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GlobalSpec's Plant & Facilities Event — February 10, 2010

Join your peers and leading manufacturers for this free, informative, and interactive ONLINE conference and trade show — right from the convenience of your desktop. Participate in any or all of the educational sessions, network with peers, and meet with manufacturers eager to showcase their latest products, services, and new technology offerings. Learn more about the educational sessions offered to meet your information needs, including:

• The World of Plant & Facilities Engineering
• Rethinking Your Problem Solving
• Ultrasonic Predictive Maintenance Strategies
• Seven Steps to CMMS Success
• EMI Basics: Make Your Plant Data Work for You!
• Power over Ethernet: Motivation, Implementation, and Applications

The burden of monetary penalties levied on U.S. companies in violation of environmental law can be lightened through Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs). Some or all of the penalty monies can finance an agency-approved project with beneficial environmental impact. These include investments in wind energy, water efficiency, sustainability programs, and other initiatives that advance environmental stewardship and benefit communities impacted by the original violation. Environmental Protection offers two case studies illustrating how SEPs offset some of the costs incurred by financial penalties. A water conservation SEP benefitted a healthcare facility while an industrial manufacturer reaped site improvements from a stormwater management SEP.

The Nanolevel from Keller America is designed for use in level measurement applications where full scale ranges are less than 10 ft W.C. The Nanolevel's ceramic capacitive sensor technology is proven to provide excellent resolution and long-term stability in full scale pressure ranges as low as 4 in. of water.

The HYDRA Ammonium or Nitrate Analyzers measure the concentration of dissolved ammonium nitrogen or nitrate nitrogen in water. The NH4 sensor uses three electrodes to determine the ammonium concentration, an Ammonium Ion Electrode, a Potassium Ion Electrode, and a pH electrode; the NO3 sensor uses two, Nitrate and Chloride.

The main function of The Pipe Plug from Taylor Made Plastics is to keep debris, water, mud, or animals out of the pipe, saving the contractor time and money. The plug fits pipe sizes 6 in.-60 in. Each plug has a water tight gasket that keeps the pipe contaminant-free.

Keep your plant clean and sanitary with a Roura self-dumping, recycling, refuse hopper. Place in-plant waste in this covered hopper for easy transfer to outside haulaway containers.

Old tires and waste concrete are diverted from landfills and repurposed as building blocks for environmental construction projects. The 1,800 lb T-Blocks can find service as substitute material for new concrete in wetlands reconstruction, stormwater management, and erosion control. Up to 40 scrap tires are compressed to manufacture each durable block.

For more on this subject, subscribe to GlobalSpec's e-Newsletter, DirectU2 The world of Construction Tools & Equipment.

Municipal solid waste incinerator slag contains a treasure trove of metals that can be economically recovered. A dry recycling process developed in The Netherlands removes contaminants from bottom ash and extracts metal particles down to 1 mm. End-products are non-ferrous metal concentrates, steel scrap concentrates, and mineral aggregates for the construction sector.

Halting the transfer of consumer product-derived nanoparticles from wastewater treatment facilities to the environment requires surfactant. That's the finding of UK scientists observing sludge formation by detergent-coated silica nanoparticles during primary sewage treatment. The solids are then separated and disposed in a controlled manner instead of being discharged with effluent streams.

German engineering has produced a diesel truck engine with barely detectable emission levels. Recirculated exhaust and air injected into the combustion chamber under high pressure provide sufficient oxygen for atomized diesel fuel to burn completely. Practically soot- and nitrogen oxides-free, the engine approaches compliance with more stringent European emission standards pending for 2014.

The Industrial HIME 5-6 range is to be used for heavy industry i.e. paper factories, steel, oil/offshore, plastic, chemical, and sewer industry and for protecting cooling towers, boilers, heat exchangers, chillers, process water lines, etc. The range is used for the larger pipe sizes.

Siemens Water Technologies offers a range of activated carbon products and systems to remove organic and inorganic contaminants to meet your specifications. We feature Westates® activated carbons and pre-engineered, carbon adsorption systems for liquid and vapor phase applications including treatment of groundwater, surface and process water, wastewater, and air/vapor streams. Learn more.

ENCON Evaporators introduces a Zero Liquid Discharge Solution perfect for industrial settings. Once only achievable by the largest companies, ENCON's solution utilizes affordable evaporation technology, making ZLD cost-effective. The ENCON ZLD solution can be implemented in stages. Drastically reduce your wastewater today, completely eliminate it tomorrow. Learn more about the ENCON ZLD Solution here.

Somewhere in America, Siemens has already answered the nation's toughest questions in energy, industry, and healthcare. See how.

Metal-chelating agents produced by soil microbes enhance cadmium biomagnification by plants and bacteria relative to synthetic EDTA. Uptake of both Cd and iron increased in sunflowers supplied with these siderophores. Research conducted in Germany and reported in spectroscopyNOW indicates scope to improve chelator-enhanced phytoremediation with cultured microbial siderophores rather than use of EDTA.

Stabilization of a pulp mill waste disposal site in Brazil illustrates the use of a geocellular confinement system to remedy geotextile-geomembrane interface failure. A sand-infilled, perforated Geoweb drainage cover placed over the geomembrane improved drainage and increased the friction angle. The result has been effective containment of contaminated soils and residues.

The CLASlite software package combines no cost satellite imagery and analytical methods to monitor forest cover. Raw satellite images of dense forest cover are converted into detailed maps for rapid identification of deforestation and other indicators of degradation. CLASlite is now being used by 70 government and academic entities in five nations.

Hatched at MIT, 18 new robofish designed to swim like tuna could be fitted with sensors to monitor water pollution. Fewer than 10 body parts are encased in a molded polymer blend and propelled by a motor and attached cable. The technology is on display in this DiscoveryNews video.

The best underground storage system for wastewater is a structurally strong, corrosion-resistant, watertight vessel that is cost-effective and easy to install. By virtue of its materials and design, a fiberglass wastewater tank is a superior option for the safe, long-term storage and treatment of wastewater.

The Pure Light® is used as a "go"/"no go" indicator for the quality of pure water from purification systems including service exchange DI, reverse osmosis, and distillation.

A recent U.S. survey notes that consumer awareness of electronic waste (e-waste) issues is increasing, with 76% of 1,000 participants stating that recycling is the optimal route for end-of-life management. While 37% felt that electronics recycling should be complimentary, only 10% supported the concept of producer responsibility where the manufacturer pays. Perhaps additional incentives are needed: the average consumer possesses 2.8 pieces of e-waste.

This dandy little sports car is street-legal in Japan, has a top speed of 80 km/h, and is made from wood. The Maniwa is hand-built by wood craftsmen and features a motorcycle-like handlebar steering system. The single front seat is for the driver but two passengers are accommodated on a bench in the back. It costs $44,000 U.S., and you probably wooden want to smoke in it.

Meaningful and Unprecedented?

A preliminary but non-binding agreement was reached by five nations at the UN global warming summit in Copenhagen. Can this accord be viewed as "meaningful and unprecedented"?