscous fluids. |
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Latent heating |
01/03/2010
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| As UK government ups the ante on going green and slashing emissions, air- and ground-source heat pumps are rearing their heads again. Brian Tinham examines the issues |
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Wasting away |
01/03/2010
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| The Carbon Trust reckons that UK companies are still wasting €1 billion worth of energy per year, largely due to unresolved plant optimisation issues and inefficiencies in energy generation plant itself. Brian Wall reports on ways forward |
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Engineering appeal soars |
01/01/2010
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| Anyone who has spent any time in plant engineering cannot fail to have been struck by its accelerating rate of change, not just in terms of the technologies - drawing on developments from across the engineering disciplines - but also, increasingly, the techniques available for harnessing them. |
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Efficient energy |
01/01/2010
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| Combined heat and power plants are anything but new. However, evolving technologies are revolutionising their scope and HM government likes the sound of it. Brian Tinham reports |
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Not just hot air |
01/01/2010
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| With the announcement late last year that Atlas Copco compressors can now recover 100% of their energy input, Peter Lattaway provides in-depth insight into the technology |
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Reaching the parts |
01/12/2009
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| Environmentally friendly and synthetic lubricants are creeping into mainstream plant applications as alternatives to conventional mineral oils – and for good, solid economic reasons, as Brian Wall reports |
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Zero waste? |
01/12/2009
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| In Europe, 10% of electricity consumed by industry is for compressed air, yet much of that energy is wasted. In a carbon-conscious era, something has to change, says Steed Webzell |
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Babies and bathwater |
01/10/2009
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| Plant, equipment, instrumentation and the regulatory frameworks have all been evolving to meet the challenges of pollution and climate change. Brian Tinham examines the issues |
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Saving the earth |
01/10/2009
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| In the rush to save energy and reduce emissions, it's easy to forget the sheer range of potential solutions. Dr Tom Shelley reviews some of today's most powerful options |
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Motor Madness |
01/08/2009
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| Man enough, simple and lowest cost have been the rules of thumb for specifying electric motors on plant. Brian Tinham explains how the guidelines are changing |
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Sustainable engineering |
01/08/2009
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| 'Sustainability': that word is rising up the engineering agenda even faster than 'environmental' did before it. The latest development was last month's release of the Engineering Council's new guidelines on sustainability. Others, however, have included revised thinking on the use of renewables in
... Read more |
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The Energy Event 09 |
01/08/2009
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| What: The Energy Event
Where: The National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham
When: 9-10 September 2009
How: Go to www.theenergyevent.co.uk |
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Better crystal balls |
01/06/2009
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| With a breakdown in plant sometimes so catastrophic (failures of lubrication pumps have resulted in shutdowns of more than a year before new parts could be made), it is astonishing that so few plant engineers make use of increasingly sophisticated, easy and low-cost equipment to monitor and predict
... Read more |
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Blowing hot and cold |
01/06/2009
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| Last summer's government energy strategy - which called for power generation from renewables to rise to 20% by 2020 and for CO2 to be reduced by 60% before 2050 - is going to have a profound effect on plant, and that includes HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) installations. That's
... Read more |
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Cut the energy hype |
01/04/2009
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| Although oil prices have come down, the recession is forcing organisations of all kinds to keep on cutting energy costs. One consequence is increasing numbers of companies seeing energy saving as a business opportunity - and hence the growing number of ferings available. But while most ideas are
... Read more |
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Breath of fresh air |
01/12/2008
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| It is not uncommon for organisations to report that up to a third of their total factory energy bill can be attributed to compressed air plant. No surprise then that, with energy prices at record highs, reviews of compressed air systems are yielding significant returns. |
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Near zero emissions |
01/12/2008
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| With the obvious exception of the global economic crisis and its insidious infection now of the ?real economy', recent months, and indeed years, have seen no greater issue than climate change. Governments and organisations around the world have pledged radical reductions in emissions - most
... Read more |
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Pump suction |
01/12/2008
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| Selecting a pump is always about balancing several factors - for example, the volumes and contents to be pumped, the efficiency required and how frequently the pump will be run. But where space is at a premium, or the cost of changing process the liquid structures or pipework is prohibitive, may be
... Read more |
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Waste not, want not |
01/12/2008
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| With legislation, under EC pressure, now forcing reductions in the quantity of municipal and industrial waste that goes to landfill, the relatively simple processes of collecting rubbish and tipping it into holes are having to be replaced by increasingly complex, automated plant-based operations. |
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Fluid thinking |
01/10/2008
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| According to the Carbon Trust, UK industry spends around £9.5 billion on energy, with at least 40% of that consumed by process heating. 'Using straightforward techniques, between 5% and 10% of this could be saved, reducing spending on energy by £280 million,' it states. A sobering thought in an age
... Read more |
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Go easy on energy |
01/10/2008
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| The oil price might fall below $100 per barrel, taking other energy prices down with it, but it may also climb to $200, according to energy industry insider Mike Brooks of St Omer Consulting. The point: plant managers should be planning projects to deliver energy savings right now - and not just
... Read more |
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