We all love it when a plan comes together….

In July 1952 in Arkansas, when President Harry S. Truman dedicated the Bull Shoals dam on the White River, which created Bull Shoals Lake, it, as planned, brought about a boom in tourism – and how.

Perhaps not even the man who said that ‘America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand’ could have envisioned that today, according to The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Bull Shoals’ fishery is worth (annually) an astonishing $705M. And when taking into consideration all the other visitor spending factors such as food, lodging and transportation, that figure rises to an incredible $1.5B each year for Arkansas. The largest lake in The Natural State, with 45,440 acres of water and a 1,000-mile shoreline, Bull Shoals Lake stretches along Arkansas's northern border and into southern Missouri.

Ranked in the Top 5 trout fisheries in the world, the pristine welcoming waters of the White River sit just a stone’s throw away from …….the water and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) at Bull Shoals.

‘Blend in with the local landscape’

Described by Dr David Nixon, the Mayor of Bull Shoals as ‘technologically sophisticated and aesthetically pleasing’, the recently upgraded plant has been very carefully designed to blend in with the local landscape – but for the due diligence and sheer hard work of keeping the old plant (designed for 20 years – but still running after 40) -

in safe working order, the operators of Bull Shoals’ WWTP deserve the highest possible praise for protecting such a hugely important area.

Built in 1976, the original above-ground steel plant, just 30 yards from the precious White River, had, towards the end of its life, begun to resemble more of a rusty patchwork quilt. For all the continuous repatching, reworking and rebuilding, the plant presenting a possibility of failure would have been disastrous.

‘A failure would have been truly devastating’

“Our ecology here is wonderful,” said Bull Shoals’ Mayor, David Nixon. “It is vital that we protect it. A failure would have been truly devastating for the local and regional economy, for who knows how long.”

He added: “We knew we’d reached the time where we had to really push for some funding to bring in a new, modern treatment system – but it is such a credit to Jim Chorba, our Public Works Director, that despite the age and condition of the old plant, it was still giving out great samples. Nursing all that equipment to keep it running; he is a treasure to the City.”

Before any bidding process could begin for a brand-new wastewater treatment facility, The City of Bull Shoals needed to know at the very earliest stage what sort of costs would be involved, so that it could determine what its targets would be for funding.

‘We needed a truly first-class facility’

Mayor David Nixon said: “We knew one thing for certain that here, where our water is the intrinsic element to the wellbeing of so many people, we needed a truly first-class facility. We also needed an upgraded collection system for our sewer system, which has 19 lift stations.”

Independent consulting engineer Mike Marlar P.E. was brought in initially to lend his considerable experience as to what would be the best investment for Bull Shoals.

“After years of managing a very old plant to prevent an escape of raw water, this was a tremendous opportunity to work with the City on a new wastewater treatment facility that would do justice to its surroundings,” said Marlar.

“The new plant needed to be one structure – concrete, so less prone to corrosion than the old steel plant – and unlike the existing tank, mainly below ground, with more sympathetic lighting – because just across the river is one of the most popular campgrounds in Arkansas.”

He added: “Reliability was a must, yet equipment that was also easy to work with and low on maintenance, with room for future expansion, including tertiary filtration downstream of the clarifier and two aeration tracks for redundancy. As well as eliminating any risks, we also wanted to comfortably exceed state discharge limits.”

The two projects - the wastewater treatment facility and the installation of a new collection system for the city’s sewer system were to cost $9.5M (This cost included building a new plant on a tight site, while keeping the old plant running, and then site clearing the old plant).

Mayor David Nixon continued: “We aimed high, but we were confident to tell our engineers and designers to give us their very best. Of course, things took time with funding, but the close proximity of the plant to the White River and its huge importance to the economy meant that we saw generous support from multiple federal agencies.”

In May 2017, voters in Bull Shoals approved a 1-percent sales tax to repay a $3.5M loan awarded to the city by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development division to help fund the new plant. That sales tax will expire as soon as the city repays the loan.

Bull Shoals also received three grants to help construct the wastewater facility:

• $4M from U.S. Department of Agriculture
• $1.4M from the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District
• $500,000 from the Delta Regional Authority.

After much deliberation, homework and recommendations, the City of Bull Shoals chose to invest in an E.A. Aerotor Plant, which quite unlike typical small package plants, incorporates all components of a large scale, extended aeration/complete mix process in conjunction with final clarification. Made by Illiniois-based Lakeside Equipment Corporation (established 1928), the E.A. Aerotor Plant is custom-designed to provide optimum performance at the lowest possible cost with the Closed Loop Reactor (CLR) and Spiraflo Clarifier tailored to meet the specific requirements of Bull Shoals. To save space and reduce installation costs, the equipment was provided – via Lakeside’s agent in North Little Rock, Shupe & Associates – in a common, circular wall design, with the outer loop utilizing the CLR process for extended aeration, while the inner area incorporates the Spiraflo Clarifier for final settling.

Jim Chobra, the Public Works Director for Bull Shoals, who among his many duties, runs the WWTP, said:

“For a treatment plant, right next to the third largest trout river in the U S, we just couldn’t be in a worse position – right where our effluent goes in, so when it came to the new equipment, we went out to other sites to see and hear first-hand about what was out there. We saw two Lakeside units that caught our eye and heard very good reports from the operators.”

He added: “Deactivating the old plant to get the new one online was quite a challenge, with a tight deadline, but the seeding process was very successful. We had wonderful clear water within 24 hours. It works beautifully.”

Mayor David Nixon agreed: “Some said it would take two months for everything to settle, but we had good water in very quick time, which is credit again to Jim Chorba, as well as Lakeside, and the guidance we had from Mike Marlar. We didn’t skip a beat when switching over from the old plant to the new. The first samples just seven days later were well within compliance.”

Lakeside’s E.A. Aerotor Plant actually provides the same treatment results as a stand-alone Closed Loop Reactor Process. Activated sludge can reside in the reactor basin for up to 24 hours in the extended aeration process, followed by continuous clarification using the Spiraflo Clarifier – removing as much as 96% BOD and Suspended Solids - and provide as much as 99% nitrification.

Mike Marlar continued: “When we went online in May 2020, we were, as Mayor Nixon stated, immediately within compliance. I’ve used Lakeside equipment before and really like how their rotors work – the fact that they have very few moving parts – and that you can easily adjust them to increase or decrease the oxygen transfer. It has very simple ease of operation.”

The rotors that Mike Marlar refers to are the Magna Rotors – a vital component of the Lakeside CLR process. These horizontal, bladed rotor aerators provide oxygen and mixing to the basin, providing greater oxygen transfer than any other mechanical surface aerator. Shaft-mounted drives also allow flexibility for speed changes and easy access for maintenance.

The investment in Lakeside’s equipment also included the Spiraflo Clarifier, which minimizes many of the problems associated with center-feed peripheral take-off clarifier hydraulics, such as the Waterfall Effect, which is totally eliminated.

Bull Shoals benefits too now from a Raptor Fine Screen, which combines four processes in one unit (screening, washing, compacting and dewatering). Captured screenings are washed free of most organics to approximately 40 percent solids. Volume is reduced by 50 percent and weight by 67 percent, thereby reducing disposal cost. And to remove inorganic grit from the new treatment plant in a mechanically induced vortex environment, there is the SpiraGrit, which has rotating paddles that maintain the flow velocity in the vortex chamber, keeping organics in suspension while allowing heavier grit to settle on the chamber floor. The settled grit moves across the floor and falls into the lower grit hopper.

For Public Works Director, Jim Chorba, who is one of a team of just two for the plant, his 15-plus years of protecting Bull Shoals continues.

“We are watched closely and heavily at this plant and that’s fine with me”, he says. “I’m a stickler, who likes keeping everything in order, including records. Previously, when we had no redundancy in the old plant, we had to hustle. I won’t miss that. I’m just pleased that the financers understood the magnitude of what we have here and why it is so important. This Lakeside plant works very well.”

‘We chose right with Lakeside’

Mayor David Nixon concluded: “Overall, we now have an outstanding plant.  When we show it to visitors, we don’t expect them to say it, but they comment on how lovely it is! – and they’re right. It’s a tribute to all the work in the design phase that the new plant blends into the point that people aren’t aware of it. It doesn’t even make any noise like the old plant did, so it improves the experience for people enjoying all the many great outdoor activities that people love at Bull Shoals. Even the lighting design means that we have plenty for safe work, but again without being intrusive to the local environment. We chose right with Lakeside and know what a good investment the plant is for the long term. Compared to what we had before, we all sleep much better these days.”

www.lakeside-equipment.com

Metso Outotec’s unique Truck Body is designed to maximize the availability and performance of haul trucks while reducing the costs for service and maintenance. The groundbreaking innovation that combines the benefits of rubber and a high-strength steel structure was launched in 2019 and is well-received by customers. Recently, one of the world’s largest copper mines decided to invest in a Metso Outotec Truck Body. It is the first order globally for a truck with loading capacity of 360 tons and the first in Americas. The customer is looking to increase payload of its trucks while also reducing maintenance.

“We will supply a Truck Body with lower weight and major volume capacity compared to the OEM body. We can prove with objective calculation the benefits the customer is going to receive, such as fuel savings, less maintenance, more uptime, the possibility to increase payload on each hauling, as well as improving the truck body’s life. All these benefits are answering to growing demand for environmental efficiency,” says Alfredo Rios, Business Support Manager, Loading and Hauling, Americas, Metso Outotec.   

Americas to get its first Metso Outotec Truck Body in operation

The Truck Body is part of Metso Outotec’s Planet Positive offering.

Key benefits of Metso Outotec Truck Body:

• Up to 30% lighter than a conventional steel-lined truck body.
• Lower fuel consumption per hauled tonne, less CO₂ emissions.
• The rubber lining lasts up to 300% longer than conventional steel lining, drastically reducing the need for maintenance.
• Modular design makes the lining easier to install and maintain. 
• Noise cut in half; vibrations reduced by up to 97%, which significantly improves the working environment for truck drivers.
• Available for all common truck models.

Find out more about the Metso Outotec Truck Body on our website: www.mogroup.com/portfolio/truck-body/

Metso Outotec is a frontrunner in sustainable technologies, end-to-end solutions and services for the aggregates, minerals processing and metals refining industries globally. By improving our customers’ energy and water efficiency, increasing their productivity, and reducing environmental risks with our product and process expertise, we are the partner for positive change.    

Metso Outotec is committed to limiting global warming to 1.5°C with Science Based Targets. We ranked 8th on the 2021 Global 100 list of the world’s most sustainable companies. 

Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Metso Outotec employs over 15,000 people in more than 50 countries and its sales for 2020 were about EUR 3.9 billion. The company is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki. mogroup.com

Lenzing Group, a leading provider of sustainably produced specialty fibers for the global textile and nonwoven industries, is continuing to make great strides toward achieving carbon neutrality across the Group. The successful completion and commissioning of an air purification and sulfur recovery plant at the Lenzing facility marks another milestone in the Group’s ambitious strategy. Lenzing has invested some EUR 40 mn in this project since construction began in 2019.

Using state-of-the-art technology, the plant will enable carbon emissions to be reduced by 15,000 metric tons at the Lenzing facility. This will also make the group more self-sufficient in securing vital raw materials for processing, which will bolster the site’s competitive standing in terms of sustainability.

“As a result of this investment, Lenzing has made further progress towards implementing its climate targets, while achieving much greater autonomy with regard to one of its core raw materials”, says Christian Skilich, Member of the Managing Board at Lenzing Group.

• New air purification and sulfur recovery plant up and running at the Lenzing facility
• Another step closer to meeting sustainability and climate targets
• Self-sufficiency in raw materials further enhanced

In 2019, Lenzing set the strategic target of halving its group-wide greenhouse gas emissions per ton of product by 2030. Its goal for 2050 is to achieve climate neutrality.

About the Lenzing Group The Lenzing Group stands for ecologically responsible production of specialty fibers made from the renewable raw material wood. As an innovation leader, Lenzing is a partner of global textile and nonwoven manufacturers and drives many new technological developments.

The Lenzing Group’s high-quality fibers form the basis for a variety of textile applications ranging from elegant ladies clothing to versatile denims and high-performance sports clothing. Due to their consistent high quality, their biodegradability and compostability Lenzing fibers are also highly suitable for hygiene products and agricultural applications.

The business model of the Lenzing Group goes far beyond that of a traditional fiber producer. Together with its customers and partners, Lenzing develops innovative products along the value chain, creating added value for consumers. The Lenzing Group strives for the efficient utilization and processing of all raw materials and offers solutions to help redirect the textile sector towards a closed-loop economy. In order to reduce the speed of global warming and to accomplish the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement and the “Green Deal” of the EU Commission, Lenzing has a clear vision: namely to make a zero-carbon future come true.

TENCEL™, VEOCEL™, LENZING™, REFIBRA™, ECOVERO™, LENZING MODAL™, LENZING VISCOSE™, MICROMODAL™ and PROMODAL™ are trademarks of Lenzing AG.

Record copper sales and soaring gold and iron ore prices in the second half of 2020 have helped the Australian state reach its second-highest year of mining value, the latest South Australian government figures show.

Figures published this week by the South Australia Department for Energy and Mining show the state’s mineral resource production for the 2020 calendar year reached AUD$7,059,477,619, up from $6.9 billion in 2019.

It is only the second time the sector has topped $7 billion in a year and is the second-highest year on record behind the $7.312 billion produced in 2014.

The 2020 figure was achieved despite a struggling oil and gas sector that contributed $1.34 billion compared with $1.65 billion in 2019 and $1.9 billion in the record year of 2014.

Bundles of copper being loaded for transport at Olympic Dam in South Australia.

Star improvers in 2020 were gold, which contributed $952.5 million compared to $554 million in 2019 and iron ore $1.23 billion in 2020 up from $907.3 million in 2019 with both metals benefitting significantly by massive price hikes.

Uranium production in 2020 decreased to $521.4 million from $538.7m in 2019.

The slide in oil and gas production value coincided with plummeting oil and gas prices in 2020 as global travel ground to a halt during the pandemic.

However, it is also part of a longer-term trend that shows the value of the sector has declined every six months since the first half of 2019 when it contributed $847.6 million through to the $613.5 million it added in the second half of 2020.

Copper continued to be the state’s largest contributor in 2020 with $2.429 billion worth of production. This included $1.35 billion in the second half of the year, which is the highest six-month copper total in the state’s history and bodes well for another strong year in 2021.

Copper prices jumped by 24 per cent in the second half of 2020 despite the increase in the value of the Australian dollar compared to the US dollar.

The copper price has surged a further 17 per cent in the first four months of 2021 to more than $12,000 per metric tonne in April.

This period has coincided with a 25 per cent increase in copper production at BHP’s Olympic Dam for the nine months to March 2021.

South Australia’s largest copper mine produced 100,000 tonnes of copper in the second half of 2020 and a further 55,000 tonnes in the March quarter this year, the highest quarterly production at Olympic Dam in the past five years.

South Australia’s next largest copper producer, Oz Minerals, also reported significant increases in copper production for the second half of 2020 at its South Australian mines at Prominent Hill and Carrapateena.

This was mainly due to the ramping up of production at Carrapateena, which began commercial operation in late 2019.

Other contributors to the 2020 production figures were opals, $17.1 million (down from $18.46 million in 2019), industrial minerals $277.4  million in 2020 (down from $509.9 million in 2019). Construction materials such as limestone and dolomite were steady at $235 million.

According to figures from the South Australia Chamber of Mining and Energy (SACOME), the state government received $311 million in mining royalties for the 2019/20 financial year, up from $299 million the previous financial year and $207 million in 2015/16.

For configuring time-synchronous infrastructure supporting Private 5G and
O-RAN base station 5G services

Anritsu Corporation has announced an upgraded synchronous measurement function for the company’s Network Master Pro MT1000A, the industry’s smallest- in-class tester supporting mobile networks up to 100 Gbps. Fifth generation (5G) networks are expected to support increasing future numbers of applications and services, such as hi-definition video streaming, autonomous driving, IoT sensing, smart factories, etc. By upgrading this MT1000A test function, Anritsu hopes to facilitate construction of time-synchronous infrastructure, a key technology supporting 5G networks.

New Product Outline

The MU100090B is a GNSS^*1 disciplined oscillator supporting GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, Beidou and QZSS. It receives signals from each of these GNSS to output a UTC-traceable reference time signal as well as 10-MHz signals as a time-synchronous, high-accuracy reference timing supplied to the portable MT1000A, supporting SyncE Wander and PTP tests up to 25 Gbps for measuring network time synchronization.

Furthermore, multiple MT1000A testers at various remote sites can be operated and monitored from the central office using the Site Over Remote Access MX109020A (SORA) software to help quickly pinpoint synchronization problems.

Development Background

Deployment of 5G communications networks is spreading due to the advantages of ultra-high speeds, high reliability, low latency, and multiple simultaneous connections in various scenarios. The millimeter-wave (mmWave) band used by 5G technology employs the TDD^*2 time-division duplexing technology for managing timing of uplink and downlink signals.

This technology requires that the time at all base stations is precisely synchronized, otherwise interference will cause degraded communications quality. Moreover, achieving a “smart” IoT-based society will require cooperation between devices exchanging position information acquired using OTDOA^*3　positioning technology, which is ideal for IoT applications, but high-accuracy position measurement is impossible without high-accuracy time synchronization between base stations.

Base stations can be synchronized using wired-network technologies called SyncE^*4 and PTP^*5, which require both measurement of the network time-synchronization performance when installing and maintaining a cell site, along with guaranteed network performance by the network operator.

Moreover, the O-RAN Alliance^*6, which is a mainstream promoter of base-station multivendor, increasingly requires tests of overall mobile network time-synchronization performance to assure interconnectivity.

Time-synchronization quality is indicated by drift from coordinated universal time (UTC^*7), so precise time-synchronization measurement requires expensive infrastructure to acquire UTC with high accuracy. This can be a challenge at installation and maintenance of many cell sites.

Anritsu has developed many test instruments for measuring the jitter and wander of transport networks since the SDH/SONET era. Adding this new High Performance GNSS Disciplined Oscillator MU100090B to the line of modules for the portable, battery-operated MT1000A will help simplify on-site I&M time-synchronization tests.

About Anritsu

Anritsu Corporation (www.anritsu.com), a global provider of innovative communications test and measurement solutions for 125 years. Anritsu’s “2020 VISION” philosophy engages customers as true partners to help develop wireless, optical, microwave/RF, and digital solutions for R&D, manufacturing, installation, and maintenance applications, as well as multidimensional service assurance solutions for network monitoring and optimization. Anritsu also provides precision microwave/RF components, optical devices, and high-speed electrical devices for communication products and systems. The company develops advanced solutions for 5G, M2M, IoT, as well as other emerging and legacy wireline and wireless communication markets. With offices throughout the world, Anritsu has approximately 3,900 employees in over 90 countries. 

Technical Terms

*1 GNSS

Abbreviation for Global Navigation Satellite System; system of manmade global positioning satellites with GPS as one US-operated GNSS. Other national systems are Galileo operated by Europe, GLONASS operated by Russia, Beidou operated by China, and QZSS operated by Japan.

*2 TDD

Abbreviation for Time Division Duplexing; technology for switching up and down communications signals between network and terminal at fixed interval to improve band usage by sharing same frequency band for both transmission and reception.

*3 OTDOA

Abbreviation for Observed Time Difference of Arrival; method for determining own position using received timing difference for terminals receiving signals simultaneously from multiple satellites. Useful for IoT applications because terminals determine own position without imposing network load.

*4 SyncE

Abbreviation for Synchronous Ethernet technology to improve communications quality; ITU-T standard related to frequency synchronization.

*5 PTP

Abbreviation for Precision Time Protocol; IEEE1588v2 protocol for aligning times between equipment with nanosecond-level time-synchronization precision.

*6 O-RAN Alliance

Standards organization created by network operators and communication equipment vendors; aims to promote multivendors for mobile network equipment and flexible expandability by dividing base stations into RU (Radio Unit）, DU (Distributed Unit), and CU (Centralized Unit) and publishing open standards between interfaces.

*7 UTC

Abbreviation for Coordinated Universal Time

Major global economies are moving away from coal to curb carbon emissions. This has landed Indonesia in a tight spot as thermal power capacity is expected to maintain its dominance in the country during 2021-2030, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. 

GlobalData’s latest report, ‘Indonesia Power Market Outlook to 2030, Update 2021 - Market Trends, Regulations, and Competitive Landscape’, reveals that the thermal power capacity in Indonesia is expected to increase from 59.38 GW (85.6% share in total power capacity in 2020) to 92.53 GW in 2030. During 2021-2030, thermal power generation will be dominated by coal-based electricity generation. 

Pavan Vyakaranam, Practice Head at GlobalData, comments: “In the last two years, Indonesia announced plans to transition away from coal power. The energy ministry even announced that they are considering shutting down aging coal power plants to replace with renewable power plants. However, with no nuclear power capacity and minimal hydropower capacity, a rapid transitioning from dominant thermal power to renewable power threaten the energy security of the country.” 

The growth of renewable power in Indonesia is still in its infancy. In 2000, renewable power capacity in Indonesia stood at 1.3 GW, which increased to 4.3 GW in 2020. Renewable power capacity is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.5% to reach 14.9 GW in 2030. The country is expected to produce 62.2 TWh of its electricity from renewable sources in 2030, which will only be around 13% of the total power generation in the country.

Mr Vyakaranam concludes: “Indonesia has a significant potential for renewable power development. However, compared to other Asia-Pacific (APAC) countries Indonesia lags in renewable energy development. One of the prominent factors is the absence of decisive renewable energy policy and over-regulation with respect to foreign investment.”

• Comments provided by Pavan Vyakaranam, Practice Head at GlobalData
• Information based on GlobalData’s report Indonesia Power Market Outlook to 2030, Update 2021 - Market Trends, Regulations, and Competitive Landscape

About GlobalData 

4,000 of the world’s largest companies, including over 70% of FTSE 100 and 60% of Fortune 100 companies, make more timely and better business decisions thanks to GlobalData’s unique data, expert analysis and innovative solutions, all in one platform. GlobalData’s mission is to help our clients decode the future to be more successful and innovative across a range of industries, including the healthcare, consumer, retail, technology, energy, financial and professional services sectors.

ANDRITZ has received an order from Pratrivero s.p.a. to supply a new eXcelle batt forming line for their production facilities in Valdilana, Italy.

The line will be dedicated to the production of Maliwatt products, used in furnishing, automotive, naval, medical, geotextiles, advertising, clothing, and packaging applications. Installation and start-up are scheduled for the third quarter of 2021.

The ANDRITZ batt forming line includes an eXcelle card and eXcelle crosslapper, a ProDyn™ web profiling correction system as well as a scanning gauge with a closed loop. The ProDyn system combines actions from the card doffers with dynamic speed variation at the crosslapper. This will result in substantial fiber savings and reduction in CV%, providing improved weight evenness in the final product. The ProDyn closed loop will ensure the best possible self-regulation for the equipment and thus enable Pratrivero to produce one of the best product qualities on the market. Pratrivero will be the world’s first company to use the ProDyn technology in the Maliwatt stitchbonding process.

ANDRITZ eXcelle card © ANDRITZ

Stitchbond is a nonwoven process made by mechanically interlocking fiber webs with continuous filaments, thus imitating textiles. Stitchbonded products are used in many applications due to their lower production costs compared to woven textiles. Among all the different nonwoven processes in which it operates, ANDRITZ is also a market-leading supplier of batt forming equipment for the stitchbonding processes producing Maliwatt, Malivlies and quilting.

Pratrivero has trusted in ANDRITZ once again because of its reputation regarding process expertise and high level of carding and crosslapping technology involved. The company already operates several ANDRITZ eXcelle batt forming units.

Pratrivero is an important player in the production of nonwoven fabrics using stitchbonding technology. The company has several plants in Italy and the USA, producing different types of stitchbonded products. The centuries-old tradition of the Italian company, founded in 1663, combined with modern technology has enabled Pratrivero to bring stitchbonding to a high-end quality level with unique characteristics.

ANDRITZ GROUP International technology group ANDRITZ offers a broad portfolio of innovative plants, equipment, systems and services for the pulp and paper industry, the hydropower sector, the metals processing and forming industry, pumps, solid/liquid separation in the municipal and industrial sectors, as well as animal feed and biomass pelleting. Plants for power generation, flue gas cleaning, recycling, and the production of nonwovens and panelboard complete the global product and service offering. Innovative products and services in the industrial digitalization sector are offered under the brand name Metris and help customers to make their plants more user-friendly, efficient and profitable. The publicly listed group has around 26,950 employees and more than 280 locations in over 40 countries.

Metso Outotec is introducing a comprehensive eScrap solutions portfolio for the smelting and refining of e-scrap derived from Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). The solutions portfolio consists of Metso Outotec’s proven smelting, refining, hydrometallurgy, and gas-cleaning technologies, all contributing to the safe and profitable recycling of e-scrap.

E-scrap, consisting of printed circuit boards and electronic devices containing copper, gold, and other valuable metals, is one of the fastest growing waste streams worldwide. Rapid technological development, especially in information technology, is one of the drivers for this change. Combined with the depletion of primary raw materials and the increasing complexity of e-scrap, the need for safe and environmentally friendly recycling and reuse of these valuable raw materials is of paramount importance.

It all starts from metallurgy

Metso Outotec’s sustainable eScrap solutions portfolio consists of complete process solutions and proprietary equipment to solve any e-scrap smelting challenge. The highly automated smelting solutions, complemented with highly efficient gas cleaning and wastewater treatment, comply with the strictest environmental regulations. Zero water discharge can also be provided as an option. The solutions are supported with in-house pilot testing and process modeling and are backed by process guarantees and advisory services.

“Process design for optimal efficiency, emissions control, and minimized energy use always starts from metallurgy – you need to understand the variability in the feed materials. At Metso Outotec, we have decades of technical expertise in dealing with diverse raw materials. Thanks to our state-of-the-art testing capabilities and proven references, we can provide an optimal process solution with high recovery and availability for a wide variety of secondary raw materials – all the way to the refined metal product,” says Lauri Närhi, Sales Director, Smelting at Metso Outotec.

“By helping to turn waste into valuable metals, our solutions help to take advantage of the exciting new opportunities being created now for the circular economy of today and the future. Metso Outotec is committed to the 1.5 °C journey in line with the Paris Agreement, and Planet Positive thinking is inherent in our eScrap offering.”

The Metso Outotec eScrap solutions offering consists of the following plant products:

• Ausmelt TSL® process
• Kaldo TBRC process
• Gas Cleaning Plant
• Electric Slag Cleaning Furnace
• Peirce Smith Converting process
• Fire Refining process
• Anode Casting Shop
• Electrorefining
• Electrowinning
• Precious Metals Plant
• Process Water Recycling Plant

Discover more about our eScrap offering at mogroup.com.

Metso Outotec is a frontrunner in sustainable technologies, end-to-end solutions and services for the aggregates, minerals processing and metals refining industries globally. By improving our customers’ energy and water efficiency, increasing their productivity, and reducing environmental risks with our product and process expertise, we are the partner for positive change.  

Metso Outotec is committed to limiting global warming to 1.5°C with Science Based Targets. We ranked 8th on the 2021 Global 100 list of the world’s most sustainable companies.

Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Metso Outotec employs over 15,000 people in more than 50 countries and its sales for 2020 were about EUR 3.9 billion. The company is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki. mogroup.com

Many companies digitalise their technical information and training courses in order to enhance the customer experience and strengthen aftermarket business. When Sandvik’s division, Stationary Crushing & Screening, wanted to take that step, it chose Semcon to carry out the analysis for the digitalisation of product information and training courses.

Sandvik’s division, Stationary Crushing & Screening, manufactures machines for stone crushing. These are large and complex machines that require a lot of technical information and training for their correct use and maintenance. 

“By digitalising the technical information and developing digital training solutions, we can modernise and enhance the experience for both customers and service technicians. This will make it easier for users to access information, as well as streamline the entire service chain, which contributes to a strengthened aftermarket”, says Lars Löfgren, Business Development Manager at Semcon. 

Roadmap shows the way forward
Semcon has teamed up with Sandvik in a joint project to conduct a feasibility study aimed at showing how to add value through digitalised product information by optimising the aftermarket business and meeting the needs of different end users. A “roadmap”  has also been developed, describing how to design and implement a strategy that will take the company from its current state to its desired state.

The objective of digitalising the product information is to support the digital transformation of Sandvik’s division, Stationary Crushing & Screening, and thereby strengthen the aftermarket business, enhance the experience for different users, and at the same time increase cost efficiency by creating and maintaining technical information and training courses. One example of this is the re-use of information between technical information and training courses.  

“We chose Semcon on the basis of its broad experience from previous projects with relevant customers in the area of Learning and Content Development. Semcon has been responsive to our needs, has had a very good project structure, as well as close cooperation with us throughout the process. This has been the key to our mutual success”, says Anella Persic Antius, Life Cycle Support Manager for Division, Stationary Crushing & Screening, at Sandvik. 

Semcon has provided experts in project management, product information strategy, information architecture, learning and UI (User Interface) to participate in the project.

Read more about Semcon’s offering in the digitalisation of product information.

Semcon is an international technology company. We turn technology into excellent user experiences by combining digital edge and engineering expertise. With diverse multi-disciplinary teams we add new perspectives creating sustainable and competitive businesses. Regardless if you aim to recharge a current product or service, reinvent new technology or reimagine future needs, our focus is always on human needs and behaviour in order to develop solutions with the clearest benefits to people and our planet. By combining our 40 years of advanced engineering, strategic innovation, digital services and product information solutions, we drive transformation in a wide range of industries with more than 2,000 dedicated employees based in seven different countries. Read more on semcon.com

Doosan Lentjes is pleased to announce that it was selected to supply key grate and boiler technology for the new waste-to-energy facility in Warsaw, Poland. The contract includes the engineering, procurement, and delivery of the equipment as well as advisory services for construction, commissioning, and acceptance test.

As a key subcontractor to POSCO Engineering & Construction Co, Ltd of South Korea, Doosan Lentjes will deliver a complete boiler island including SNCR (selective non-catalytic reduction) to the new Warsaw facility. Doosan Lentjes will apply its proven air-cooled reciprocating grate and a horizontal-type steam generator.

The new plant will consist of two lines that nominally process a total of 265,200 tonnes of municipal solid waste per year and will make a decisive contribution to improving the local disposal infrastructure.

“This latest success is further proof that Doosan Lentjes' technology is in demand on the Polish market”, says Rafal Psik, Director at Doosan's Katowice office. “The construction of the incineration plant in Olsztyn was also awarded to a consortium of Doosan Lentjes and parent company Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction last year. With POSCO Engineering & Construction, we already successfully built the Krakow plant about eight years ago, which has been reliably thermally treating the residual waste of more than 750.000 local citizens ever since. Doosan Lentjes will use this extensive experience gained in previous projects for the benefit of the final customer, the Warsaw waste handling company MPO.”

After completion, expected in 2024, approximately 1/3 of the installed combustion capacity in Poland will be secured with Doosan Lentjes technology. The plants will support Polish efforts to comply with EU requirements for sustainable waste management. According to the European waste hierarchy, thermal recovery is given priority over simple landfilling. Feeding non-recyclable waste into the incineration process allows a reduction of the required landfill capacities and at the same time harnesses the energetic potential of the waste. In addition, valuable materials can be recovered from the incineration ash, which can be used for, e.g., road construction. When completed, the new waste incineration plant in the Polish capital will be the largest of its kind in the country.

Doosan Lentjes is a specialist in the delivery of proven and reliable waste-to-energy technology, converting millions of tonnes of waste into valuable energy every year. This helps customers all over the world reduce their waste volumes and simultaneously provide a sustainable energy source.