Pilot Plant Launch - April 23rd 2024
After an installation visit in February 2024, the pilot heat recovery plant at Zambeef Huntley Farm, Chisamba, officially launched on April 23rd! As part of the launch, the REHEATZ team hosted a presentation and site visit at the Farm. It marked the Irish team’s final visit to Zambia before the end of the Seed Phase, and our third Zambian event in the last year.
Dr. Godfrey Hampwaye welcoming attendees to the Launch Event.
REHEATZ welcomed representatives from academia, government, business, and policy to give opening remarks at the demo event. Welcoming attendees on the behalf of the Southern African Institute for Policy and Research (SAIPAR), Dr. Marja Hinfelaar described the REHEATZ project as one that “aligns perfectly” with SAIPAR’s objectives. This sentiment was echoed by H.E. Ms. Bronagh Carr, Ambassador of Ireland to Zambia, who was “delighted to be associated with” the REHEATZ project, and by Zambeef Executive of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Ezekial Sekele, who described the “positive impact on our employees” seen at Zambeef over the last year of REHEATZ involvement. Equally supportive was Mr. Ephraim Shitima, Director of Green Economy and Climate Change in the Zambian Ministry for Green Economy and Environment. In his opening remarks on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, he emphasised the need for collaboration and integration between government and external partners, calling this work “critical” in the current drought conditions.
Attendees at the REHEATZ Launch Event.
Professor Aonghus McNabola and Dr. Madhu K. Murali explained the engineering principles behind the REHEATZ project and shared some preliminary findings from the pilot plant, and Professor Paul Coughlan and Dr. Danny Museteka built on Mr. Sekele’s opening remarks about knowledge transfer between REHEATZ and Zambeef by outlining the potential for green jobs and positive societal impacts that REHEATZ could bring to local communities.
When the presentations had finished, guests were invited to visit the Huntley Farm site and see the heat recovery pilot plant in action for themselves. Thanks to an exciting boiler blowdown initiated by Dr. Murali, the guests were able to see the significant temperature difference present in the hot well between the cold water going in and the heated water coming out – the main principle behind REHEATZ’s wastewater heat recovery process.
Prof. Aonghus McNabola and Dr. Madhu K. Murali explain the pilot heat recovery system to the attendees of the event.
Very excitingly for us, half of our attendees had never been to a REHEATZ event before! We’re very proud of the local outreach this represents, and we hope to further strengthen our local relationships and partnerships going forward. As part of that outreach, Professor McNabola and Dr. Murali appaeared on the News for Zambian TV Channel Camnet that evening, speaking about REHEATZ and wastewater heat recovery in Zambia. Watch the news story below!
In-person forum for thought leaders on Nov 30, 2023
Our team has designed a programme of events to raise awareness and generate commitment to action in exploring and adopting drain water heat recovery (DWHR) technology and to help us understand enablers and barriers to embed DWHR in more Zambian businesses.
The first workshop took place on November 30, 2023 in Lusaka as an in-person forum with a select group of Zambian industry and regulatory stakeholders to identify opportunities for wastewater heat recovery and incorporating stakeholder feedback into our system design.
Opening welcome messages were delivered by Professor Manenga Ndulo, Executive Director of Southern African Institute for Policy and Research and the Irish Ambassador to Zambia, H.E. Ms Bronagh Carr.
The first presentation was then given by Prof Mc Nabola and Dr. Madhu Murali, Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Trinity College Dublin, providing an overview and the technical background of wastewater heat recovery.
Ms Priscilla Dinga, Sustainability manager from Zambeef Products PLC then illustrated to participants Zambeef's sustainability policy and their interest in the Reheatz project.
The event continued with group discussions lead by Prof Coughlan and Ms. Mangiza Chirwa Chongo; these discussions lead to deeper assessments of how our solution can benefit the three pillars of sustainability: environment, society and economy.
Finally, the closing remarks by Dr. Danny Museteka illustrated the next steps in implementing DWHR more widely in Zambia.
The workshop featured on Zambian News, you can watch the piece here.
Thanks to all the participants!
This workshop is, as mentioned, part of a programme and will be followed by a webinar open to more interested industry, regulatory and community leaders and managers. Check our website and social media pages for more upcoming details.
Seed Phase Updates
On 30 August 2023, Science Foundation Ireland and Irish Aid selected the REHEATZ project to progress to the Seed Phase of the SFI SDG Challenge. Energised by this vote of confidence, the Irish and Zambian multi-disciplinary research team has extended its collaboration with our industry and societal partners in Zambia and included new strategic stakeholders in the Zambian food sector. During the Seed Phase, we plan to demonstrate the potential of recovering embedded heat in wastewater to reduce energy consumption, cut carbon emissions, generate cost savings and positively impact society.
Our updated project brochure can be downloaded here.
Read a short update from some of the team members below.
Prof Mc Nabola, Team Lead, Trinity College Dublin:
‘During the Seed Phase of the SFI Sustainable Development Goal 13 Challenge, the REHEATZ project is focusing on a number of initiatives. Firstly we will be validating the potential of our technology to save around 10% of the energy and emissions of steam production at Zambeef using a pilot installation at Huntley Farm. Secondly we will be assessing the potential societal impact of the technology, through impacts on corporate social responsibility initiatives. Finally, we will be communicating the REHEATZ concept with a view to assessing the wider potential of the wastewater heat resources in Zambian food and beverage manufacturing, and preparing to scale up the impact beyond our initial pilot plant.’
Dr. Godfrey Hampwaye, Partner Country Team Lead, Southern African Institute for Policy and Research (Zambia) and Prof. Pádraig Carmody, Co-PI, Trinity College Dublin:
‘The social impact sub-group has been working actively. The group has pre-tested a baseline survey on both Zambeef suppliers (farmers) and employees. Based on this, refinements have been made to the survey and it will now be rolled out to a wider sample of the respective populations.’
Prof. Paul Coughlan and Dr. Roberta Bellini, Trinity Business School:
‘Recently, we have been collaborating actively with Dr. Danny Museteka and Dr. Godfrey Hampwaye, our Zambian colleagues, to plan an in-person workshop to share knowledge and project progress, and to learn from Zambian companies in the food and beverage sectors about the opportunities and challenges of heat recovery in their operations.
The workshop is planned for November 30, 2023 in Lusaka (10am-2pm) in a city centre venue. The workshop is designed around a Focus Group format, with contributions from our engineering colleagues, our partners in Zambeef and group discussions to enable questioning, reflection and progress towards realisation of the opportunities for heat recovery in wastewater in food and beverage production. See the flyer’s event here.’
Dr. Madhu Murali, Research Fellow, Trinity College Dublin:
‘My focus in the last few months of the seed phase has been on collating our findings from our trip to Lusaka in April and continued wastewater temperature monitoring into a report for our partners, Zambeef. This report outlined the next steps we propose in the technical aspect of the project, mainly to install a pilot heat recovery system at a Zambeef site. Recently, I have also worked on collaboratively developing a design for this proposed pilot heat recovery system with our partners and we are now progressing towards its installation in early 2024.’
A reflection on our visit to Lusaka, April 2023
Three of our Dublin-based REHEATZ team, Aonghus McNabola, Paul Coughlan, and Madhu Krishna Murali aka ‘the Lusaka Lads’ were in Zambia in late April meeting our Zambia-based team members, our industrial partners, and a wide range of stakeholders over a busy week. We asked them each three questions to summarise their trip and the progress they hope to make in the next few months.
Our three visiting team members enjoying their trip to the Novatek Animal Feeds manufacturing plant in Lusaka a little too much.
What was your favourite part of the trip?
Aonghus: My favourite part of the trip was meeting the Irish Ambassador and her team at the Irish Embassy in Lusaka.
Paul: The trip to Zambia was my first to any part of Africa. I really enjoyed the contrast with Ireland. The streetscape and landscape were radically different and the people we met were wonderfully friendly, professional, and welcoming.
Madhu: Zambia is a fascinating country, and they face a unique set of challenges in their food and water industries. I really enjoyed gaining an additional perspective of these industries in Zambia, even if it was only through a brief visit this time!
What did you feel was your biggest learning from the Trip?
Aonghus: My biggest learning was the differences between the uses of hot water for food processing between Ireland and Zambia and the differences in heating arising from this.
Paul: The green economy and the environment are on the agenda in Zambia, driven by internal and external stakeholders. Yet, it is possible to access key influencers in Zambia who are open to listening to a proposal for improved environmental sustainability of food production.
Madhu: I was pleased at the level of interest in sustainable technologies in Zambian industry and government bodies. Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) training is even being organised by the peak manufacturing body in Zambia! This meant that we found a lot of interest in our proposal and technology with almost everyone we spoke to.
What do you hope to achieve by the time you are back in Zambia?
Aonghus: I hope to have gathered an interesting set of data from the wastewater heat resource monitors we left in place in Zambia and to have been able to design and build a heat recovery system that we can have ready to bring to Lusaka in December.
Paul: The technology-based energy recovery system will develop over the coming months. It is critical that the various stakeholders in Zambia remain committed to its co-development, co-deployment and demonstration. Before returning to Zambia, I hope to build and deepen that commitment so that there is a readiness to implement and learn from a system that fits local needs.
Madhu: I hope to have completed a deeper analysis of the data we collected on our trip and collaborate on an appropriate design for a heat recovery system with our partners.
Take Part in our Engage Phase!
We are currently in the engage phase of the Reheatz project where we aim to characterize and understand the needs of different stakeholders related to the Zambian food industry. Specifically, we hope to understand the broader landscape related to energy and fuel use within the food industry in Zambia and southern Africa. This will help us identify the shape that the recovery of waste heat can take within this industry and the wider social consequences of its implementation besides economic benefits. We hope to hear from a wide range of stakeholders from the food industry, government agencies, regulatory agencies, NGOs, and the general public.
Are you a part of the food manufacturing industry in Zambia or Southern Africa? Are you a consumer or a member of the general public who is interested in the food industry? Are you a government agency related to food or energy in Zambia or Southern Africa? Are you involved in a food-related NGO in Zambia or Southern Africa? We would love to hear from you! Please get in touch through the ‘Get Involved’ button on the top right of our webpage, through our email (ReheatzSDG@gmail.com) or twitter (https://twitter.com/ReheatzSDG). The more voices we hear from, the clearer our vision will be in the implementation of waste heat recovery technology within the food industry in Zambia leading to improvements in both the environmental and economic sustainability of food!