The pressure on industry to reduce its water usage could not have come at a better time for Clearguard Pty Ltd, which has developed a product to substantially reduce water consumption and improve safety at alumina refineries, pulp mills and other process plants.
The Fremantle-based manufacturer’s Autorodder device, designed by field instrumentation engineers Hans Sauer and Carl Pettersson, uses a mechanical scraper to keep clear tapping points, which allow the measurement of valve pressure in process plants.
The device uses about one fifth of the water currently required to flush out tapping points and is fully automated, unlike the present system which requires an operator to be present.
Following trials of the product in Brazil, Jamaica and Australia over the past five years, Clearguard has found the Autorodder saves about 20 litres of water an hour, according to Mr Sauer.
He said the business had only confirmed the environmental advantages of its product during the past few months.
“We’ve been focusing prior to this on making sure we met our key performance indicators, as far as safety and reliability were concerned,” Mr Sauer said.
The product was originally intended to address Alcoa’s safety concerns with manual clearing, which exposed the operator to potential caustic leaks from equipment.
Mr Sauer said if the device were installed at all four of Western Australia’s alumina refineries, the water savings would be in excess of 1.25 gigalitres a year.
Energy savings would also be substantial, he said, as the Autorodder removed the need for excess water to be heated and evaporated from the refined product.
“With savings in energy, green-house gases and water, return on investment will be measured in months,” Mr Sauer told WA Business News.
“Most companies look for a return on investment in two years or less.”
One of the issues that has limited uptake of the device by industry to date has been cost, with each device valued at $2,500.
However, Mr Sauer said a large installation would reduce the cost per unit significantly.
“If there was a refinery which might require 1,000 units, then absolutely there would be an economy of scale,” he said.
Clearguard holds patents for the Autorodder in Australia, the US, Canada and South Africa.
Mr Sauer said the Autorodder would have applications in platinum, copper and nickel refineries, as well as power stations and paper mills.