A real banana republic? From trunks to boards?
Papyrus Australia (ASX:PPY) has secured a site in north Queensland for the construction of the world’s first commercial manufacturing facility using its proprietary technology, which converts banana tree trunks into timber, board and paper products. The company’s focus over the last 12 years has been on engineering the required technology, which it has done from its HQ in Adelaide using research samples of banana tree waste trucked from Queensland.
Its first field version of the technology will now be built next to the source of raw materials at the Mt Uncle Plantation, near Mareeba on the Atherton Tableland west of Cairns. The facility will act as a working demonstration plant for the company, which aims to spread its process through the global banana industry by licensing the patented technology to other operators.
The technology is scaleable, but maximum throughput for a single facility is around 20,000 tonnes per year. About 200 hectares of banana plantation is all that is needed to produce that volume of waste material in Queensland, where Lady Finger banana plants can grow a 6 metre trunk each year.
There are some 10,000 hectares of land under banana plantation in Australia, while the global industry spans more than 10 million hectares across 160 countries – making the raw material infeeds a readily available, renewable resource.
The Papyrus (http://papyrus.deadline.net.au/aspx/technology_overview.aspx) produces a range of timber, board and paper products that are directly substitutable for many products currently manufactured using forest based resources. The process uses little energy, no chemicals and produces water. Production is expected from March 2009. Sourced from www.EnvironmentalMangementNews.net
Scrap stealers could be caught dot-handed
THE GLOBAL epidemic of metal theft could soon be halted by the Australian technology known as ‘micro-dotting’ which allows authorities to identify each piece of metal even if it has been altered. According to the Australian Metal Recycling Industry Association, (www.amria.com.au) thieves were stealing copper from taps, cabling, tubing, spouting, and cemeteries, exploiting the high commodity prices. On 29 July 2008, thieves cut power at a vacant Mt Waverley factory before stealing more than $10,000 in copper cabling from walls and roofing. According to authorities, thefts are becoming more professional.
Tracking the stolen metal has traditionally been thwarted because it is hard to identify once it is bent or melted. The scrap industry says micro-dotting, created by Australian company DataDot (http://www.datadotdna.com/ ), involves applying thousands of tiny polymeric or metallic discs to the metal. Each of these discs is inscribed with an identification number. These dots are extremely difficult to remove when applied, and they permanently mark the original identity of the metal part. Originally used to track car parts, micro-dotting could be applied to scrap metal in the face of rising theft. Sourced from http://www.metalworker.com.au
Going from Drinking to Driving
Sugar company CSR is to spend $17.8 million to upgrade its Sarina ethanol distillery and increase production capacity fuel grade ethanol. The upgrade will see it phase out its 22ML a year of industrial/beverage grade ethanol from the distillery in favour of 100% fuel grade ethanol. It will produce 60ML a year of the fuel additive, supplying industrial and beverage customers through other sources.
Skiiing on sewage!
After years in the making, this week Victoria’s Mt Buller ski resort has passed a milestone, making snow for the first time by using recycled water from its Water Reuse system. With Australia’s lucrative skiing industry under threat from climate change, the resort is looking to safeguard itself against the possibility of less natural snow. The $3.43 million reuse system was officially launched last winter, and has since undergone rigorous testing to ensure its outputs satisfy the stringent standards of the Department of Human Services and EPA.
Having passed all tests, the resort says it has now been able to capitalise on the colder winter conditions and use this water to produce snow for Mt Buller’s ski field area.
“Mt Buller understands that it must act now to mitigate the effects of climate change,” says Phil Nunn, CEO of the Mt Buller and Mt Stirling Alpine Resort Management Board. “To ensure the longevity of the winter season and provide a more consistent level of snow coverage on the resort’s most popular runs, it is essential that we have a large enough water supply to support extensive snowmaking, which is exactly what this project has afforded us. It has taken several years to see this initiative through from concept to implementation, so it is very satisfying to finally see snow made from our recycled water hit the slopes.”
The Water Reuse infrastructure uses a disinfection system of UV irradiation, chlorination and ultrafiltration to purify municipal wastewater and produce up to 2ML of Class A water a day. The level of treatment the new facility provides will also improve the quality of run-off entering Mt Buller’s surrounding waterways.
The system will be monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to ensure it produces a safe and consistent quality of water. It is also fitted with a fail-safe devise that means if anything within the system malfunctions, it automatically stops all operations to eliminate the possibility of untreated water being pumped into the snowmaking dam.
“The man-made snow that is being produced today looks exactly the same as any other snow,” said Nunn. “It is the same colour and if it was to be ingested, it would not have any health implications. However, just like natural snow, eating snow is not recommended.”
Sourced from www.EnvironmentalManagementNews.net
An elderly robotic skeleton?
Finding ways to assist and care for the growing elderly population in many developed countries is a growing problem. One challenge is to work out how to improve the strength and utility of ageing limbs.
Yoshiyuki Sankai at the University of Tsukuba near Tokyo, has developed an exoskeleton for a single arm that can do just that.
The device consists of a tabard worn over the shoulders with a motorised exoskeleton for one arm attached. The exoskeleton senses the angle, torque and nerve impulses in the arm and then assists the user to move his or her shoulder and elbow joints accordingly. From www.newscientist.com news service as supplied by Glen Moore, Director of Wollongong Science Centre and Planetarium (http://sciencecentre.uow.edu.au)
In Case you missed these events as reported last week …..
At the 2008 Sutherland Shire Annual Business Conference, coinciding with Small Business September, be inspired by great motivational speakers, hear some practical business advice, gain insight from business case studies, learn about the Champion Mindset from seven-time women’s world marathon swimming champion, Shelley Taylor-Smith, and take advantage of fantastic networking opportunities.
It is all happening on Wednesday 3 September 2008, from 7.30am - 1.30pm at Tradies (Sutherland District Trade Union Club), Gymea. Cost is $50 (including GST) and includes refreshments and lunch. Make your bookings by calling 9710 0155 or emailing bizconference@ssc.nsw.gov.au . More information at www.shirebusiness.com.au
Young BizStar Competition 2008: Will a business support package worth over $6,000 attract you? If you’ve got a winning business idea then get an entry in to the Young BizStar Competition 2008. The Competition’s three categories are:
• Light-Bulb – a new business idea
• Start-Up – businesses operating for one year or less
• Regional – regionally based entrants automatically enter this category
To enter, you must be aged 18 to 35 as at 18 September 2008, have a marketable business idea and/or be in the first year of running a business. You must also be a resident of NSW. Finalists get to pitch their business idea to a panel of experts on 18 September in Sydney. For further information and to download an application form visit www.bizstar.business.nsw.gov.au Applications close at 5.00pm on 22 August 2008.
The Young BizStar Competition 2008 is supported with prizes from the NSW Department of State and Regional Development, the Australian Small Scale Offerings Board, and Australia Post.
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