Category Archives: Industry

How to Find the Best Industrial Valve Suppliers in China

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The increasing demand for industrial valve suppliers is apparent due to the rapid growth of different industries, such as power plants, oil and gas industry, wastewater treatment, to name a few, in China.

These suppliers are important to various industries in the country as they supply high-quality industrial equipment like gate valves, butterfly valves, ball valves, plug valves, ball valves, etc. Without these needed materials to support different installations of these industries, they will surely have a hard time with the production process.

On a client’s perspective, finding the best valve supplier can be a real challenge, especially if you’re new to the industry.

So, if you are searching for your potential industrial valve supplier in the country, don’t fret. You are definitely on the right page. Below are tips that will help with your selection process. As you read along, you’ll definitely get an idea on how and where to find for the right supplier in China.

Looking for a Good Industrial Valve Supplier in China

Price

Several growing industries focus on one major aspect of the business — the price. This is, without a doubt, essential when choosing suppliers to provide you with the services you need. However, there is more to a valve supplier than just the price. Keep in mind that these people are in business to bring in money, just like you.

Stability

This is one of the major indicators of a good valve supplier. As a client, of course, you want to sign up with manufacturers who have extensive experience in the industry. Suppliers who have been in the business for quite a long time now. Apart from this, the supplier should have long-tenured executive experience as well as a stable and sturdy reputation with the clients. These are surely things you need to consider.

Reliability

Of course, it is highly important for suppliers to be reliable in order to gain trustworthy and loyal customers. This is another important definition of an ideal valve supplier — reliability. Most of the times, you can get the best reliability from large-scale suppliers. These are companies who have enough resources to perform system backups as well as sources in the event something goes wrong.

Location

This is one aspect that you should take note. Valves and other related equipment ordered outside China can take a long time to get to your area and may add up costly freight charges. You can definitely check for potential suppliers without the need to outsource overseas. Find a supplier closer to where you are to avoid unnecessary charges. Orders will be more flexible as well if opt to get suppliers within China.

Competitiveness

Since China is a huge country, valve suppliers are in constant competition. Look for someone who can offer the latest, most innovative products, and services. A company who have well-rounded and knowledgeable employees to answer your questions and market their products effectively. Attractive financial terms should be offered for client purchases. They should have a rational attitude toward you and are willing to work with you hand in hand for potential business growth.

Where to Start Searching?

Now that you already have an idea of what type of supplier you’re looking for, you should also have a better idea of where to start your search. Basically, the best place to start is through the internet, however, there are other areas that might help you as well.

Referrals

Referrals can bring you some of the best leads. The technique is don’t be afraid to ask for recommendations from your local and professional networks. Find individuals who have found success in searching for valve suppliers. Ask them if they are willing to share information and/or their contacts.

Because of social networks, finding potential suppliers is not that much of a hassle. It made it so easy to spread the word, thus increasing your chance of finding a supplier. You can join Facebook groups or other related online communities of industrial business and see if anyone is willing to share his/her review.

As you start to select suppliers, be sure to ask them if they can be of help to point you in the right direction, regardless if they are not the ideal one for you. They will likely have the best contacts and would be glad to refer you to the one that suits your interest best.

Google

Google has always been our go-to when searching for something. With just a simple search, we can immediately find what we’re looking for. However, a lot of potential valve suppliers can’t be seen on the first few searches on Google. Probably because their websites are not up-to-date. Therefore, it is recommended to prioritize the first two pages of the search results. You might also want to use several search terms, such as wholesaler, wholesale, distributor, etc.

Familiarize yourself with Google’s search shortcuts. This is the best way to enhance the search quality, hence the results as well.

Conclusion

Finding the best valve supplier is not that complicated if you know where to begin your search and what to look for. With tons of new valve suppliers in the market today, it can be a challenge who to choose. Hence, it pays to have an idea about a supplier’s background and how long they have been in the industry.

Whether you’re new to the industry or not, these tips will surely help you find your potential supplier.

Sustainability in Healthcare: Introduction and Challenges

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Sustainability in healthcare systems has been a hot topic for discussion for some time already, especially given the growing interest in reducing the environmental impact of our daily actions. How healthcare workers commute to work, provide their care, and which materials they use – all of these and other factors significantly affect the environment. Let’s not forget that day-to-day functioning of hospitals requires a fair bit of electricity – after all, tools used by doctors, EKG machines, but also, for example, G.E. medical systems and the entire infrastructure involved doesn’t run on water.

Using digital technologies in healthcare on a regular basis (such as) is one of the best solutions to bring environmental benefits. However, sustainability in healthcare brings more challenges than benefits at the moment.

Sustainability in Healthcare

In this article, we will look at the wide range of issues that healthcare professionals will face in terms of sustainability. Apart from creating quality environments and implementing solutions to maximize the likelihood of a sustainable system, they include assessing overall organizational impact and other things. Continue reading for an overview of sustainability in healthcare and the challenges it entails.

How Can Healthcare Become Sustainable?

There are many ways to make healthcare more sustainable. One of the most common ways is to adopt environmentally friendly methods of working – for example, using recycled paper or energy saving light bulbs or sustainable medical waste management. While this may sound like an insignificant change, eco-friendly changes can make a big difference in the long term.

For example, if you’re considering switching your light bulbs to ones made with LEDs, you could save hundreds on your electricity bill each year. Now, if we consider that there are quite a few lights in hospitals, it comes as no surprise that such a move would have a great effect on the environment.

Another way that healthcare organizations can become sustainable is by making small changes to their existing practices or policies that lead to better usage of resources. For example, making it mandatory for the doctors to use reusable materials whenever possible during surgery, which will reduce the amount of waste generated.

There are also some new technologies on the market that can help to reduce waste generation during surgery. One new model uses an ultraviolet sterilizer instead of chemical sterilizing agents which are expensive and need regular replacement.

Another technology of interest is the use of freezers instead of refrigerators to store organs after surgery, which would both reduce energy usage and lower healthcare costs.

When it comes to making sustainable changes within your healthcare organization, it’s important that you don’t focus solely on reducing your environmental impact; it’s equally important that you focus on your financial impact as well.

Organizational Impact Assessment

An organizational impact assessment refers to a thorough review of an organization’s activities and their impact on the environment and society at large – normally carried out alongside other sustainability assessments such as those mentioned above. An organizational impact assessment should include various sustainability assessments as well as taking into account the issues discussed below:

1. Environmental Risk Assessment

A risk assessment is used as a diagnostic tool for identifying business processes and products that pose environmental risks. It’s important that organizations conduct risk assessments periodically as they can change over time as new technology becomes available and as government policies change – these changes may make some products and services more desirable than others.

2. Environmental Management System

An environmental management system (EMS) refers to a set of processes put in place by an organization designed to achieve continuous improvement in its environmental performance. An EMS is a set of business processes including planning, monitoring, control, improvement, and review which ensure an organization’s objectives are met – in this case, the objective is to reduce its environmental impact.

3. Environmental Management Framework

An environmental management framework refers to a set of policies and procedures that provide a framework for an organization’s EMS. For example, a set of policies and procedures could include a zero-waste goal by a certain date.

expired-medicines-management

Pharmaceutical industry can change its practices to manage pharmaceuticals in a more ecofriendly manner.

4. Environmental Performance Indicators

Environmental performance indicators are used to measure an organization’s environmental performance. Examples of indicators include greenhouse gas emissions per unit produced or per employee, the number of incidents recorded per year, reduction in pharmaceutical waste generation and so on. In more detail, an environmental performance indicator measures an organization’s performance in relation to a specific objective such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions per unit produced.

The Bottom Line

Overall, sustainability in healthcare is a hot topic that has been discussed for some time now. Many healthcare organizations have already made changes to their working practices in order to become more sustainable – but there’s still a long way to go. There are many ways that healthcare professionals can implement changes to their existing working practices in order to become more sustainable. However, it takes time and effort to achieve the desired results – sometimes, it can feel like an uphill battle.

At the same time, there is the need to consider the financial impact both of the current processes and of any changes that can be made to them in order to reach sustainability goals.

Recommended Reading: 9 Exciting Public Health Careers

The 8 Challenges to Networking a Factory

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The age of the smart factory is here! More and more industrial processing facilities are hooking everything together, creating internal networks, to reap the benefits that these bring. The data-gathering and analysis-related functions of a networked factory can do wonders for long-term success and production efficiency. However, there are more than a few challenges.

Whether you are acquiring supplies from otscable for a new facility or you’re looking to upgrade an existing one, there are issues you have to consider. Some of these might be obvious at the outset, such as the logistics of all this networking gear. Others might catch you off-guard. Here are the seven most critical challenges that occur if you intend to make a smarter factory.

1. Legacy Equipment

One concern that is highly practical is legacy equipment. Older machinery could come from an era when networking wasn’t important. These could be crucial to your operations, but also too old for a simple “plug and play” approach. This means that you are in desperate need to figure out how to blend the old and new, and that’s not always the easiest thing to achieve.

Unfortunately, there are instances when there is no solution. If you’re upgrading from an existing factory, you will have to settle for mixing the old and new and working as best you can. You can look into using third-party integration equipment and adaptors, which are your best option if a strict update and upgrade are out of the cards.

2. Physical Logistics

Another huge concern is simple logistics. Where do you lay out the cables? Where are the routers or switches installed? How far between support hardware are the cables running? This is something that you need to understand before you start placing equipment on the ground. Consider the layout and where your heavy machinery as you plan the placement of your networking infrastructure.

3. Security

Security is a concern. A smart factory collects a great deal of data about your operations, which might be highly sensitive. Protecting it and any insights gained from it is important for most factories and companies. One way to protect the data is to go for a wired network, which traditionally is much harder to infiltrate from the outside.

In general, you do not want to go with a smart factory until you have the security in place. You want layers of protection and authorization for your data. How you achieve that is up to you, though keeping the more sensitive data in a closed network, inaccessible from the outside without the right credentials, is a good first step.

4. Data Storage

Data storage is also an ongoing concern for smart factories. As operations are recorded down to their minutia, all that information has to be kept somewhere. Preferably, the storage occurs on-site so you don’t have to stretch the network too far and risk security issues. This means you need to account for the storage and the conditions that prevent the hardware from being damaged.

5. Factory Visibility

Visibility is also a concern. In the old days, you might have observers present but practically no real active monitoring. Most things were probably done passively. In a smart factory, you’re going from zero monitoring to thousands of devices and points collecting data all the time. This can be a staggering amount of information to process and may require a learning curve.

A related challenge to this is if multiple factories are interconnected. Even if you maintained visibility in one, being suddenly thrust into seeing all of your facilities in such detail can be staggering. This is something that usually takes a bit of time to get used to.

6. Outages

You’ll want back-up systems in place in the event of outages. Never assume that you will never have an outage, and set the network up so that it functions on its own even without internet access. Make sure that the most crucial parts of it can work and record data independently, even under outage conditions.

7. Edge Networking

Going closer to the “edge” might also be a challenge for you. Edge networks are when a single task is processed by multiple terminals across a network. This can be a serious challenge because it means that your internal network has to connect to a much broader one. This will require serious cooperation between multiple departments, facilities, and personnel.

8. The Right Tools

Finally, you have to look at the tools you intend to use. The market for devices and tools for smart factories is increasing, which is both good and bad. It’s good because you have more options available, so there are higher odds something that suits your needs is out there. It’s bad because there’s more chaff to wade through, more time needed to get the right ones.

Conclusion

Yes, it is challenging to hook an industrial plant to a network and engage in the “Internet of Things.” There are challenges that must be overcome, logistics to consider, and costs to factor in. However, there are many benefits to gain from smart manufacturing, both from the network itself and by keeping up to date on the march of technology.

Innovative Hydrogen Technology: Revolutionising Water Storage and Energy Savings

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You might be familiar with hydrogen technology, a novel method addressing our increasing thirst for renewable energy alternatives. With each passing year, sustainable power gains more traction, stimulating the brains of researchers and scientists to innovate ways of energy production and storage with less environmental impact.

innovative hydrogen technology

Nestled within these innovations, hydrogen technology stands out, promising not just a leap into clean energy, but also a revolution in water storage and energy saving.

Buckle up for this blog post, where we’ll embark on a journey through how these exciting technologies are molding the contours of our contemporary world, all whilst preserving our dear Mother Nature.

A Deeper Understanding of Hydrogen Technology

Before we take a deep dive into the ongoing advancements, it’s pivotal to grasp what hydrogen technology fundamentally is.

Chances are, you are aware that hydrogen is one of the most abundant elements on our blue orb, accounting for approximately 75% of our atmosphere by mass.

What might surprise you though, is the multifarious ways this element can be tapped – from generating clean electricity using fuel cells right to powering an eco-friendly method of transportation.

This all begins with water electrolysis – a process where electrical current disassembles water molecules into discrete oxygen and hydrogen gasses.

While some conventional methods depend on fossil fuels to manufacture hydrogen, contemporary developments aim to leverage renewable energy resources to promote greener production undertakings.

Being emission-free at the point of use (only exhaling water vapor when used in fuel cells), it isn’t hard to understand why hydrogen technologies are touted to potentially revolutionize energy supply chains globally.

Water Storage: Bigger than you Thought

By now, you might be wondering how hydrogen technology can improve water storage solutions. To understand this, let’s take a closer look at the role of hydrogen in such systems.

In conventional water storage methods, multiple factors limit the available capacity – including evaporation losses and geological constraints. The idea behind using hydrogen in these applications is that once it gets produced from water through electrolysis, it no longer has to remain stored as an independent element.

Instead of dealing with large storage structures for water like tanks and reservoirs, hydrogen can be efficiently compressed into containers or even injected into underground rock formations.

When needed again for power generation or other uses, the hydrogen undergoes another process (such as fuel cell catalytic conversion) and turns back into energy and pure water. This ingenious method thereby eliminates many problems associated with traditional water storage while still preserving the natural resource we all rely on.

Hydrogen-Powered Energy Savings: How Does it Work?

Saving energy has become more critical than ever before due to global climate change concerns and increased awareness about Earth’s finite resources.

Hydrogen technology, including fuel cells that are on sale, inherently exhibits impressive energy-saving capabilities mainly thanks to operating with efficiency rates far beyond those of combustion engines..

Fuel cells work by combining hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity without burning any fossil fuels – releasing only heat and water vapor as output emission.

This process results in minimal losses compared to internal combustion engines whose exhaust gasses need proper after-treatment before release, making them less efficient overall.

Moreover, since hydrogen is easily producible through renewables-driven electrolysis processes, it unlocks avenues for truly sustainable energy generation with zero greenhouse gas emissions when used alongside green-powered devices like wind turbines or solar panels. You can learn more about these processes on our home page.

Innovative Products That are on Sale Today

As the hydrogen revolution continues to gain pace, a variety of innovative products are already available on sale for consumers and industries alike.

Hydrogen-Powered Energy Savings

From hydrogen-powered vehicles like Toyota Mirai or Hyundai NEXO that promise zero emissions and sustainable transportation solutions, to stationary fuel cells employed in buildings and energy plants – there’s no shortage of opportunities for you to join the green energy movement.

Fuel cell systems are increasingly used in backup power applications while remote regions can rely on compact units such as Intelligent Energy’s 801 fuel cell system, built upon their best-in-class lightweight air-cooled architecture.

This product caters especially well to those searching for dependable off-grid power alternatives that won’t exhaust Earth’s valuable resources or contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.

Case Study: Power-to-Gas Project in Germany

Germany is spearheading the adoption of hydrogen technology in their national energy transition journey, famously known as Energiewende.

Taking a peek at a practical illustration of this thrilling innovation being orchestrated for grand projects, the German region of Lower Saxony inaugurated a power-to-gas plant that employs hydrogen, borne of electrolysis, for underground storage – essentially morphing renewable electricity into raw material for natural gas.

Hand in hand with local utility giant Avacon AG and technical collaborators from the Osterholz-Scharmbeck district, this multi-million-euro endeavor serves as a stellar example of how stockpiled hydrogen can meet supply demands efficiently whilst harmonizing fluctuating renewable sources such as wind turbines during periods of limited grid availability.

Conclusion

Hydrogen technology is redefining energy and water storage with cutting-edge products, presenting a sustainable power source that provides clean electricity and efficient water conservation. From Germany’s pioneering power-to-gas projects to innovative fuel cell systems for off-grid use, this technology shows great potential for global positive impact. As we strive for a greener future, adopting such advancements is crucial in preserving Earth’s resources and environmental stability.

What Are the Risks of the Oil and Gas Industry?

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While it’s currently necessary, there is a need to identify better alternative energy sources because of the risks of the oil and gas industry. There are risks to the environment and also to people, including workers in the industry.

The oil and gas industry is the largest source of emissions of greenhouse gases in the United States, despite being tightly regulated.

The following are things to know about the different type of human and environmental risks that come with the extraction and processing of oil.

Risks of the Oil and Gas Industry

Employee Dangers

Working in the oil industry tends to be very lucrative, and these jobs are hard to fill often. The pay is why people continue in the industry, despite the risk. Trends seem to show worsening fatality rates among workers in the industry, particularly in Texas. Texas is the largest oil-producing state in the country. There were more than 530 fatal occupational industries in Texas in 2017 related to this industry.

Since 2016, fatality rates have been increasing.

Oil production went up almost 25% in the U.S. between 2017 and 2018, which may play a role. There are more demanding deadlines for production and an increased quantity of work, which could mean more significant risks for workers.

Specific Worker Risks

There are many, but a few of the more common risks that workers in oil and gas face on the job every day include:

  • Vehicle collisions when workers and equipment are being transported to and from well sites which are often remotely located and require long-distance travel. Around 4 of every ten workers killed on the job in the industry die because of a highway vehicle accident.
  • Being stuck between moving vehicles, equipment, fall equipment and high-pressure lines leads to on-site injuries and deaths.
  • When someone works in the oil and gas industry, they are at risk of being exposed to explosions and fires because of the ignition of vapors, gases and chemicals that are highly flammable. Gases and vapors, as well as hydrogen sulfide, are released from wells, equipment and trucks.
  • Another considerable risk for workers in this industry are falls because often, employees have to access equipment and platforms that are high above the ground.
  • High-pressure lines and equipment create hazards, including the potential for compressed gas exposure.

There are around 1.2 million oil and gas production facilities across the country, ranging from active wells to processing plants. More than 12 million people live within ½ mile of these locations, and below are some risks they might face.

Community Exposure

Fossil fuel pollution is sometimes called an invisible killer because it can contribute to heart and respiratory diseases over time, which are leading causes of death.

environmental risks of oil and gas industry

Fossil fuels also leak substances into the soil and drinking water sources that can be toxic, cause cancer, birth defects and contribute to liver damage.

Research shows the industry’s impact most heavily affects minority, low-income and rural communities because they are closest to these sites and may be most exposed to toxins.

There’s also a link between volatile organic compounds and the emission of nitrogen oxide that create smog. Smog is linked to a higher risk of asthma in the young and elderly, leading to missed school and workdays and increased hospitalizations.

Behind only coal-fired power plants, oil and gas production is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases in the country.

Wildlife Disruption

The extraction of oil and gas disrupts natural balance and wildlife in addition to harming humans.

Vehicle traffic, noises and movement can impact how animals breed, nest and communicate. The habitats of many species can be broken up by the introduction of fences, roads and powerlines.

When there are oil spills, these often kill large numbers of animals and create long-lasting marine ecosystem damage. For example, the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico led to oil spreading for 68,000 square miles over the sea.

That incident alone killed around one million seabirds, 1,000 sea turtles, and 5,000 marine mammals.

Even though we don’t always hear about them, there are often more minor spills. For example, in 2020, there were nearly 2,180 spills in Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming.

Finally, when the needed infrastructure for oil and gas extraction is developed, it significantly and negatively impacts wildlands. Wilderness is destroyed, and the damage can’t be reversed typically.

There are more than 12 million acres of public lands being used for the production of fossil fuels. To make this happen, vegetation has to be removed, and even when the sites are abandoned, it can take centuries for the land to recover.

Wastes Generation in Tanneries

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Wastes originate from all stages of leather making process, such as fine leather particles, residues from various chemical discharges and reagents from different waste liquors comprising of large pieces of leather cuttings, trimmings and gross shavings, fleshing residues, solid hair debris and remnants of paper bags.

tannery-wastes

Tanning refers to the process by which collagen fibers in a hide react with a chemical agent (tannin, alum or other chemicals). However, the term leather tanning also commonly refers to the entire leather-making process. Hides and skins have the ability to absorb tannic acid and other chemical substances that prevent them from decaying, make them resistant to wetting, and keep them supple and durable. The flesh side of the hide or skin is much thicker and softer. The three types of hides and skins most often used in leather manufacture are from cattle, sheep, and pigs.

Out of 1000 kg of raw hide, nearly 850 kg is generated as solid wastes in leather processing. Only 150 Kg of the raw material is converted in to leather. A typical tannery generate huge amount of waste:

  • Fleshing: 56-60%
  • Chrome shaving, chrome splits and buffing dust: 35-40%
  • Skin trimming: 5-7%
  • Hair: 2-5%

Over 80 per cent of the organic pollution load in BOD terms emanates from the beamhouse (pre-tanning); much of this comes from degraded hide/skin and hair matter. During the tanning process at least 300 kg of chemicals (lime, salt etc.) are added per ton of hides. Excess of non-used salts will appear in the wastewater.

Because of the changing pH, these compounds can precipitate and contribute to the amount of solid waste or suspended solids. Every tanning process step, with the exception of finishing operations, produces wastewater. An average of 35 m3 is produced per ton of raw hide. The wastewater is made up of high concentration of salts, chromium, ammonia, dye and solvent chemicals etc.

A large amount of waste generated by tanneries is discharged in natural water bodies directly or indirectly through two open drains without any treatment. The water in the low lying areas in developing countries, like India and Bangladesh, is polluted in such a degree that it has become unsuitable for public uses. In summer when the rate of decomposition of the waste is higher, serious air pollution is caused in residential areas by producing intolerable obnoxious odours.

Tannery wastewater and solid wastes often find their way into surface water, where toxins are carried downstream and contaminate water used for bathing, cooking, swimming, and irrigation. Chromium waste can also seep into the soil and contaminate groundwater systems that provide drinking water for nearby communities. In addition, contamination in water can build up in aquatic animals, which are a common source of food.

Do’s and Don’ts of Redecorating Your Home

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Do you long to redecorate your home? If you’ve been looking at all the interior trends for 2022 and feel inspired to make some changes to your current décor, you can start making plans to reimagine your home.

However, before you begin it’s worth having an idea of the good and bad elements of decorating so that you know what to look out for. To help point you in the right direction, here’s a roundup of the dos and don’ts to keep in mind while decorating your home.

home-redecoration

1. Do use textures

Whether you live in a compact apartment or a large house, having a mixture of textures can make a room interesting, especially if you have a neutral colour scheme. So, if you combine grey woolen throws with grey leather cushions, the clashing texture of the two lifts the décor, even though they’re the same colour.

2. Don’t add small items to a big space

If you’re redecorating a large space, think carefully about the accessories you’re including. Small paintings and other art pieces will be lost on big walls, so it’s worth considering the area you’re trying to fill before hanging anything.

Similarly, rugs need to fill the room. The edges of the rug should sit just underneath your sofa or armchair by a few inches. If you have anything smaller, it can make your room appear to be out of proportion.

3. Do be clever with colour

If you have a small room, filling it with bold jewel tones might make it seem even smaller, especially if you spend time in there. However, adding a splash of hunter green in the downstairs toilet or a burst of yellow in the hallway can make your entire home feel colourful. This especially the case if the rest of the décor is fairly neutral as the bolder colours stand out more.

4. Don’t use white if you have children or pets

Mud, paint, and food are more likely to end up on walls and carpets when you have children or pets running around the house. Therefore, white is a colour that doesn’t work well as you spend a lot of time wiping everything down.

5. Do test colours

Once you have a colour palette in mind, it’s worth buying a selection of tester pots. Add a huge block of the colour you have in mind for the room to the wall so you can see what it looks like in the light and how it fits in the space.

6. Don’t go over your budget

Home decorating can be expensive, so you’ll need to budget for the updates you make and account for this expense. By shopping around and planning your finances, you’re more likely to stick to what you set out to spend.

What do you have in mind for your home? Will you add a splash of colour or invest in a new rug?

How Robotics Contributes to Sustainable Manufacturing

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Environment-friendly manufacturing processes are vital to the success of  businesses. Consumers care about the way that products are made, and how they can be recycled or reused. To meet the needs and concerns of consumers, manufacturers of all types are turning to robotics and online manufacturing to grow their sustainable practices.

robotics-sustainable-manufacturing

1. Reducing Carbon Footprints

Robots are being created and used to reduce manufacturers’ carbon footprints. Factories and ports are known for releasing carbon into the atmosphere. Thus, encouraging climate change.

Some ports are turning to use automated robots to reduce their carbon footprint. Instead of gas-powered trucks and tools, robotic vehicles are being used instead. The robots do not rely on fossil fuels for power, so their engines run clean.

2. Speeding Up Recycling

Robots can take tedious jobs and speed them up. One of the jobs that robots are good at is sorting recycled material. They can do it quickly and efficiently, and they do not require all of the safety gear and training that humans need. Humans can sort about 800 items in an hour, but robots can sort around 2,000 items in the same amount of time.

3. Cleaning Tanks More Efficiently

Another place that robots are helping the environment is in chemical plants. These plants have massive tanks that need cleaning on a regular basis. The tanks have small openings, and they are filled with toxic chemicals and volatile gases. If you want to know how to choose a sustainable provider of specialty chemical, read this article.

robotics-chemical-industry

In the past, humans have had to enter these confined spaces to clean the tanks. They had to be trained in several safety procedures, wear a plethora of safety gear, and undergo decontamination procedures each time they left the tanks. Now, robotic tank cleaning can do it in a fraction of the time, using less water and cleaning materials. They take away the danger from human employees, and robots can work 24 hours per day.

4. Improving Sustainable Manufacturing

Robots are being used in different types of manufacturing to create more efficiency with fewer resources. Robots reduce errors, so less waste is produced.

One computer company is relying on robots to pick reusable parts out of recycled products. This type of manufacturing sustainability in speeding up the transition to Industry 4.0. Less waste is produced and the robots are able to find and separate the small parts more efficiently than human hands can.

5. Cleaning Natural Resources

Robots are also being used outside of manufacturing to help with green living. Several organizations rely on robots to clean waterways. These robots float atop the water and collect the trash as it floats. Another water-cleaning robot is able to digest pollution. The robot turns the trash into fuel that powers the boat and that controls it. Inventors are working on upscaling the robot so it can power large tankers and cargo freighters, too.

Also Read: High-Tech Methods to Reduce Water Wastage in the Manufacturing Sector

Robots are also used to clean plants that become dirty from the garbage and grime in the water. By cleaning water and flora in it, robots are protecting the lives of animals that make their homes in wetlands and coastal areas. They also help clean food supplies for people.

This infographic was created by Keyence, a provider of optical profilometers

 

Thermal Conversion of Tannery Wastes

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Tanneries generate considerable quantities of sludge, shavings, trimmings, hair, buffing dusts and other general wastes and can consist of up to 70% of hide weight processed. Thermal conversion technologies by virtue of chemically reducing conditions, provides a viable alternative thermal treatment for tannery wastes, especially for chrome containing materials, and generates a chrome (III) containing ash. This ash has significant commercial value as it can be reconstituted.

tannery-wastes

All of the wastes generated by the tannery can be gasified following pre-treatment methods such as maceration, drying and subsequent densification or briquetting. A combined drying and gasification process could eliminate solid waste, whilst providing a combustible gas as a tax-exempt renewable energy source, which the tannery can directly reuse. Gasification trials have illustrated that up to 70% of the intrinsic energy value of the wastes currently disposed can be recovered as “synthesis gas” energy.

Gasification technology has the potential to provide significant cost benefits in terms of power generation and waste disposal, and increase sustainability within the leather industry. The gasification process converts any carbon-containing material into a combustible gas comprised primarily of carbon monoxide, hydrogen and methane, which can be used as a fuel to generate electricity and heat.

A wide range of tannery wastes can be macerated, flash dried, densified and gasified to generate a clean syngas for reuse in boilers or other Combined Heat and Power systems. As a result up to 70% of the intrinsic energy value of the waste can be recovered as syngas, with up to 60% of this being surplus to process drying requirements so can be recovered for on-site boiler or thermal energy recovery uses.

A proprietary technology has been in commercial operation at a tanyard on the West Coast of Norway since mid 2001. The process employs gasification-and-plasma-cracking and offer the capability of turning the tannery waste problem to a valorising source that may add values to the plant owner in terms of excessive energy and ferrochrome, a harmless alloy that is widely used by the metallurgical industry. The process leaves no ashes but a non-leaching slag that is useful for civil engineering works, and, hence, no residues for landfill disposal

Overview of Biomass Handling Equipment

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The physical handling of biomass fuels during collection or at a processing plant can be challenging task, particularly for solid biomass. Biomass fuels tend to vary with density, moisture content and particle size and can also be corrosive. Therefore biomass fuel handling equipment is often a difficult part of a plant to adequately design, maintain and operate.

Biomass_Conveyor

The design and equipment choice for the fuel handling system, including preparation and refinement systems is carried out in accordance with the plant configuration. This is of special importance when the biomass is not homogeneous and contains impurities, typically for forest and agricultural wastes. Some of the common problems encountered have been the unpopular design and undersized fuel handling, preparation and feeding systems.

The fuel handling core systems and equipment are dependent on both the raw fuel type and condition as well as on the conversion/combustion technology employed. The core equipment in a biomass power plant include the following:

  1. Fuel reception
  2. Fuel weighing systems
  3. Receiving bunkers
  4. Bunker discharge systems (stoker, screw, grab bucket)
  5. Fuel preparation
  6. Fuel drying systems
  7. Crushers
  8. Chippers
  9. Screening systems
  10. Shredding systems
  11. Grinding systems (for pulverised fuel burners)
  12. Safety systems (explosion relieve, emergency discharge, fire detections etc)
  13. Fuel transport and feeding
  14. Push floors
  15. Belt feeders
  16. Conveyers and Elevators
  17. Tube feeders
  18. Fuel hoppers and silos (refined fuel)
  19. Hopper, bunker and silo discharge
  20. Feeding stokers
  21. Feeding screws
  22. Rotary valves

To enable any available biomass resource to be matched with the end use energy carrier required (heat, electricity or transport fuels) the correct selection of conversion technologies is required. Since the forms in which biomass can be used for energy are diverse, optimal resources, technologies and entire systems will be shaped by local conditions, both physical and socio-economic in nature.

As the majority of people in developing countries will continue using biomass as their primary energy source well into the next century, it is of critical importance that biomass-based energy truly can be modernized to yield multiple socioeconomic and environmental benefits.