Insulation work to cut emissions

A joint effort between Auckland Council and Tasman Insulation Ltd to reduce a major steam plume in Penrose has drastically reduced emissions and made Auckland’s air cleaner.

A large discharging steam plume with polluting particle matter from the Penrose factory used to be obvious to Auckland commuters on the Southern motorway, as well as residents in the Penrose area.

However, a worldwide search for a solution and a concerted effort by Auckland Council and Tasman Insulation over the last two years has now successfully eliminated the large discharging steam plume, apart from water vapour emissions that are now only visible in humid weather or particularly cold mornings.

Auckland Council Resource Consents Manager, Heather Harris, says the council’s air quality team and Tasman staff are delighted at the results, due to the installation of a Wet Electrostatic Precipitator (WESP) at the plant, which dramatically reduced emissions from the stack.

“Auckland has a problem with PM10, the particle matter discharged from gas stacks such as the one at Tasman Insulation’s Penrose site. The new WESP will remove 90% of PM10 emissions leaving no constant visible plume,” says Ms Harris.

“Tasman Insulation is to be congratulated for taking a proactive approach to achieving this very positive outcome for Auckland and the environment. Tasman Insulation is a good example of a company with a significant manufacturing site that is taking responsibility to achieve the best practice solution and help keep Auckland’s air clean.

“The council’s air quality team also played an important role in achieving this excellent environmental outcome.  By reducing emissions, the Tasman site now complies with the Auckland Council Regional Plan (Air, Land and Water) and the Auckland Regional Policy Statement, which aims to minimise discharges from industrial sites.”

Tasman Insulation’s General Manager, Tony Te Au, says that the company searched worldwide for the best solution that would not only help it to reduce emissions to below its consented level, but to the lowest level practicable.

“This has been a truly joint effort between our company and the council, as well as part of our commitment to do our bit to protect Auckland’s environment,” says Mr Te Au.

The council will be seeking to secure reductions in emissions from other industrial sites across Auckland, as it renews industrial resource consents. This approach supports one of the six transformational shifts in the Auckland Plan, which outlines a strong commitment to environmental action and green growth.



Background to the WESP:

The Wet Electrostatic Precipitator (WESP) removes submicron particles from gas streams.

Electrostatic precipitators are filtration devices that minimally impede the flow of gases through the device, and can easily remove fine particulate matter such as dust and smoke from the air stream.

It collects particles using the principle of opposite charges attracting, similar to north and south poles of the magnet.

By passing the air through a high electric field, the particles become electrically charged and they are then attracted to a surface with the opposite charge.  The particles stick to the surface until they are washed off by water and discharged into the factory wastewater system.