Energy and Environment Feature Library

Operations Engineer's library catalogues editorial features going back five years.

Access to all archive material is free to all, including non-members of IPlantE (the Institution of Operations Engineers) or BES (Bureau of Engineer Surveyors), under the umbrella of SOE (Society of Operations Engineers). However, to discover the many benefits of becoming an SOE member, please click here.

01/12/2008 Waste not, want not With legislation, under EC pressure, now forcing reductions in the quantity of municipal and industrial waste that goes to landfill, the relatively simple processes of collecting rubbish and tipping it into holes are having to be replaced ... » Read More

01/12/2008 Pump suction Selecting a pump is always about balancing several factors - for example, the volumes and contents to be pumped, the efficiency required and how frequently the pump will be run. But where space is at a premium, or the cost of changing ... » Read More

01/12/2008 Near zero emissions With the obvious exception of the global economic crisis and its insidious infection now of the ?real economy', recent months, and indeed years, have seen no greater issue than climate change. Governments and organisations around the world ... » Read More

01/12/2008 Breath of fresh air It is not uncommon for organisations to report that up to a third of their total factory energy bill can be attributed to compressed air plant. No surprise then that, with energy prices at record highs, reviews of compressed air systems ... » Read More

01/10/2008 Turning the tide While wind farms, for most of us, are the iconic, if not entirely friendly, face of renewable energy, there's a quiet revolution readying itself for launch on an unsuspecting public. The new talking point will be marine turbines. Not only ... » Read More

01/10/2008 Go easy on energy The oil price might fall below $100 per barrel, taking other energy prices down with it, but it may also climb to $200, according to energy industry insider Mike Brooks of St Omer Consulting. The point: plant managers should be planning ... » Read More

01/10/2008 Fluid thinking According to the Carbon Trust, UK industry spends around £9.5 billion on energy, with at least 40% of that consumed by process heating. 'Using straightforward techniques, between 5% and 10% of this could be saved, reducing spending on ... » Read More

01/08/2008 The energy event The Energy Event What: The Energy Event Where: The National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham When: 10-11 September 2008 How: Go to: www.theenergyevent.co.uk » Read More

01/08/2008 Sellafield special seal Novel wet pipeline sealing and deployment techniques, successfully trialled for the now redundant first-generation nuclear waste treatment and storage plant at Sellafield, will not only prevent hazardous conditions arising on plant, but ... » Read More

01/08/2008 Greener world Most plants have already implemented a wide range of energy-related programmes - from switch-off campaigns to intelligent production scheduling at lower time-tariffs; and from installing energy-efficient equipment to improving maintenance ... » Read More

01/08/2008 Driven world Unless you're heavily involved in project work, chances are your experience of drives, motors and controls is wide - after all, it's bread and butter stuff - but not as wide as it could be. So a quick update would be useful. Especially if ... » Read More

01/06/2008 Building better controls Improved sensors, electronic controls, automation, modern materials - they're all great, but they're not only about developing radical, high tech engineering solutions. Many can also give a huge boost to old, some very simple and ... » Read More

01/04/2008 Spend a little, save a lot Now that we know conventional energy costs aren't likely to fall any time soon, spending what turns out to be relatively little to save a lot has suddenly become much more attractive. All the more so, as engineers and business leaders ... » Read More

01/04/2008 Power to the people We've got a problem with energy generation. We need more capacity and higher efficiencies to cater for unrelenting increases in demand, but we also need to reduce CO2 and other emissions. This at a time when many of our fossil fuel power ... » Read More

01/04/2008 Cheap as CHPs Combined heat and power (CHP) isn't only about CCGT (combined cycle gas turbine) installations that generate hundreds of megawatts. Especially in these times of expensive energy and environmental awareness, all of us need to be considering ... » Read More

01/02/2008 Money for nothing? There's no such thing as a free lunch - and that holds true for green energy generation, too. Even with wind farms, there is the price of the plant, installation, commissioning, operation and maintenance. There are also safety inspections ... » Read More

01/02/2008 Carbon capture The UK is to finance the construction of a 300-400MW coal-fired power station with full carbon capture, and intends to work with China on developing and implementing the technology globally. Why? 'Because coal is still the cheapest and ... » Read More

01/02/2008 Atomic kitten Ever wondered about nuclear submarines and the issues for plant engineers in operational and supporting roles, either onboard or dockside? Andrew Law, specialist in the operational plant support department at Rolls-Royce Nuclear Propulsion ... » Read More

01/12/2007 Taking the air Energy sustainability is one of the hottest topics on the political agenda - closely linked to environmental concerns. Combine these with soaring energy costs and it's no surprise that reducing consumption on plant is right up there for ... » Read More

01/12/2007 Cooling the tube Anyone who travels on London Underground knows that the tube is too hot, particularly on the deeper central area lines. When Transport for London's (TfL) Cooling the Tube programme director Kevin Payne tells you: "We're going to move from ... » Read More

01/12/2007 Beating boiler failure Design and manufacturing requirements for shell boilers are covered by BS2790:1992 and water tube boilers by BS1113:1992, while the recommendations for treatment of water for steam and hot water boilers are detailed in BS2486:1997. So, if ... » Read More

01/10/2007 Passionate about energy Every engineer knows that energy saving is good. It's almost invariably linked with worthwhile emissions savings and there are attractive financial returns. Also, installing new equipment, instrumentation and/or controls usually solves ... » Read More

01/10/2007 Light fantastic With government and regulators calling for industry to consider environmental issues, to drive down energy consumption and to rein-in waste, selecting commercial lighting has become more than just a simple 'cost versus illumination' ... » Read More

01/10/2007 Going underground What keeps London Underground's head of operational engineering awake at night? Top of Maurice Poole's list is the competence of project and maintenance engineering people - across all the professional sectors. That's not just in his own ... » Read More

01/10/2007 Fire for the future It is now possible to improve the efficiency of steam raising boiler systems by 10% and there are cases where fuel bills have been cut by 30%, using technology developed by London-based Autoflame. What's more, although developed for ... » Read More