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!