What was Hot at Ecomondo?

ECOMONDO 2019, the green technology Expo, took place in Rimini Italy during November, providing participants with insight into the development of a circular society.  By decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources, a circular economy removes waste from the system, and green technology is therefore a vital part of the solution.

With over 1,000 exhibitors, the event featured an exciting array of the latest technologies for reducing, reusing and recycling waste. For example, new equipment was on show for sorting waste efficiently, for transforming waste into resources and for reducing and recycling packaging. In a circular economy, all of these new technologies will be driven by renewable energy, so this was also a major theme for the event.

The Vaisala booth featured the new MGP261 multigas instrument for in situ measurements of methane, carbon dioxide, and humidity in demanding biogas processing conditions. Ex certified for use in Zone 0 (parts inserted into process) and Zone 1 (parts outside the process), the MGP261 provides a unique opportunity for process optimization in the production of biogas at anaerobic digestion plants and landfill gas sites. 

“Process optimization is vitally important if biogas is to maintain and grow its contribution to the generation of renewable energy,” comments Product Manager Antti Heikkilä. “The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has just released provisional figures which suggest that this year is on course to be the second or third warmest year ever, and if that continues, 2015-2019 would end up being the warmest five-year period on record.”

Heikkilä continues: “Clearly, climate change is becoming a major issue in international politics and the media. Many countries are signing up to objectives that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and move to greater use of renewable energy, such as the European New Green Deal, which aims at making Europe fossil free by 2050. This means that the gas industry will also be fully decarbonized in the next decades.”
All of the main forms of renewable energy generation are growing rapidly – especially wind and solar. Biogas is also growing, but will need to become as efficient as possible if it is to compete in the future and make a major contribution to the fight against climate change. Vaisala’s MGP261 multigas instrument makes that possible, and as a result was the focus of much attention at Ecomondo. For example, looking for hot news at the expo, journalists from ‘Waste Management World’ magazine interviewed Vaisala’s Jutta Hakkarainen and the video can be seen here. In the video Jutta explains how in-line measurements improve the profitability of biogas plants.”