Storm into Grand Fuel winnings with Cats?
With fuel costs, greenhouse issues and the economy clearly in the news, I&I looks at two types of products which are being promoted as having significant benefits in fuel use.
The first is the Fitch Fuel Catalyst which pre-treats the fuel before the combustion process to improve combustion efficiency and reduce pollutants. It works as follows:
One of the Fitch Fuel Catalysts
All hydrocarbon fuels contain gums and resins which cause the fuel molecules of petrol and diesel fuel to conglomerate in clusters which are too large to burn completely. The catalyst dissolves these gums and resins so that these clusters of molecules don’t form allowing all the fuel for power. More from www.fitchcatalyst.com.au or billfitch1@bigpond.com
The Thermflow product for heating
The Motoflow product to improve fuel efficiency
Another type of fuel catalyst uses super strength strontium magnets which temporarily excite the fuel to make it combine more readily with oxygen, thereby having a more efficient burn. These magnetic fuel conditioner products can be applied to gas heating (eg for hot water) as well as in motor vehicles. More details from www.aussiemagnotherapy.com.au or sales@aussiemagnotherapy.com.au
Pole Walking not Dancing
I&I was listening to ABC afternoon radio recently between business appointments and there was input from former announcer Margaret Throsby and various listeners about the benefits of using a pole or poles while walking in Europe. It was particularly good for protecting the knees going downhill. One listener rang in to say that he had innovative poles with springs that enabled his “18-stone frame” to keep up with his athletic mate on the flat sections! There is now an organised program called Nordic Walking!
Nordic Walking is one of the fastest growing recreational activities in the world and has its roots in the early 1930s as a summer training method by cross-country skiers in Finland.
Development of Nordic Walking to its present form as a recreational physical activity for all started in the early 1980s in co-operation between one of the world's largest pole manufacturer Exel Oyj, researchers in sports medicine, and other fitness professionals. The first official Nordic Walker poles were introduced to the public in 1997 and the International Nordic Walking Association, INWA, was formed.
For those who want a different way to walk check out www.nordicwalkingaustralia.com.au Air Warfare – a business opportunity?
The AWD - Air Warfare Destroyer Alliance is conducting an information roadshow for companies interested in participating in this major Defence project.
The times and venues for Wollongong and Sydney are:
Wollongong - Tuesday 23 October, 9am to 1pm at Novotel Northbeach, Cliff Road, North Wollongong.
Sydney - Wednesday 24 October, 1pm to 5pm at Hilton Sydney, 488 George Street, Sydney.
You can register via the AWD website, www.ausawd.com where the online registration form can be accessed by clicking on the “AWD ROADSHOW” tab.
For any further queries contact Richard Bulfill, Industry Capability Network, NSW on 4225-9559 or email rbufill@icnnsw.org.au Water, Water … But can you drink it?
Researchers in Queensland are pioneering biological technology to warn local people if their water supplies are contaminated with heavy metals.
Andrew McKay, a PhD student at the CRC for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC CARE) and The University of Queensland, is developing ways to detect the presence of heavy metals by studying the changes that take place in a Australian water microbe when it is exposed to arsenic, cadmium and lead – common industrial contaminants around the world.
"Our goal is to develop a simple field test that can warn people or environmental authorities if dangerous levels of toxic metals or metalloids (metal-like substances such as arsenic) are present in the environment, to which they might be exposed," he said.
Countries such as Australia and New Zealand can have an arsenic problem from the tens of thousands of old sheep and cattle dips where arsenic was used for decades to control pests," said McKay. "In many cases these old dip sites have been forgotten and spreading urbanisation has covered them. We also have numerous old gold mining sites where arsenic was once used, tailings dumps from almost any kind of metal mine and wetlands that were used to trap contaminated runoff."
He said that good progress had been made in developing water organisms as an early warning tool for such contamination, especially where a mix of toxic contaminants is involved. "We've found a number of readily-observable changes which take place in the organism when it is exposed to increased levels of toxic metals and metalloids," he said.
The research task now is to equate the symptoms observed in the microbes with levels of risk to humans and animals, and to package this as a cheap, simple test that can provide a quick answer in the field – rather than through long and expensive laboratory testing. (From www.EnvironmentalNews.net )
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