1. What is the status and viability
of SMS Pty Ltd?
Stack Management Systems Pty Ltd has two shareholders
–-
Naplink Pty Ltd, the initiator of the concepts for
SMS Technology. Naplink is a business strategy company,
the founder and principal is a mining engineer with
considerable experience in underground tunnelling and
construction, technology development, and business strategy,
and-
Advanced Emissions Control Ltd., the technology innovator
for SMS Technology. AEC is a technology development
company that specialises in energy-based technologies
and has developed innovative systems for managing gaseous
pollutants.
Collex, an Australian subsidiary of the
Paris-based multinational Veolia Environnement, is investing
in the development of SMS Technology.
Veolia Environnement is a supplier of public and private
infrastructure services in water, wastewater, waste, energy
and transport management. The company had a turnover in
2002 in excess of 30 billion euros, employs over 310,000
people in more than 100 countries, and spends over 200 million
euros annually in R&D related to its business interests.
Collex has invited Dalkia, the energy utility company
within the Veolia Environnement group to come to Australia
to review the SMS Technology and become both an equity partner
and energy business partner for the venture.
...
2. What other support do you have for the
idea?
A range of specialists has been involved in broad-based
discussions about the technology, its commercialisation
and application, the majority of whom see interesting opportunities
for the practical application of the technology. Typically
these specialists have included –-
technical specialists involved in road tunnels, fire
safety, risk management, power and energy systems and
air quality,
CSIRO energy and atmospheric research branches;
financiers and venture capitalists,
road tunnel constructors and operators, and
business analysts.
...
3. In most traffic tunnels, the emissions
are below WHO standards. There is no need for a new solution.
In a number of urban traffic tunnels around the world,
issues of concern appear to be operation of the tunnel,
in-tunnel air quality, and outside tunnel air quality.
A study completed by NSW Health (Nov 2003) relating to
possible health impacts of the emissions from an urban traffic
tunnel stack indicated that 63% of participants in the clinical
assessment “reported symptoms that were assessed by
the physicians as having a likely relationship with the
stack emissions”. The common complaints related to
eye, nose and throat symptoms – “all of which
may be contributed to by particulate and gaseous pollutants
known to be included in emissions from the stack”.
Australia has developed an Ambient Air Quality National
Environment Protection Measure (Air NEPM) which is related
to the WHO standards for nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide
and particulate matter. While the standards are based on
health effects, they do not provide a threshold below which
effects do not occur. “Particulates especially are
recognised as having a dose response effect on health outcomes,
even in settings with levels well below the NEPM standard”
– NSW Health (Nov 2003).
Some leading overseas environment protection agencies
have now introduced air quality standards relating to PM2.5
– particulates seriously suspected of having potential
detrimental health impacts. These developments are being
monitored by the relevant agencies in Australia and are
likely to be included in the Air NEPM once sufficient information
is available.
Conventional electrostatic precipitators
are not generally recognised as having high clean-up rates
for PM2.5§ Under current legislation in Australia,
stacks from traffic tunnels are not regulated by the environment
protection agencies. It is possible that this situation
may be changed in the future, bringing traffic tunnel stacks
and portals into line with other sectors of industry where
emissions are licensed and regulated.
On this basis, the environment protection agencies will
become the approval authority in respect of air quality,
in lieu of the current development consent authority. Once
licensed and regulated, breaches of license conditions for
emissions from traffic tunnels will be subject to personal
and corporate penalty, possible closure and/or curtailment
of operations, in line with pollution control licenses on
other sectors of industry.
SMS Technology can operate on
a demand basis – this means that the systems are turned
on and operating when pollution demand warrants clean-up,
and idle when pollution demand is low – much the same
as is the case with current ventilation systems and alternative
pollution control devices.
...
4. Has any consultation been undertaken
with the community?
At this stage no discussions have been initiated with
the community. Whilst community perceptions are recognised
as a crucial issue to be addressed, we have taken the position
that initial discussions on SMS Technology
should be with people directly involved with traffic tunnel
design, safety, construction and operation.
Our approach has been to address fundamental technical,
safety and commercial issues to ascertain that SMS
Technology does in fact have potential as
a value adding contribution to urban infrastructure.
...
5. This is an untested technology and may
lack credibility with the community.
The SMS Technology concepts
have been used elsewhere for filtration, absorption of NOx,
cogeneration of power and cleaning up foul or sour air streams
in situations such as oil fields, landfills, and industrial
plants with odorous emissions. This linkage can be used
for building credibility and confidence with the community.
6. What is the real cost of the different
elements in the application of the concept system.
The real cost of SMS Technology
is dependent on the configuration selected and the proportion
of tunnel air that is to be treated, but will always comprise
the elements of –
(a) capital cost for equipment, services, excavations and
installation, plus
(b) operating costs for fuel and maintenance, less
(c) revenue earned from electricity generated, less
(d) savings derived from less electricity to power fans
required to move tunnel air, less
(e) equipment and excavations in conventional designs that
become redundant.
On a size-for-size basis, retrofitting is likely to be
more expensive than is the case for a new tunnel, because
the past design of both the ventilation approach and excavations
may not be optimal for SMS Technology,
and retrofitting services may be a costly element.
It is possible, that if selective extraction
of polluted air can be affected, then a tunnel with SMS
Technology could demand less fresh air, and
would require less turbine capacity, making the overall
cost lower than if all of the tunnel air were to be treated.
If a tunnels was found to require less air for safe ventilation,
then it is possible that the overall size of the tunnel
could be reduced, cutting the capital cost of the tunnel
significantly.
Estimates of cost and revenues by SMS indicate that where
turbines are used and generate electricity, the capital
cost of the SMS Technology equipment
can be repaid within 20 years, irrespective of the installation
being for a new tunnel or retrofit.
...
7. With green diesel, will filtration still
be needed?
The introduction of cleaner fuels and cleaner burning
engines is forecast to deliver overall improvements in air
quality and reduced emissions from vehicles.
However, there are concerns being expressed that the rapid
growth in vehicle kilometer trips that is being observed
in capital cities, is likely to see total emissions swamp
the gains from cleaner fuels and engines.
Where a tunnel is operating at saturation
level, in terms of vehicle movements, the cleaner fuels
and engines will lead to a reduction in the total pollutants
emitted within and discharged from the tunnel – provided
the traffic is flowing freely and rapidly and that the emission
controls on engines are working correctly.
Where a tunnel is not operating at saturation level, it
is possible that the additional traffic might result in
a net increase in pollutant loads than would be the case
today, even with cleaner fuels and engines.
The observed turnover rate of the vehicle fleet in many
countries does not appear to be as rapid as was originally
thought, and thus the benefits from cleaner fuels and engines
might not eventuate quite as rapidly as originally hoped.
...
8. Why not use existing technology, as we
already know the level at which it works?
Existing ventilation and dilution technologies use enormous
amounts of energy and therefore incur significant cost.
Operating costs will continue throughout the life of the
tunnel without relief if technology such as electrostatic
precipitators is introduced.
Existing technologies are acknowledged
to deliver only a partial solution to the total pollution
issue.
There is strong evidence to suggest that the operating
costs and maintenance of present day electrostatic precipitators
would encourage minimum operating hours on the part of tunnel
operators.
SMS Technology involves no new
technology risks, since the technology is known, proven
and operating commercially elsewhere in industry.
The new issues to be managed with implementing SMS
Technology relate to configuration of systems
relative to the tunnel, safety in respect to the services
to and from the turbines, and demonstrated reliability to
deliver on the needs of tunnel operators.
...
9. Is it safe, for users of the tunnel,
in an emergency, and for operators in the tunnel?
Several designs and configurations have been developed
for the application of SMS Technology
to road tunnel ventilation and pollution management. Whilst
designs for future systems might involve micro turbines
in and around the vicinity of the traffic tunnel, the present
proposals for introducing SMS Technology
do not involve in-tunnel installations – instead it
is proposed to install systems in by-pass tunnels, away
from the main traffic tunnels.
The present proposals for installing SMS Technology
involve systems that are external to the vehicular tunnels,
in a configuration which bleeds polluted air away from the
traffic tunnels and discharges cleaned air directly to atmosphere.
The supply of fuel to turbines would
be achieved external to the tunnel – most probably
via separate drilled holes or the portals, and the electricity
generated would be routed away via a similar pathway.
This remote mode of operation allows for independent fire
protection for the turbines, the possible installation of
fire separation between the turbines and the traffic tunnel,
and overall will present little or no additional hazard
to either users or workers in the traffic tunnel.
SMS Technology will increase
safety in the tunnel through reducing the amounts of polluting
gases in the tunnel air and improving visibility.
If selective air extraction systems can be arranged, it
is possible that SMS Technology
can deliver as safe or safer environment in the tunnel as
at present, with less air needed for ventilation.
...
10. Combustions systems create NOx, how
will this be managed?
Micro turbines are recognized as clean burning systems,
even relative to conventional gas turbine engines. Estimates
of the additional NOx contributed by micro turbines, derived
from product literature, indicate that the increase in NOx
concentration if all tunnel air in a typical tunnel were
combusted could be from around 25 mg/Nm3 without the turbines
to around 30 mg/Nm3.
Conventional gas turbine engines will produce NOx in the
burning process, and add to the NOx already in the tunnel
air from the vehicle exhaust and drawn into the tunnel with
the fresh air intake. Initial estimates from numerical modeling
indicate that if all of the air in a typical tunnel was
processed through conventional gas turbine engines, the
concentration of NOx might increase from around 25 mg/Nm3
without turbines to around 47 mg/Nm3.
It is possible to fit conventional gas
turbine engines with reburner technology which is designed
to minimize NOx creation in the turbine and to eliminate
some of the NOx already in the ambient tunnel air from vehicle
exhausts – leading to a net reduction in NOx. This
technology has been developed by one of the SMS partners
and forms part of the unique technology offering through
SMS.
SMS has secured exclusive rights to the application of
NOx absorbing coatings in traffic tunnels. EcoPaint can
be applied to surfaces in and around traffic tunnels, and
on specially designed NOx absorbing filters, to scrub NOx
from tunnel air.
The use of SMS Technology does
not preclude introduction of other NOx absorbing systems
such as catalytic converters or absorption based systems.
11. Gas turbines heat the air and have high
temperature exhaust – how will this be managed safely?
To extract maximum energy benefit from gas turbine systems
it is preferable to include heat exchanger systems to extract
waste heat from the exhaust gases. The heat exchangers are
designed to generate hot fluid and cool exhaust gas. The
hot fluid can then be used in reverse cycle air conditioning,
heating of buildings and water, or generating further electrical
energy.
SMS is also working on applications
of the steam for fire fighting within traffic tunnels.
The temperature of the final exhaust gas from the heat
exchanger can be modified by control of the heat exchanger,
to leave some residual heat in the exhaust gas to improve
dispersion dynamics once the gases are released to the receiving
atmosphere.
There will be no net increase in traffic tunnel temperature
through using SMS Technology,
as hot exhaust gases will be discharged back into the traffic
tunnel.
...
12. Tunnels are good news stories for the
city, except for the stacks. Will there still be stacks?
There will always be a need for exit points from tunnels
to allow air that has been drawn into the tunnels to be
discharged to atmosphere, but if SMS Technology
is used, the discharged air will be significantly cleaned
of pollutants.
The choice of tunnel portals or stacks for the discharge
points will be a matter of design to suit the particular
circumstances of each tunnel; in particular the access opportunities
to the surface for exhaust air discharges.
In the simplest configuration with SMS
Technology, it is likely that polluted air
will be drawn off from a tunnel into a cross cut, cleaned
through a turbine, and the cleaned air released to the atmosphere
via a small dedicated stack.
Irrespective of the configuration, with SMS
Technology there will be no heavily polluted
air discharges to atmosphere – this is a good news
story that will boost community support for traffic tunnels.
SMS Technology will convert
tunnel air pollutants into energy, reducing greenhouse impacts
and reducing overall environmental impacts from the tunnel
system – this is also a good news story that the community
will recognize and support.
Generating clean electric power for the buildings, houses
and businesses in the vicinity of a tunnel will be another
good news story for a tunnel using SMS Technology.
...
13. If filtration is successful in polluted
tunnels, will there be pressure for retrofit in all tunnels?
SMS Technology represents a
much cheaper system in terms of ongoing costs than other
systems.
With SMS Technology designed
and installed in a purpose built application, there will
only be a need to treat a percentage of the tunnel air.
Estimates to date indicate that with
turbines in a system, the capital cost of SMS
Technology can be recouped within 20 years,
after which the income from power sales and electricity
not purchased for fans will be additional income for the
tunnel operator.
Depending on the configuration used with SMS
Technology, it is possible that for new tunnel
design, some of the current systems, technologies, plant
and even excavations might become redundant, bringing further
savings to the tunnel operator.
SMS Technology has the capacity
to deliver on future environmental demands for air quality
without incurring additional net cost.
...
14. 'What is the constructors' view of the
technology?
Owner/operator’s agree that a financially and environmentally
superior outcome is the best for the industry.
Initial discussions with builders and operators indicate
strong interest because of the possible economic benefits
relative to other technologies, in addition to the pollution
reduction.
15. Why hasn’t anyone thought of this
application before?
The technology, which exists, has been used in industrial
applications in many countries, for filtering and conditioning
air and for power cogeneration.
SMS Technology
evolved over a three to four year period of technology investigations,
starting with a very radical approach to traffic tunnel
air quality –
the pollutants were examined;
it was recognised that a significant proportion of
pollutants were combustible,
a search for technologies identified gas turbine
engines and some other combustion-based systems as possible
candidates,
specialists with detailed combustion knowledge were
engaged to examine the proposition,
NOx reduction combustion systems were examined,
capabilities and technologies were identified in the
UK,
recent developments in turbine technology, in particular
micro turbines, indicated that the proposition was feasible,
technology enhancements, process designs and application
systems were evolved,
innovative particulate filtering systems from other
industry sectors has been introduced, and
exclusive rights have been obtained for smart NOx
absorbing coatings.
...
16. Are there investment and commercialisation
opportunities for organisations outside SMS and Collex?
International and local partnerships may be possible.
The business model for commercializing SMS
Technology encompasses technology licensing,
design and assembly of packaged systems, installations in
tunnels, operation and maintenance of installed systems,
and ownership of systems with associated power management
responsibilities.
Business partners will be sought for many of these roles.
