NEWS COLLABORATION IS KEY TO DIGITAL MANUFACTURING Meeting AMP7 challenges
Warden Biomedia’s moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) media, which is being designed to give enhanced nutrient removal to meet the challenges of AMP7, is currently being tested at Cranfield University’s National Research Facility for Water and Wastewater Treatment. The MBBR process, which uses buoyant media to support a variety of microbial colonies in a biofilm, is increasingly being used in municipal and industrial wastewater treatment as it provides robust, small footprint plants and can be easily retrofitted to upgrade existing plants or in greenfield sites. Warden Biomedia’s media has been
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ollaboration is the key to powering forward the post-pandemic recovery and capitalising on the opportunity of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, industry leaders told the Made Smarter: journey to digital manufacturing conference.
More than 300 delegates from all over the country joined the virtual event this month,
which celebrated the success of the Made Smarter North West Adoption programme and debated the challenges facing the industry and how technology can solve them. Billed as an event by manufacturers for manufacturers, the conference featured an
impressive line-up of industry heavyweights including Juergen Maier, Chair of the Digital Catapult and co-Chair of the Made Smarter Commission, Stephen Phipson, the Chief Executive of Make UK, and Andrea Hough, MD of Atec Solutions and member of the Made Smarter Pilot Steering Group and Made Smarter Commission. Meanwhile, dozens of SME manufacturers shared their inspirational stories working with
the Made Smarter North West Adoption programme, which has engaged with 1,200 businesses in the region so far and is aiming to help hundreds more as part of a £8M government rollout. But the golden thread that connected much of the insight and analysis was that
collaboration, from the factory floor to government, was essential for UK manufacturing to fast-track its recovery, build resilience, and power forward ambitions for growth. Introducing the opening panel session, ‘How Made Smarter is powering the fourth
industrial revolution’, moderator Nick Peters from ZenootTV said Made Smarter represented “a significant milestone” on the UK’s journey to roll out digital technology across the manufacturing sector, and praised the “real partnership between government and industry to raise productivity for all and our economy.” Stephen Phipson, CEO of Make UK said fostering cooperation among SMEs was an
important aspect of capitalising on the increased awareness of Made Smarter. “One thing the pandemic did do was accelerate digital collaboration,” he said. “We have
not only got the message out there to manufacturers but to the government. We need to pull all our resources together and really accelerate the programme. We have the awareness and understanding from the government, now is the time to power forward.” Opening the conference, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng underlined the importance of manufacturing through the pandemic and the UK’s drive towards recovery, growth and net zero. “Made Smarter has a critically important part to play in all of these targets,” he said. Delegates also logged in to panel sessions featuring a mixture of experts and SME
manufacturers discussing key topics such as skills, sustainable manufacturing, and how technology can boost business resilience, as well as an interactive workshop on how to start a digital transformation.
www.madesmarter.uk
developed in conjunction with Cranfield University through a three-year £300,000 Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership. Now, a year into the partnership, the media is moving from bench to pilot scale trials. KTP Associate Anjani Parsotamo said: “The new product...will give much more efficient removal of nitrogen and phosphorous from wastewater compared to conventional biological processes, a major challenge facing the water industry in AMP7. It will improve cost-effectiveness and sustainability and pave the way for the next generation of wastewater treatment solutions.” Warden Biomedia manufactures media for
attached film processes like trickling filters, SAF and MBBR processes and can produce the complex shapes needed from polyethylene and polypropylene, virgin or recycled plastics. These plastics are perfect for MBBR media because they possess similar densities to that of water, allowing sufficient buoyancy and enabling good mixing.
www.wardenbiomedia.com
MARCH 2021 | PROCESS & CONTROL 5
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