Dagenham digester promises London food waste revolution
By Mike Farish 24th July 2017 3:28 pm
A new state-of-the-art anaerobic digester will turn London food waste into enough gas to power thousands of homes. Mike Farish reports.
People who have a conscience about letting uneaten food go to waste will soon be able to sleep a little easier – at least if they live in the London area. That is because the city will soon be served by a state-of-the-art recycling facility just now in the process of being commissioned that will have the capacity to turn 160,000 tonnes per year of waste that would otherwise go to landfill into 14 million cubic metres of biomethane gas that can be fed into the supply grid. According to the company behind the facility, that’s enough to power 12,600 homes for a year.
The facility in question is the new ReFood plant in Dagenham out towards the eastern margin of the city, a smart looking installation of gleaming white buildings and brightly reflective metal piping which represents a total investment in both the land and the actual processing plant of some £32m. It will form the focal point for a citywide collection system of food waste and for larger scale recycling of liquid waste from food-related manufacturing. In the first case the sources of the waste food will generally comprise both restaurants and non-commercial institutions such as hospitals. In the second, likely sources might include, for example, breweries or any drinks manufacturing operation.
The mix is actually important because the process involves diluting the solid food waste with enough liquid to enable it to be pumped through the pipes and tanks of the facility and to act as a catalyst for the process itself. According to Philip Simpson, commercial director for ReFood, the process at Dagenham that converts the material into both usable gas and also fertiliser for use in agriculture is essentially that of anaerobic digestion (AD) – a well-established set of procedures and technologies.
The food waste arrives at the plant entirely conventionally in green plastic ‘wheelie bins’ of the sort found in any domestic residence. The bins are unloaded from the delivery vehicles in the central reception building in which the atmosphere is both...
Authorisation progresses on Chinese HPR1000 reactor design for UK
17th November 2017 11:18 am
The Office of Nuclear Regulation is to begin the technical phase of the generic design assessment of the HPR1000 nuclear reactor, which could be built in Essex.
The HPR1000 is a pressurised water reactor (PWR) built and operated by the China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN). A joint venture between EDF and CGN, General Nuclear Services (GNS), is planning to build power stations based on these reactors in the UK, as part of the agreement by which China is co-funding the Hinkley Point C power station in Somerset.
A cutaway of the Hualong-1 reactor design. Image: GNS
All reactor designs in the UK are subject to a generic design assessment (GDA) by the ONR and the Environment Agency, by which regulators assess the safety, security and environmental aspects of the reactor design before the aspects of the design specific to the site are put in place. Phase one of this...
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To All of Our Purposeful, and Creative-People, of Our Globalized-World (s), of -Information (s); -Investigators; -Marketing-Specialists; -Interesting-Detectors; -Supporting-Informants; …:
The meaningful- and ought, of ourselves and -others, of our important-, and provisional-, world (s) of information (s), should and of-quite, henceforth and much, of-quite and thence, to be of forth and-or, of those -meanings, and necessary-mean (s), of-quite and ought, by whom of such, of ourselves and-or, important-others, and provisional-people; and informative- thence; and supporting-people; of our whenceforth; of ourselves and-or; important-people; and provisional- hence; ways of-quite and-or; of much of such or; by those -meanings; of ourselves and -others; of our contemporary- and-or; provisional-means; of-quite and thus; forth of much or; by those -meanings; of ourselves and-or; meaningful-others; and supporting-; of-quite and ought; of our informed-; and meaningful-; henceforth and such; of our provisional-; whenceforth and else; of our supporting-; and informative-way (s); and interesting-mean (s); of-quite and such or; by those -meanings; of ought whenceforts (es); and by those hence; -meanings of much; of ourselves and-or; supporting-influences; and provisional- of-quite; instances and ought; meaningful- thence; and conceptual- of thus; purposes of much; of our necessary-; and of-quite thence; of our contemporary-; and informative-; means of thence or; supporting-ways; and informational-; necessities and quite; informed-principles; and purposeful- thus; information (s) and ought; and informative- thus; of-quite and ought; or of ourselves and-or; meaningful- whence; and supporting-people; of our globalized-; and informed-world (s); and interesting-means; of such measure (s) thence; through and forth. The necessary and-or; meaningful-supports; and of-quite thence; of our informed-mean (s); and contemplative- whence; of focal-meaning (s); of our supporting-; and necessitated-; whenceforth and such; of our productive-; and informative- or; impactful- of-quite; methods of much; and supporting- thus; principles of thence; purposed- of-quite; and-or whenceforth; meaningful- hence; and contemporary- of-quite; conception (s) of else; thenceforth and ought; of ourselves and-or; meaningful-people; of our globalized-; and informed- else; world (s) of information (s); and meaningful- else; and informative-; mean (s) of-quite; and supporting- thence; principles of such; whenceforth and ought; of ourselves and-or; productive- hence; and professional- thus; means of-quite; and impactful-way (s); whenceforth and ought; of our modernized; and philosophized-/multicultural-/multicultured- thence; means of much; and informative-way (s); whenceforth and quite; through and such; in all of our even-ways; thenceforth and ought; of ourselves and -others; of our globalized-; and informed-world (s); of disciplined- whence; and supporting- thus; means of-quite; and provisional- ought; and contemplative-mean (s); whenceforth and else; of our informed-; and of-quite whence; meaningful- of such; agendas and quite; contemporary-ways; and interesting-mean (s); through and forth; hence quite and much; of ourselves and-or; provisional-times; of our lives (fe). The interesting- and thus, contemplative-means, and informed- of-quite, thenceforth and ought, of our informed-, whenceforth and hence, of our supposing-, and informing-mean (s), henceforth and quite, forth and much, thence such of-quite, by those ways, of ourselves and-or, informative- else, meaningful- of-quite, supports and ought, informed -means; and provisional-way (s); and interesting- hence, methods of-quite.
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To All of Our Purposeful, and Creative-People, of Our Globalized-World (s), of -Information (s); -Investigators; -Marketing-Specialists; -Interesting-Detectors; -Supporting-Informants; …:
The meaningful- and ought, of ourselves and -others, of our important-, and provisional-, world (s) of information (s), should and of-quite, henceforth and much, of-quite and thence, to be of forth and-or, of those -meanings, and necessary-mean (s), of-quite and ought, by whom of such, of ourselves and-or, important-others, and provisional-people; and informative- thence; and supporting-people; of our whenceforth; of ourselves and-or; important-people; and provisional- hence; ways of-quite and-or; of much of such or; by those -meanings; of ourselves and -others; of our contemporary- and-or; provisional-means; of-quite and thus; forth of much or; by those -meanings; of ourselves and-or; meaningful-others; and supporting-; of-quite and ought; of our informed-; and meaningful-; henceforth and such; of our provisional-; whenceforth and else; of our supporting-; and informative-way (s); and interesting-mean (s); of-quite and such or; by those -meanings; of ought whenceforts (es); and by those hence; -meanings of much; of ourselves and-or; supporting-influences; and provisional- of-quite; instances and ought; meaningful- thence; and conceptual- of thus; purposes of much; of our necessary-; and of-quite thence; of our contemporary-; and informative-; means of thence or; supporting-ways; and informational-; necessities and quite; informed-principles; and purposeful- thus; information (s) and ought; and informative- thus; of-quite and ought; or of ourselves and-or; meaningful- whence; and supporting-people; of our globalized-; and informed-world (s); and interesting-means; of such measure (s) thence; through and forth. The necessary and-or; meaningful-supports; and of-quite thence; of our informed-mean (s); and contemplative- whence; of focal-meaning (s); of our supporting-; and necessitated-; whenceforth and such; of our productive-; and informative- or; impactful- of-quite; methods of much; and supporting- thus; principles of thence; purposed- of-quite; and-or whenceforth; meaningful- hence; and contemporary- of-quite; conception (s) of else; thenceforth and ought; of ourselves and-or; meaningful-people; of our globalized-; and informed- else; world (s) of information (s); and meaningful- else; and informative-; mean (s) of-quite; and supporting- thence; principles of such; whenceforth and ought; of ourselves and-or; productive- hence; and professional- thus; means of-quite; and impactful-way (s); whenceforth and ought; of our modernized; and philosophized-/multicultural-/multicultured- thence; means of much; and informative-way (s); whenceforth and quite; through and such; in all of our even-ways; thenceforth and ought; of ourselves and -others; of our globalized-; and informed-world (s); of disciplined- whence; and supporting- thus; means of-quite; and provisional- ought; and contemplative-mean (s); whenceforth and else; of our informed-; and of-quite whence; meaningful- of such; agendas and quite; contemporary-ways; and interesting-mean (s); through and forth; hence quite and much; of ourselves and-or; provisional-times; of our lives (fe). The interesting- and thus, contemplative-means, and informed- of-quite, thenceforth and ought, of our informed-, whenceforth and hence, of our supposing-, and informing-mean (s), henceforth and quite, forth and much, thence such of-quite, by those ways, of ourselves and-or, informative- else, meaningful- of-quite, supports and ought, informed -means; and provisional-way (s); and interesting- hence, methods of-quite.
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UK government launches Year of Engineering campaign to inspire next generation of engineers
16th November 2017 11:30 am
The UK government has pledged to work with hundreds of industry partners throughout 2018 to encourage young people and their parents to take a closer look at engineering.
Launched in response to an estimated shortfall of 20,000 engineering graduates a year, and growing reports from industry that the skills shortage is having a significant impact on productivity and growth the so-called “Year of Engineering” hopes to galvanise industry, MPs, parents and teachers in a national push to inspire the next generation of engineers.
Activities will include large-sale outreach programmes, such as a £1 million investment from Shell in the interactive Tomorrow’s Engineers Energy Quest programme for thousands of schoolchildren, a children’s book on engineering from publisher Usborne, and behind the scenes tours for families.
The campaign – which aims to build on existing engagement initiative such as Engineering UK’s Big Bang Fair and the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Ingenious programme, will also highlight the role that individuals can play – from parents helping children with their maths homework or enrolling them in a coding club, to engineers from all backgrounds sharing their experience and advice in schools or via social media.
By bringing young people from all backgrounds face to face with engineering experiences and role models, the campaign aims to showcase the creativity and innovation of engineering careers and widen the pool of young people who consider the profession, diversifying a workforce that is 91 per cent male and 94 per cent white.
Partners including Siemens, the Science Museum Group, Ocado, Usborne, BAE Systems and Crossrail have already pledged their support.
Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said: “Engineering makes a significant contribution to our economy and this government is determined to strengthen it further. To ensure we have a high-skilled economy that is fit for the future, our Industrial Strategy is committed to helping people and...
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New algorithm helps robots avoid collisions with moving objects
15th November 2017 11:02 am
Electrical engineers have developed a faster collision detection algorithm that uses machine learning to help robots avoid moving objects and negotiate rapidly changing environments in real time.
Surgical robotics in Yip’s lab
Developed at the University of California San Diego, the Fastron algorithm is said to run up to eight times faster than existing collision detection algorithms.
The engineers, led by Prof Michael Yip envision Fastron being useful for robots that operate in human environments where they work with moving objects and people fluidly. They are also exploring robot-assisted surgeries using the da Vinci Surgical System. In this scenario, a robotic arm would autonomously perform assistive tasks – such as suction, irrigation or pulling tissue back – without obstructing the surgeon-controlled arms or the patient’s organs.
The team also envisions that Fastron....
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