Sustainable Water Management in the Face of Climate Change

Lighthouse project for energy-efficient irrigation system with durable and robust SIMONA PE 100-RC Line pressure pipes

Climate change is associated with extreme weather conditions such as heat waves and droughts. Such events also have an impact on agriculture: the proliferation of droughts causes severe soil damage and crop failures. Against this backdrop, innovative solutions in support of the economical and efficient supply of water for the cultivation of arable land are being welcomed with open arms at a political level. The Ministry of the Environment, Nature and Transport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia recently funded the “Bedburg-Pütz Irrigation Project” with up to 5.6 million euros. The sprinkler system featuring optimised irrigation management is intended to provide sufficient water for the fields, especially in dry summer periods, and thus ensure good harvests. Environmentally friendly installation as well as the durable and robust properties of the underground piping system are as essential to the overall concept as the irrigation technology itself. Hard-wearing PE 100-RC Line pressure pipes engineered by SIMONA were the natural choice. They were laid by IFK GmbH using the cost-effective and minimally invasive ploughing method.

Potatoes, carrots, onions and the like – even field vegetables tend to “feel the heat” in summer. What may seem innocuous actually turns out to be a significant threat to food cultivation. As a result of climate change, with ever warmer and longer-lasting hot spells, the soil is drying out and crops are facing the challenge of water shortage. As a consequence, harvests may be significantly impaired or crops may fail entirely. With this in mind, farmers from North Rhine-Westphalia have recently joined forces to form a public association aimed at implementing an efficient irrigation system for their fields, featuring optimised control and watering technology.

Comprehensive, cross-regional distribution of water

The project in Bedburg-Pütz represents a modern approach to climate change adaptation. Thanks to optimised irrigation management and improved distribution technology, the irrigation system supplies the fields in the Bedburg region with water throughout the year in a manner that is both economical and efficient. This also includes the area surrounding the Garzweiler open-pit lignite mine. In the context of open-pit mine dewatering, the groundwater was removed down to a depth of 260 metres by means of pumps. Irrigating the above-mentioned crops with the help of the public water network, availability of which remains limited, would be challenging and extremely expensive. With this in mind, the water needed for irrigation is to be pumped from the southern section of the 2,400-hectare association-managed area in Bedburg to the open-pit mine in the north via a network of water pipes spanning a length of approximately 20 kilometres. During dry periods, therefore, water supply is assured not only for crops grown in Bedburg but also for those cultivated in neighbouring areas. In addition, water distribution featuring optimised irrigation management offers a number of options for future expansion in support of climate-friendly regional supply. At the same time, it provides the basis for greater diversity with regard to cultivation, thus adding value for the farms and incentivising other downstream processing companies to settle in the region.

Durable pipe systems

In future, 2,500 hectares of arable land are to be irrigated with around 1.5 million cubic metres of water per year. For this purpose, the project includes the construction of six deep wells and a pipeline network spanning around 20 kilometres. The latter is made up of highly durable and robust PE 100-RC Line pressure pipes manufactured by SIMONA AG, one of Germany’s leading producers of semi-finished thermoplastics and pipes. Durability is one of the key features of the single-layer pressure pipes made of extruded polyethylene. PE 100 pipes boast a service life of more than 100 years. Another benefit is their internal and external corrosion resistance, which ensures maintenance-free operation. The smooth internal pipe surfaces reduce pressure losses over the entire service life. In addition, the PE 100-RC pipes offer increased resistance to slow crack growth and high resistance to point loads. Thanks to their low weight, installation is simple, fast and cost-effective, even with long pipe lengths. Added to this is their high flexibility, which helps to prevent fractures of the pipe in the event of pressure surges or ground settlement. The polyethylene pipes comply with DIN 8074 in respect of dimensions and tolerances, in addition to meeting the quality requirements of DIN 8075. Last but not least, the polyethylene pipes are recyclable and thus resource-friendly, which further underlines the eco-friendly focus of the Bedburg-Pütz construction project.

Cost- and resource-friendly installation method

When it came to installing the pipes, the choice was made to lay them by means of the ploughing method. Salzburg-based IFK GmbH is a specialist in this field: cables and pipe systems are inserted directly into the ground using a plough. Applied since the 1960s in Germany, the method has been steadily refined and is particularly suitable for arable land and wetlands, along roads and paths as well as in forests and woodlands. The state-of-the-art ploughing method combines the benefits of outstanding environmental compatibility and superior cost-effectiveness. It is the perfect choice when it comes to laying long lengths of pipe in a short space of time – faster than with an excavator. In addition to reducing construction time and causing less disruption to traffic, this procedure also comes with a lower risk of accidents, is cable- and pipe-friendly, and usually allows the surrounding vegetation to recover quickly because of the “minimally invasive” (similar to a zip) displacement of soil. The cost savings, e.g. compared to construction with a trencher or excavator, are considerable.

The plough consists of a ploughshare, the laying box as well as a winch which is hooked up to a towing vehicle. At the starting point, the ploughshare is inserted into the ground – along the specified route – to the desired depth; in Bedburg-Pütz it was 1.7 metres deep. The towing vehicle pulls the pipe laying unit – together with the ploughshare and pipes – towards it by means of a winch. The ploughshare loosens up the ground as it is drawn forward, and the pipes are thus pulled into the ground. The soil then closes up over the pipe again and can also be compacted if necessary. In Bedburg-Pütz, several hundreds of metres of pipe were laid as welded sections. Since February 2023, eleven kilometres of water pipeline, featuring PE 100-RC Line pressure pipes, have already been laid for the eastbound line. A further nine kilometres of SIMONA pressure pipes for the westbound line are to follow in June 2023. They serve as water pipelines for the sprinkler systems. Construction work is scheduled for completion in August 2023.

State funding for lighthouse project

The rationale behind the irrigation of arable land for the purpose of ensuring the regional supply of the Ruhr region and the Rhine corridor – with up to 10 million consumers – is to guarantee the cultivation of food in the long term. With this in mind and given the choice of a state-of-the-art installation method and extremely durable and robust pipes, the Ministry of the Environment, Nature and Transport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia rates the project as a so-called lighthouse project in the context of climate change adaptation and is funding the construction of the irrigation system with up to 5.6 million euros.

www.simona.de

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Molecor Joins the Cause to Protect Marine Ecosystems on “World Oceans Day” Thanks to the Operation Clean Sweep Programme

Oceans are the main lungs of the planet—they are responsible for producing much of our oxygen and are home to most of Earth’s biodiversity, which is why it is so important to preserve them.

8 June has been chosen by the UN to mark World Oceans Day. The purpose of this occasion is to inform the public of the impact of human actions on the ocean and promote the sustainable management of the world’s seas.

Clearly, the marine environment is one of the ecosystems that is most affected by improper waste management. While humans produce all kinds of waste, plastic has become the main focus in the media, since its very high durability—an indisputable advantage in terms of fostering a more circular economy—makes it last over time, and it has become ubiquitous as a source of pollution at the global level. We must not forget that microplastics, plastic particles smaller than 5 mm, which are often invisible to the human eye, have been identified as emerging environmental pollutants, and therefore, it is critical to manage them properly and prevent them from being discharged into the environment.

As indicated in the slogan of the World Environment Day celebrated on 5 June, #BeatPlasticPollution, action must be taken to prevent improperly managed plastic waste from polluting our waters. To this end, in addition to the regulatory actions being taken across the different countries, the industry is launching its own initiatives to help achieve this mission.

One of them is the Operation Clean Sweep (OCS) programme, a global, voluntary initiative in the plastics industry that seeks to prevent the leakage of plastic particles into the environment. In Spain, this programme, which is licensed by the ANAIP (Spanish Association of Plastics Industries) has the support of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITERD).

Molecor, taking responsibility for this problem as a manufacturer of PVC pipes and fittings, and as part of the value chain of the plastics industry, is #committedindustry to the preservation of ecosystems, including the marine environment. That is why all manufacturing plants have committed to the OCS programme.

This alignment and commitment involves assessing the plant’s situation, mapping possible emission sources, implementing codes of good practices for pellet cleaning and control and deploying the necessary actions to prevent and mitigate possible sources of leakage to the environment at all stages of the production process, without forgetting the need to train and raise awareness among employees.

In addition, to reinforce this commitment, the TOM pipes and ecoFITTOM Oriented PVC (PVC-O) fittings manufacturing plant achieved the corresponding AENOR certificate of conformity in 2021. The rest of the production plants are in the process of certification, and it is estimated that they will obtain it in a few weeks.

Molecor is aligned with the United Nations 2023 Agenda, and its activity contributes to several of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this case, these actions contribute directly to SDG14, Life Below Water: the preservation and sustainable use of the oceans must remain a priority.

www.molecor.com

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The Advanced Design of a BOBST CI Press Reduces Bounce While Maintaining High Print Quality

Notwithstanding the huge progress of CI flexo printing over the past 20 years or so, bouncing remains a factor that can affect the quality of a printed job and result in loss of production time and unnecessary waste. Furthermore, to avoid the occurrence of it, a printer may fail to maximize the CI flexo press capabilities by limiting production speed with some applications, hence productivity.

There may be factors that together, can concur to bouncing, but the occurrence of vibrations is no doubt one of the most common contributors. If the contact of the flexo plate with the anilox roller and the substrate is inconsistent, its highs and lows during printing cause the vibrations that affect the print quality.

Other than the reduction of speed, there are different solutions that can contribute to containing the effect of bouncing, such as finding the plates or the tapes that make a printer’s printing process more consistent, along with the stability of the press itself.

The latter is exactly how BOBST has tackled the issue of bouncing on wide-web CI flexo presses: with an advanced press design that offers features that have been specifically developed to eliminate press vibrations.

These include some specific design components:

• Sturdy cast iron frame
• Top and bottom slide guides for the bearing caps of the anilox roller and plate cylinder
• Automatic opening and closing of the bearing caps of the plate cylinders
• Carbon fibre shafts, which have advanced physical properties, for plate cylinders
• Drive controls that perfectly synchronize the speed of the plate cylinder with the print design

The BOBST VISION CI is a flexo press which combines all of the above features and more. All aimed at enabling production of top print quality at high speed.

The press’ advanced drive control system allows for perfect register control. This means that it is possible to achieve precise alignment of colors and images, resulting in high-quality prints that meet the most precise specifications. The frustration derived from the time-consuming process of readjusting the register is eliminated, along with unnecessary downtime and costs.

Other quality-enhancing and cost-reducing features of the VISION CI flexo press include:

• impression setting adjustments by 1 µm
• a one-pump inking system for the optimal flow of inks

BOBST advanced CI flexo technology, achieved through the perfect combination and integration of mechanical and electronic features ensures printing consistency and accuracy run after run, giving converters the confidence that the final product meets the highest standards of quality.

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