~ Three equipment upgrades for agility and efficiency ~

In July 2020, the Met Office reported that most UK water companies have seen an increase in average water consumption during lockdown, especially those operating in suburban areas. It’s clear that COVID-19 measures around the world have resulted in societal changes that are directly impacting when and how much water people are consuming. So, how do water companies prepare for an unexpected surge or drop in demand? Here, Marek Lukaszczyk, European and Middle East marketing manager at WEG a leading global manufacturer of motors and drives, explores three equipment upgrades that water companies can make, which will increase their agility and efficiency.

The United Nations World Water Development Report 2020, states that global water usage has increased by a factor of six over the past 100 years. Climate change is undoubtedly a longstanding consideration for water management, but low rainfall, high population density and intensive agricultural or industrial activity may also result in sustainability issues — without throwing a global pandemic into the mix.

Faced with these challenges and aging infrastructure, the European water industry is focussing on rejuvenating its existing assets, building resilient systems, and improving operational and energy efficiency. So where should a water company start in implementing system upgrades?

The totex based approach for the water industry

Firstly, it’s important to build an effective strategy. The totex (total expenditure) approach continues to reshape the water industry. This framework considers total cost throughout the lifecycle of a project, allowing water companies to be assessed against long-term outcome measures. In addition to cutting costs, the framework looks to provide better value to consumers, achieve better efficiency management and operational efficiency. Predictability is therefore high on the optimisation agenda, through close integration and collaboration with manufacturers at the design stage.

Cutting down wastage

Waste, in the form of unnecessary energy usage or pesky pipe leaks, can be a real problem, affecting a water company’s maximum output. According to the International Energy Agency, a quarter of the electricity consumed by the water sector is for wastewater collection and treatment. For this reason, it is especially important that companies operating in this space consider investing in energy efficient technologies. Reducing energy wastage not only offers environmental and cost saving benefits, but also allows businesses to commit more resources to meet changing demands.

Opting for an energy efficient motor that conforms to IE4 and IE5 standards is a good place to start, but it’s also important to ensure the motor is matched to the load. For example, at a water pump station in Surrey, UK, WEG supplied three 900kW W50 IE4 super premium efficiency motors with IP55 protection, operating at 96.9 percent efficiency. With new pump impellers, gearboxes, drives and the WEG motors, the facility was upgraded from its existing 400 mega litres per day capacity to 750 mega litres per day, with an efficiency increase from 80 percent to 86 percent.

Water treatment

Condition monitoring

To ensure that motors are running optimally, water plant managers can retrofit sensors. By using smart technology such as Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) data, water companies can monitor their assets and processes in real-time, allowing them to ensure that their systems are performing optimally and respond quickly to unexpected events.

Key metrics such as vibration and temperature changes can be early indicators of more serious system faults. This predictive maintenance approach reduces the risk of downtime and consumer disruption.

Using a variable speed drive (VSD)

Pumps consume a large proportion of the energy usage of electric motors. Upgrading to a VSD instead of a fixed speed motor allows companies to account for varying process load. A VSD can automatically control the speed of the motor and rapidly respond to the required demand. This also allows for a more efficient operation, instead of continually operating at a water flow designed for maximum demand of the system.

Going one step further, companies can invest in sophisticated process control software, such as WEG’s Pump Genius. This built-in VSD software enables engineers to increase their process accuracy and protection, while offering system monitoring. The software, allows one VSD to control up to five pumps, monitoring the operating hours and adding and subtracting pumps as demand changes. Automatic broken pipe detection in the VSD can also identify fluid leakage and adjusts motor performance accordingly.

To facilitate the successful implementation of equipment upgrades in the water industry, it’s important to have strong partnerships with reliable equipment manufacturers. By implementing the totex framework, intelligent design decision making can be achieved, which will give water companies of all types, added flexibility, better performance and superior cost savings.

For further information about WEG’s energy efficient motors, VSD’s and pump genius systems for the water industry, visit the website

About WEG: Founded in 1961, WEG is a global manufacturer of electrical and mechanical equipment for industrial sectors across all continents. With manufacturing units in 12 countries and present in more than 135 countries, the company has more than 31,000 employees worldwide with net revenue of over R$13.3 billion in 2019.

Offering energy efficient solutions across all sectors including water, steel, pulp and paper, oil and gas, mining, among many others, WEG is constantly developing solutions to meet the major trends in energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainability and electric mobility.  For more information, visit www.weg.net

Ref: WEG024/06/20

Goodfellow is pleased to announce the addition of six chemical compounds for use in Li-ion batteries. Each of these materials offers something different in terms of the variables associated with Li-ion batteries, such as energy density, potential safety, cost, recharging time, cycle life, scalability, etc. Customers are encouraged to contact a member of the Goodfellow technical team to discuss specific application requirements.
 
A lithium-ion battery consists of a cathode (positive electrode), an anode (negative electrode), and an electrolyte (used as a conductor) with a charge-discharge cycle.

Li-ion battery technology

Cathode materials*

LiCoO₂    Lithium Cobalt Oxide                       
As one of the most common oxide cathode materials for traditional Li-ion batteries, LiCoO₂ (LCO) is also under consideration for use in all solid-state batteries.       
 
LiMn₂O₄       Lithium Manganese Oxide       
The spinel lithium manganese oxide (LiMn₂O₄ or LMO) is an exceptional cathode material for aqueous and organic lithium-ion batteries due to its low cost, environmental friendliness and suitable potential capabilities.
                             
LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄   Lithium Nickel Manganese Oxide (LNMO)              
Lithium nickel manganese oxides are promising, being nontoxic while having high thermal stability. They currently are attracting attention as alternative cathode electrode materials to the commercial LiCoO₂ electrode.

Anode materials*

Li₄Ti₅O₁₂   Lithium Titanium Oxide
LTO (Li₄Ti₅O₁₂) has been highlighted as anode material for next-generation lithium ion secondary batteries due to advantages such as a high rate capability, excellent cyclic performance, and safety.
 
Solid electrolytes*

Li₇La₃Zr₂O₁₂      Lithium Lanthanum Zirconium Oxide (LLZO)          
Solid-state electrolyte lithium lanthanum zirconium oxide garnet (LLZO) has attracted a great deal of attention due to its high room temperature conductivity of lithium ions and stability against lithium metal electrodes.
 
Li₄SiO₄   Lithium Orthosilicate                            
This is a solid-state electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries and specifically for the production of solid-state thin film batteries (TFB).
 
Other products available from Goodfellow which can be used in lithium batteries

Li₃PO₄    Lithium Phosphate – a thin film solid electrolyte material known as LiPON used in thin film lithium batteries (TFB).          
Copper foils (as current collectors), nickel foils, cobalt foils, aluminium foils (battery slurry)
Graphite – for negative electrodes
Silicone elastomer in any form
PVDF films – used as binders, depending on the battery

*Available as sputtering targets, or in powder form upon request.
 
About Goodfellow
For more than 50 years, Goodfellow has been a leading supplier of metals, polymers, ceramics and other materials to meet the needs of science and industry worldwide. The company specialises in supplying small quantities (a few grams to a few kilos) of metals and materials for research, prototype development and specialised manufacturing applications. Standard products can be found online at the comprehensive Goodfellow Catalogue. Custom products and materials in larger quantities are available upon request at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Goodfellow Cambridge Limited
Ermine Business Park, Huntingdon, PE29 6WR, UK
Telephone: +44 1480 424800      Fax: +44 1480 424900
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   Web: www.goodfellow.com

Logistics specialist, the Rhenus Group, has invested in its automotive offering, with the launch of its Full Vehicle Logistics department in the UK to further meet the needs of its automotive customers worldwide.

The Rhenus Group, which has a longstanding history working across the automotive sector, has expanded its in-house capabilities to offer customers a full range of logistics services under one provider.

To date, Rhenus UK has largely supported the automotive sector with the transportation of vehicle parts and sub-assembly projects, with the support of its automotive competence centres across Europe. With the introduction of Full Vehicle Logistics, it has increased its capabilities to work on additional specialist automotive movements, from transporting one-of-a-kind prototypes through to managing full customs clearance for individual vehicle shipments across the globe.

The latest shipment from the Rhenus Full Vehicle Logistics team was a Bugatti Divo, valued at £5m and one of only 40 models produced.

The Full Vehicle Logistics team focuses on servicing three key customer groups - individuals, dealerships and OEMs.

Spencer Davern, Air & Ocean director at Rhenus UK, commented: “The launch of Full Vehicle Logistics allows Rhenus to further expand its automotive offering and focus on the movement of complete cars via air, ocean or road. The fact we have invested in a new department during these unprecedented times is a testament to our dedication to the automotive sector. As we head towards the completion of Brexit, it is going to be more beneficial than ever for businesses to keep their transportation needs under one roof, with a provider that can deliver complete support from start to finish, including customs clearance.

“I’m proud to be working with such a talented team and look forward to completing many more high security, high profile and high value movements.”

For more information on Rhenus visit https://www.rhenus.com/en/uk/

About Rhenus
The Rhenus Group is a leading logistics service provider with global business operations and an annual turnover of EUR 5.5 billion. Rhenus has business sites at 750 locations worldwide and employs 33,000 people. The Rhenus Group provides solutions for a wide variety of different sectors along the complete supply chain; they include multimodal transport operations, warehousing, customs clearance as well as innovative value-added services.

Industry-leading technology to manage, connect and optimize heat trace systems

Thermon Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:THR) (“Thermon”), a global leader in industrial process heating, announces the Genesis™ Network, a new solution providing site-wide operational awareness and supervisory control of heat trace systems.

With the Thermon Genesis Network, users save maintenance hours, increase up-time, and can make upgrades and changes with greater flexibility. Users can easily monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot even the largest heat trace systems that may include over 10,000 heat trace circuits. The Genesis Network connects heat trace controllers with the control room using wireless communications. The solution presents alarms, history, and operational data via a user-friendly, browser-based interface accessible from any network connected computer or mobile tablet. Utilizing an adaptive, self-healing wireless mesh network and event-driven communications, users experience reliable, real-time status reporting and responsive control of their heat trace systems.

“We are excited to introduce the Genesis Network, a step forward to the true industrial internet of things (IIoT) for our customers and our industry. Like the Genesis Controller, the Genesis Network delivers a smart, fully-connected experience that is easy to learn and use. Thermon is bringing the best of high tech to our industry. We look forward to helping customers safely increase efficiency, reduce maintenance time, and optimize operations with this solution,” said David Buntin, Senior Vice-President, Thermon Heat Tracing.

The following new components work together to form a Genesis Network: 

• ·Genesis Server- An on-premises or cloud deployable server
• ·Genesis Gateway- A communications device between the server and wireless mesh
• ·Genesis Bridge – A communications device between the mesh and heat trace controllers

Streamlined Maintenance and Operations

Maintenance personnel need timely and complete awareness of the trace heating system to prevent downtime and optimize operations. They also require information at their fingertips to troubleshoot issues quickly and accurately. The Genesis Network answers these challenges by delivering alarm management, setting optimization, historical analysis and operational reporting. The solution can save hundreds of man-hours through the use of historical data to optimize settings and accurately flag outlier behaviors while avoiding nuisance alarms, resulting in fewer maintenance hours. The Genesis Network also saves time by filtering and prioritizing alarms and generating reports with the right information to make efficient decisions.

IIOT Advantage

The Genesis Network is architected as a true IIOT (industrial internet-of-things) solution. An intuitive browser-based user interface gives users quick access for performing alarm management, report generation, data trending, and performance optimization of heat trace circuits while on-the-go from any network-connected laptop or mobile tablet with a browser. Adding or changing devices is a simple drag-and-drop activity. Software updates to the network can also be deployed to all devices via the browser interface making the roll out of new features simple, increasing the value of the solution over time. The solution brings the best of IIOT technology to our customers.

Security

Designed with security in mind, from data encryption and authentication to secure updates, operational leaders can deploy the Genesis Network with peace of mind. In applications where wireless communications are prohibited, the network can be configured using a traditional wired solution.

The Genesis Network is an industry leading IIoT solution that streamlines maintenance operations by providing operational awareness, management and supervisory control of heat trace systems. To inquire about the new system, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or visit www.thermon.com.

About Thermon

Through its global network, Thermon provides safe, reliable and mission critical industrial process heating solutions. Thermon specializes in providing complete flow assurance, process heating, temperature maintenance, freeze protection and environmental monitoring solutions. Thermon is headquartered in Austin, Texas. For more information, please visit www.thermon.com.