Uber is making a $26 million investment towards Australia’s electric vehicle market and is encouraging drivers on its platform to use electric vehicles. The investment is part of Uber’s push to reduce its vehicles’ emissions to zero by 2040.

As part of the initiative Uber will cut service fees for driver-partners that use eligible battery electric vehicles from 1 July, for the first 2500 people to join the program and at a cap of $3500 for each driver. The program begins 1 July and runs until 2025.

A successful trial of reducing service fees for EV drivers has been running for the last year in Australia, with hundreds of thousands of EV trips completed in that time and the number of these trips increasing fivefold. The trial saved around 502 tonnes of CO₂ and drivers saved an average of $5500 each.

“At Uber we believe the future of transport is shared and electric, and we are committed to accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles in Australia. This investment is about providing incentives to help driver partners make the switch to electric, and the results from the past year have been phenomenal,” said Dom Taylor, GM Rides, Uber Australia and New Zealand.

“The number of driver-partners using EVs on the platform has almost quadrupled, with five times as many EV trips being taken now than before we began the initiative, equating to over 500 tonnes of CO₂ emissions saved.

“So we know this approach is producing results and we also know that driver partners want the program extended. We want to do our bit — we’ve listened to them and have extended this initiative for another three years.”

The push to adopt more electric vehicles for its drivers is partly due to Australia’s low rate of EV uptake, with only a small number of the number of vehicles on the country’s roads being electric.

Matthew Kean, NSW Treasurer and Minister for Energy, said: “Governments and the private sector need to work together to achieve net zero by 2050, and a key part of this is ensuring that we accelerate the use of more sustainable transport options.

“It’s great to see big businesses like Uber invest heavily in the industry and this initiative will help to incentivise the uptake of electric vehicles with rideshare drivers in a cost-effective way. NSW has a nation-leading EV strategy and our commitment to tax reform and government rebates, together with support from private companies, will lay the foundation for an EV revolution across the state.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Buffaloboy

source http://sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/sustainability/news/uber-makes-26-million-investment-in-electric-vehicles-1551174091

University of Cambridge researchers have developed a low-cost, battery-like device that uses sustainable materials and can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while it charges. The small device is a supercapacitor similar to a battery, and is made of materials like coconut shells and sea water.

The device consists of two electrodes of positive and negative charge and relies on a principle called supercapacitive swing absorption (SSA). This is where a supercapacitor sucks up carbon dioxide while charged and exposed to the gas at the same time. The principle was only recently discovered but is attractive to researchers, who are drawn to its low power requirements in comparison to carbon scrubbing techniques, which use a lot of energy. The Cambridge device uses a different technique for SSA than previous models, resulting in it absorbing a higher level of carbon dioxide.

“We found that that by slowly alternating the current between the plates, we can capture double the amount of CO₂ than before,” said Dr Alexander Forse from Cambridge’s Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, who led the research.

“The charging–discharging process of our supercapacitor potentially uses less energy than the amine heating process used in industry now,” said Forse. “Our next questions will involve investigating the precise mechanisms of CO₂ capture and improving them. Then it will be a question of scaling up.”

Supercapacitors are similar to batteries, in that they can store energy to release later, but rely on different mechanics — with the former using flow of electrons between electrodes and the latter using chemical processes.

“The trade-off is that supercapacitors can’t store as much charge as batteries, but for something like carbon capture we would prioritise durability,” said co-author Grace Mapstone. “The best part is that the materials used to make supercapacitors are cheap and abundant. The electrodes are made of carbon, which comes from waste coconut shells.

“We want to use materials that are inert, that don’t harm environments, and that we need to dispose of less frequently. For example, the CO₂ dissolves into a water-based electrolyte which is basically sea water.”

The researchers note that their device is far from ready to be used in the real world, even though it has reached higher levels of carbon dioxide absorption than previously seen in SSA technology. It is not fully understood how the device actually works at a molecular level, nor are the general principles underlying its use entirely understood. However, the researchers think that they can achieve further optimisations and efficiency with changes to the materials used, making it potentially useful at a large scale in the future.

The study outlining the device was published in the journal Nanoscale.

This is a modified version of a news item published by the University of Cambridge under CC BY 4.0.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/New Africa

source http://sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/energy/case-study/cambridge-scientists-develop-co2-absorbing-battery–354109836

The Australian Business Growth Fund (ABGF) has invested $7.5 million into e-waste management company Scipher Technologies. Another $7.5 million has been provided by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).

The e-waste market is expected to be valued at over $112 billion by 2030, driven by the concept of urban mining — that is, extracting valuable materials from e-waste. As an example, a tonne of mobile phones contains more gold than a tonne of gold ore, but phones are routinely improperly discarded. Scipher performs urban mining to recover these valuable components, metals and materials from e-waste. It also refurbishes mobile phones and computers to reduce e-waste.

The investment from ABGF will be used to increase Scipher’s access to advanced technologies that enable it to optimise raw material and commodity recovery contained in end-of-life electronic and electrical equipment to a high degree of purity. Also part of the investment is the addition of Total Green Recycling to the Scipher Group, which also works to address e-waste and asset recovery.

“Regulators, businesses and consumers are increasingly focused on the treatment of e-waste,” said ABGF’s Co-Head of Investment, Patrick Verlaine. “Through this investment, we are supporting a growing business that’s investing in leading technology to maximise recovery rates of valuable and what would otherwise be environmentally harmful waste, diverted to landfill. We are delighted to be investing alongside such an experienced and industry-leading management team.”

Scipher’s founder and CEO, Chris Sayers, sees the value in the external investment.

“With this support, we can realise the company’s vision to become the largest licensed e-waste recycler and urban miner in Australia,” Sayers said.

The investment from ABGF is being matched by the CEFC, in what will be its first investment in e-waste management, by way of its Australian Recycling Investment Fund.

“Technology is making profound changes to our lives, and mostly for the better — from entertainment and communication options to household appliances and solar panels,” said CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth.

“At the same time as we embrace these new technologies, and inevitably discard older ones, we need to turn our attention to the end-of-life treatment of our many devices.

“Making more efficient use of finite resources is an important part of the transition to net zero emissions by 2050, with the added benefit of backing the growth of new industries and jobs. In our first e-waste investment, we are pleased to support Scipher in its ambitious plans to modernise the Australian e-waste recycling sector, improve recycling rates and lower emissions.”

source http://sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/waste/news/-15-million-to-advance-e-waste-resource-recovery-1614808638

Australian exports could be hit with high export fees under policies that could be adopted by countries with carbon taxes that reduce carbon emissions, suggests a new paper.

The European Union is considering how to implement carbon border adjustment mechanisms (CBAMs), which are regulatory structures that would introduce costs to account for carbon emissions by international entities. The UK is looking to implement similar measures, as are Canada and the US.

These CBAMs are designed to mitigate a side effect of carbon taxation known as carbon leakage, which is when businesses relocate their business to regions with lax carbon management policies. They would impose greater costs on importers of goods from countries with less strict management of carbon emissions and these costs would then be passed back to the exporting businesses and organisations.

Should Australia join the emerging club of carbon trading nations?

A new paper by University of Adelaide professor Mike Young has outlined 10 principles that the EU, and possibly other nations, should implement as part of its CBAMs if it wants to essentially force other countries to adopt climate change policies to reduce carbon emissions. The paper suggests that countries adopting CBAM policies ought to do so in a measured, fair way but ultimately that CBAMs may successfully lead to a “club of carbon trading nations” that works to enforce carbon taxation outside their own borders — something that could impact Australia.

One of the principles outlined in the article would see that countries reducing emissions as fast as or faster than the EU would not be exposed to higher costs, which would result in progressive climate policies of any kind being enough to avoid extra prices. Another is that any pricing arrangements take into account the regulations and standards on production costs. This would mean that Australia’s carbon mitigation policies would be viewed beneficially; without such a clause, Australia would face the predicted increased costs of exporting its goods.

“Under the current EU proposal, the impact of Australia’s Renewable Energy Targets on production costs would count for nothing,” Young said. “Similarly, a decision to offset carbon emissions would gain zero recognition. The only things that count are direct carbon payments to a government.

“Time is no longer on Australia’s side. At the moment Australia has no carbon tax and no emissions trading system in place. If Australia wishes to avoid the imposition of a carbon tax on its exports, it needs to act quickly.”

The 10 principles also include factors that make a CBAM fair and not exclusionary, such as considering only truly environmental problems that need addressing and having potential concessions for developing nations.

The University of Adelaide’s Professor Peter Draper, Executive Director, Institute for International Trade, said: “It is critical that the EU’s proposal is consistent with World Trade Organisation rules and does not enable one country to prevent policy choice in another, especially when it can be shown that other policy choices may be equally effective.

“There is a real risk that CBAM could be used as a backdoor way to protect struggling industries from international competition rather than tackling climate change by reducing imports from countries that are seen to be not tackling carbon emissions.”

The paper, Improving border adjustment mechanisms, is available from the University of Adelaide website.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Sasint

source http://sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/sustainability/article/australian-exports-could-face-fees-if-climate-tax-not-enacted-1067598837

Registration for the ARBS 2022 seminar program has opened. These seminars accompany the exhibition itself, which is dedicated to the air-conditioning, refrigeration and building services industry and will have hundreds of exhibitors, industry awards and product showcases. The exhibition runs for three days from 16–18 of August at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The seminar program covers three streams and will feature talks from experienced members of the industry. The first stream is the ARBS Seminar Program and covers the entire HVAC, refrigeration and building services industry; experts are offering presentations on a wide range of topics including new developments in the refrigeration industry, how the HVAC sector can and has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, and how a move towards net zero can be achieved in this sector.

Next, the IBTech Insight Series is dedicated to intelligent building technologies and will look at how smart buildings can be used to increase energy efficiency and help systems communicate with each other. The talks in this stream will cover topics such as how digitisation can improve efficiency, how commercial buildings can be commercialised, and case studies of buildings using smart technologies.

Finally, the ARBS Exhibitor Presentation Theatre is a demonstration and presentation space for exhibitors to showcase new technologies, equipment and tools. Climate control for wine cellars, ammonia gas detection and energy management systems are some of the topics at hand for these presentations.

The ARBS Seminar Program and the IBTech Insight Series run for three days of the exhibition, whereas the ARBS Exhibitor Presentation Theatre will only have its doors open for the first two days of the show and has a maximum capacity of 48 seats. With that in mind, check out the agenda for the three streams, and register your details for the seminars here.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/ASDF

source http://sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/sustainability/news/arbs-2022-seminar-program-opens-for-registration-690178217

Canadian company GHGSat, which specialises in high-resolution GHG monitoring from space, has launched three ABB-built optical sensors into space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, doubling the capacity to monitor methane gas emissions.

With ABB’s optical sensor technology, the GHGSat team is able to locate and measure methane emissions from any given industrial site on earth. The launch of the three new high-resolution methane sensors doubles the company’s capacity to monitor customer sites. In addition to the three units being launched — Luca, Penny and Diako — six additional units are under fabrication at ABB.

Space is the only location allowing emissions to be monitored freely across jurisdictions with reporting on improvements or otherwise. Measuring different sites with the same sensor ensures that emissions are compared consistently. Space measurements are also especially useful for sites where ground sensors are economically not viable or too complex to deploy.

According to the International Energy Agency, methane is responsible for around 30% of the rise in global temperatures since the Industrial Revolution, and rapid and sustained reductions in methane emissions are key to limiting near-term global warming and improving air quality¹.

“Satellite data is critical for stakeholders globally to take immediate action for a sustainable future,” said Stephane Germain, CEO of GHGSat. “The first full year of commercial operation for GHGSat satellites confirmed the impact our technology can have. We’re excited to double our capacity and accelerate the change needed to make a difference for our planet.”

“This is an exciting milestone for our team as we witness the efficiency of applying our serial production know-how to space-sensors manufacturing, which in the past have been mainly one-off contracts,” said Marc Corriveau, General Manager ABB Measurement & Analytics Canada. “Not only does this set new standards in our space offering for the private sector which is growing at a rapid pace, but it also allows us to expand our expertise and solutions offering.”

Reference:

¹ International Energy Agency 2022, Methane emissions from the energy sector are 70% higher than official figures, https://www.iea.org/news/methane-emissions-from-the-energy-sector-are-70-higher-than-official-figures

Top image: GHGSat Constellation Launch. Source: Space Flight Laboratory.

source http://sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/energy/news/ghgsat-doubles-capacity-to-monitor-methane-emissions-1132035725

The VM25 portable handheld vibration meter from Metra (MMF) measures acceleration, velocity and displacement. It comes with an external, magnetically mounted accelerometer, built-in infrared thermometer and rpm sensor for machine condition monitoring applications. The handheld meter can display the true RMS and peak value for vibration analysis assessment. It can also display the trend in graphical format with capability to perform spectral analysis.

The vibration meter can interface with the PC software via USB connection for data management and archiving. The device can store up to 16,000 measurement points in its internal memory. It is easy to use, battery powered and offers low-power OLED coloured display for data visualisation.

The accelerometers come with the electronic VMID measuring points to allow automatic detection of measurement sites via the sensor’s base. It has been used for machine monitoring applications according to ISO 10816 and roller bearing monitoring to VDI 3832. The product is also suitable for general-purpose vibration monitoring applications in laboratory and industry due to its simple configuration.

This pocket-sized measurement system is suitable for measuring acceleration up to 240 m/s², velocity up to 1 m/s and displacement up to 60 mm with 10 kHz frequency response.

source http://sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/sustainability/hot-product/metra-vm25-handheld-vibration-meter-1512172337

Integration of sustainable design and construction methodologies achieves the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) first ‘Leading’ IS Design Rating for a road project.

The Pacific Motorway (M1) is a vital transport link between Queensland and the southern states, carrying interstate freight, tourist and commuter traffic. The 10 km section of the motorway between Varsity Lakes (Exit 85) and Tugun (Exit 95), known as VL2T, currently carries around 90,000 vehicles each day and is frequently congested during both weekday and weekend peak periods. Traffic demand for this section of motorway is growing and by 2026 is expected to exceed 100,000 vehicles each day. The Australian and Queensland Governments have been progressively upgrading the M1 in line with the Pacific Motorway Nerang to Tugun Masterplan with this section being one of the highest priorities.

TMR awarded SMEC the design contract for the Varsity Lakes to Burleigh (VL2B) section including Burleigh Interchange (Exit 87). This two-kilometre section of the M1 upgrade included widening the motorway to a minimum of three lanes in both directions and upgrading Exit 87 to the Gold Coast’s first Diverging Diamond Interchange.

With a commitment to sustainable infrastructure development, the SMEC team worked collaboratively with TMR to ensure sustainable practices were embedded within the project. SMEC undertook the preliminary and detailed design with consideration of two key principles.

Firstly, addressing the surrounding environmental values including Tallebudgera Creek and Reedy Creek, and the Burleigh to Springbrook bioregional environmental corridor, and secondly, encompassing the Infrastructure Sustainability Council (ISC) Rating Scheme.

The project team’s design sustainability initiatives for VL2B included:

• concrete fracturing — an ISC-verified Australian-first innovation;
• invertebrate sensitive road design — an ISC-verified Australian-first innovation;
• retention of Reedy Creek Flyover — significant reduction in material use resulting in environmental, social and economic benefits.
   

“These sustainability initiatives enabled the VL2B project to be awarded a ‘Leading’ IS Design rating from ISC,” said Jo Davis, Manager – Environment QLD/NT, SMEC. “This is the first time a TMR road project has received the rating and this success was made possible by the integration of sustainable design and construction methodologies and collaboration between the SMEC team and TMR.”

Australian-first concrete fracturing technique

Typically, during road upgrade projects, existing concrete road base and sub-base materials are removed and taken to landfill to be disposed of or, in some cases, sent to a recycling facility before the new road is then constructed. During the design process for the VL2T project, the team considered and analysed concrete fracturing methods which enabled existing materials to remain in situ with the goal of reducing the amount of waste removal on the project.

“The techniques we considered included pavement rubblisation and ‘crack and seat’,” said Pablo Balmaceda, Technical Principal – Pavements, SMEC. “Although these techniques had previously been utilised overseas, they were yet to be adopted in Australia.”

The project team trialled the process on sections of the corridor, confirming the feasibility of the fracturing processes, resulting in the practice being adopted across the VL2T project.

Utilising these techniques provides numerous benefits for the community and the environment. It led to the reduction of waste being sent to landfill and associated greenhouse gas emissions, a reduction in construction time and associated gas emissions, increased safety levels for the travelling public and it avoided the exposure of weaker sub-grades to elements such as inclement weather.

Design targets remediation of vulnerable butterflies’ habitat

A road design sensitive to threatened species was a key aspect of the project. Two butterfly species were identified as being rare and vulnerable to this area of the Gold Coast — the Richmond Birdwing Butterfly and the Swordgrass Brown Butterfly.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Manu Nair

The Queensland Department of Environment and Science identified the decreased presence of the Richmond Birdwing Butterfly due to habitat loss and fragmentation, and that permanent populations of the species no longer exist in the Brisbane area. The Swordgrass Brown Butterfly, which was once common in the Gold Coast region, was almost extinct in Queensland and listed as vulnerable in New South Wales.

The project team sought to mitigate the threat to these species by targeting the remediation of habitat loss of threatened butterfly species through landscape design. Host plants were included in the landscape design to facilitate the reintroduction of these vulnerable species. Design for invertebrate habitat enhancement was assessed as an Australian first as part of the IS Design Rating submission and verified by ISC.

Retaining the Reedy Creek Flyover

The reference design proposed the demolition of the existing Reedy Creek Flyover bridge to be replaced with a new two-lane bridge. SMEC reviewed the traffic modelling and determined a single lane would be sufficient to service the ramp metering upstream, and the change to lane requirements introduced the potential to utilise the existing bridge structure. However, there were concerns regarding cracking in the pier head stocks which had restricted the load capacity for the structure. SMEC’s material team sought to rehabilitate the existing bridge to significantly reduce construction costs and provide a sustainable outcome by reducing waste and the use of new materials.

The SMEC materials team undertook integrity inspections and analysis to determine the residual design life and load capacity, and determined the work required for rehabilitation of the structure. The carriageway alignment was redesigned for the M1 widening under the structure with the road barriers upgraded around the piers.

“The SMEC and TMR project team had the breadth of experience to challenge the design, and by utilising expert knowledge in SMEC’s material team, retained a major piece of infrastructure with a significant sustainability outcome and cost savings,” said Guy Porter Technical Principal – Roads and Highways Gold Coast.

Knowledge sharing ensures project consistency

Throughout the project, sustainable initiatives were integrated into design and construction methodologies by SMEC’s team. To ensure consistency across the entire project, with a commitment to sustainable infrastructure development, SMEC’s engineers and Infrastructure Sustainability Accredited Professionals (ISAPs) shared knowledge of design development of these first two packages with the other two design packages of the VL2T project.

“Knowledge sharing is critical to building relationships and fostering collaboration,” said Kirryn Crossman, Team Leader – Roads & Highways Gold Coast. “Sharing expertise assists in aligning and achieving project goals, while ultimately delivering an efficient, sustainable and safe transport corridor for the ever-growing region.”

source http://sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/sustainability/article/leading-isc-design-rating-for-sustainability-outcomes-on-pacific-motorway-m1-project-1504043787

In today’s workforce the use of technology and mobile devices has become essential to managing mobile workers and increasing productivity. However, the increased use of mobile devices is also leading to higher levels of e-waste, which has a direct impact on the environment.

Globally, it’s estimated that 44 million tons of electronic goods are wasted each year — a number that only continues to rise. And in Australia, e-waste is the fastest-growing component of the municipal solid waste stream. While much is said about how we as individuals and consumers can recycle more effectively, attention also needs to focus on the management and disposal of enterprise-level technology devices.

Despite there being significant information around the functional operating lifespan of mobile devices and the benefits of extended usage, many businesses are prematurely disposing of devices. Organisations are focusing on new upgrades and fresh hardware, as opposed to maintaining, updating, diagnosing and fixing the devices they already have. So, why are companies not prioritising the reusability of their mobile devices, and how is this impacting their business and its ability to achieve sustainability goals in the long run?

Does digital transformation overshadow sustainability intentions?

For companies looking to advance their operations through digital transformation projects, it is important to consider how moving to new technologies will impact current or legacy systems or devices. After all, organisations that publicly commit to strong action around sustainability might find they are not living up to their ambitions if they routinely discard electronic devices prematurely.

SOTI’s latest research report, Reduce, Reuse, Rethink: From Discard Mentality to Tech Sustainability, highlights the premature disposal of devices in enterprise settings. In this report, it was found that 62% of Australian organisations agree the management and replacement of workplace technology and mobile devices is an important environmental issue for their business. However, in the same focus group over half (52%) said that increasing the lifespan of the hardware used within the organisation was not a priority. This has highlighted a clear gap between Australian organisations’ sustainability ambitions and what they are actually prioritising when it comes to reducing e-waste. So, while there does seem to be at least some acknowledgement of this sustainability issue, many organisations aren’t currently willing to commit to action in this area.

Balancing productivity with sustainability

It’s very common for mobile devices to be discarded as a preventive, precautionary measure or because the latest and greatest version is now available. Somewhere along the line, a mindset shift took place. Before, the focus was on having smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices last longer. Now, the focus is on how to get the newest device as quickly as possible.

All of this raises a few questions:

1. Does having the latest device, at the expense of older devices which still perform as expected, help with end-user productivity and bottom line performance? Maybe.
2. Does having the latest hardware devices help with organisational prestige and perception? According to the report, 63% of Australian respondents say it does make their company more attractive to workers.
3. Is constantly replacing and discarding mobile devices good for the environment and helping with green IT initiatives? Absolutely not.

The challenge is how to balance productivity with sustainability without defaulting to a discard mentality.

Actionable steps to better maintain workplace devices

To reduce e-waste and improve mobile device recycling habits in the enterprise, it’s critical to first move away from preconceived notions regarding device lifecycle and deployments.

One option organisations can explore are OpEx models, where organisations rent devices and return them in exchange for newer ones. The business no longer mindlessly disposes of used mobile devices, which allows the organisation to develop more sustainable habits for their business and the environment.

Other actionable steps could include adopting an enterprise mobility management (EMM) solution as part of an equation that serves to prolong digital lifecycles, with the help of digital solutions. Instead of investing in new hardware prematurely, invest in an outsourced solution that encourages the monitoring, diagnosis and repair of existing devices to extend their functional lifespan.

Battery life doesn’t equate to device life

While the financial resources for the replacement of devices are considerable, for many companies very little budget is dedicated to extending the lifespan of devices. For example, organisations commonly tend to relate the end of a battery’s life to the end life of the device. In many cases, the batteries of rugged devices such as handhelds, scanners and barcode readers are changeable and the hardware can live on. Almost all (91%) of the devices used by Australian organisations have replaceable batteries, yet only 35% of IT leaders’ annual budget is earmarked for battery replacement.

Many organisations today default to the mindset that device battery failure automatically means the device itself needs to be replaced or the batteries in all devices are on the verge of failure and, as such, should be discarded. This should not be the case.

Battery failure is a common issue among enterprise IT and mobile device users. Nearly 80% of businesses experience mid-shift battery failure, and when it does happen, workers lose an average of 50 minutes of productivity. Keeping batteries healthy and devices online is a top priority, but it shouldn’t be done at the expense of the environment.

An eco-friendly mindset is to look into all deployed and in-use batteries and replace and discard only those which need to be replaced and discarded. Shifting from blanket generalisations to accessing specific, pinpoint data can help organisations reduce, reuse and rethink how they manage e-waste and mobile device recycling.

Reassess current strategies to benefit the environment

By reassessing the extent of your digital footprint and how expensive it is to retain current strategies, better environmental outcomes can be achieved. Enterprise devices aren’t just mobiles, laptops and tablets — they are now also new innovations such as wearables, and old stalwarts like printers and a whole host of rugged handheld devices in between. Every time these operational devices are replaced, time and money are spent integrating and training staff to get up to speed while the old devices are discarded into landfill.

It’s time for Australian organisations to find out which devices need replacing and which devices simply need better care to move into the next stage of their operational lives. With a renewed understanding around device lifecycles, a greater focus on fit-for-purpose devices and a better implementation of measures to extend device performance, enterprises can reduce their e-waste footprints and benefit the environment.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/lensw0rld

source http://sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/waste/article/the-e-waste-crunch-why-australian-organisations-need-to-move-away-from-a-discard-mentality-1060295899

The ST Series Thermal Flow Meters from Fluid Components International are precision hydrogen-calibrated for engineers and plant operators responsible for producing, using, dispensing or distributing hydrogen gas. The products suit many pipe diameters and installation conditions, and require minimal routine maintenance.

Hydrogen is receiving global attention as a renewable energy fuel resource. Production processes from fossil sources, biomass and waste and H₂O-splitting are capturing attention as brown, green, grey and blue alternative fuels. Hydrogen is also a key gas used in ammonia manufacturing for the agricultural chemicals industry, methanol production and other processes. Accurate, repeatable and reliable flow meters are an important component in the processes.

Hydrogen-calibrated thermal mass flow meters are suited to meet the conditions of these applications, working based on the principles of heat transfer. H₂ has a very high heat transfer rate and to measure it with high accuracy and repeatability, a thermal flow meter should be calibrated in actual H₂. Applying theoretical gas equivalency equations to correct real-world readings for H₂ is ineffective for this gas.

The products in this range are calibrated under customer installation conditions with actual hydrogen to achieve accuracy and repeatability. They are direct mass flow measuring and are multivariable, providing both flow and temperature outputs. Since there are no moving parts, wear, breakage and maintenance is also reduced. The range has a selection of process connections, including compression fittings, NPT male and female threaded connections, flanges, ball valves, hot taps and more to ensure installation site compatibility.

The range offers solutions from small, compact meters with basic 4–20 mA analog output to feature-enhanced versions with multiple 4–20 mA outputs, digital bus communications such as HART, Modbus, Foundation Fieldbus, and Profibus, in-situ calibration, self-checks and on-board data logging.

The flow meters carry approvals for installation in Div.1/Zone 1 environments, and offer superior ruggedness and long-life with NEMA 4X/IP67-rated low-copper content aluminium or 316 stainless steel enclosures.

Standard turndowns of 100:1 and flow ranges from 0.07 to 305 NMPS make them versatile. The transmitter/electronics can be integrally mounted with the flow body or may be remote-mounted to 305 m away. They are available in either DC- or AC-powered versions and their readout/display options include basic flow rate, totaliser, digital/graphic backlighted LCD and a through-the-glass activated 4-button array.

In hydrogen applications with limited straight-runs or for operating in transitional flow ranges that can adversely affect accuracy and repeatability, the flow meters are also optionally available with and calibration-matched to appropriate flow conditioners to ensure performance.

source http://sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/energy/product/fluid-components-international-st-series-thermal-flow-meters-914257652