What are solid waste fuels?

Waste-to-energy is an important part of the waste industry in Europe. Significant demand for heat means efficient and tightly controlled waste incinerators are common. However, Australia lacks an established market, with low levels of community acceptance and no clear government policy encouraging its uptake.

But the federal announcement, coupled with an uptake in state funding, a New South Wales parliamentary inquiry and several new projects in the pipeline, signals a growing interest in waste-to-energy and waste-to-fuels.

But what is solid waste fuel, and where does it fit in a sustainable future for Australian waste management?

What are solid waste fuels?

Australians are becoming more wasteful. The amount of rubbish we produce is growing more rapidly than both our population and our economy.

Recycling has been the main approach for recovering resources and reducing landfill over the past 20 years, but a lot more needs to be done.

One part of the solution is “waste-to-energy”: using a range of thermal or biological processes, the energy embedded in waste is captured, making it available for the direct generation of heat and electricity, or for solid fuel production (also known as “processed engineered fuel”).

Waste-to-fuel plants produce fuels from the combustible (energy-rich) materials found in waste from households and industry. Suitable materials include non-recyclable papers, plastics, wood waste and textiles. All of these typically end up in landfill.

These materials are preferably sourced from existing recycling facilities, which currently have to throw out contaminated matter that can’t be recycled.

Solid waste fuels are produced to specified qualities by different treatment methods. These include drying, shredding, and compressing into briquettes or fuel pellets. Fuels can be specifically tailored for ease of transportation and for different uses where industrial heat is required. This make them suitable alternatives to fossil fuels.

What are solid waste fuels used for?

As a replacement for coal and gas, solid waste fuel can be burned to generate electricity with a smaller carbon footprint than fossil fuels.

In addition to the power sector, other industries requiring high-temperature heat use solid waste fuels – for example, in cement works in Australia and around the world. There may also be scope to expand their use to other energy-intensive industries, such as metals recycling and manufacturing industrial chemical products.

What are the key benefits?

The primary environmental benefit of solid waste fuel comes from the reductions in landfill emissions and fossil fuel use.

Biodegradable carbon sources decompose in landfill, creating methane. This is a greenhouse gas with a warming potential 25 times that of carbon dioxide. Technology already exist for capturing and converting landfill gases to energy, but waste-to-fuel is a complementary measure that limits landfill in the first instance.

Waste-derived fuel can also have a smaller carbon footprint than fossil fuels. This depends on the carbon content of the fuel, and whether it is derived from biological sources (such as paper, wood or natural fibres). Even though carbon dioxide is emitted when the fuel is burned, this is partly offset by the carbon dioxide captured by the plants that produced the materials in the first place.

In these cases, solid waste fuels are eligible for renewable energy certificates. More advanced closed-loop concepts achieve even better carbon balances by capturing the carbon dioxide released when the fuel is used. This can used for other processes that require carbon dioxide as an input, such as growing fruit and vegetables.

Further environmental benefits can come from the management of problem wastes such as treated timbers, car tyres, and e-plastics. Converting them into fuel prevents the leaching of harmful substances into the environment, and other potential problems.

What are the challenges?

Communities are legitimately concerned about energy recovery from waste owing to public health risks. Without appropriate emission control, burning solid fuel can release nitrous oxides, sulphur dioxides, particulate matter and other harmful pollutants. But, with solid regulation and the best available pollution-control technology, these emissions can be managed.

The recycling industry is also worried that energy recovery has the potential to undermine existing recycling by diverting waste flows. Famously, solid waste fuel is so important to Sweden it actually imports garbage from other European countries.

These challenges point to the importance of investing in the appropriate infrastructure at the right size, and creating regulations that balance the needs of existing recycling processes. With careful planning, waste-to-fuel can be an important part of a broad strategy for transitioning towards a zero-landfill future. 

The cement industry, in cooperation with the waste management sector, has developed pre-treatment practices, such as screening, blending and shredding, to produce suitable materials from waste that meet cement kiln requirements. This close cooperation with the waste industry allows selected waste streams to be converted for use in cement kilns. Acceptance of these materials requires strict compliance with the agreed specifications. Examples of waste used by CEMBUREAU members include used tyres, solid recovered fuels, used oils, animal meal, sewage sludge, foundry sands, fly ashes and filter cakes. Extensive monitoring of all the input materials is a feature of modern cement production. This high standard of quality control ensures our cement products are manufactured in compliance with European Cement Standards.
The alternative materials are fully consumed in the cement clinker manufacturing process. The combustible part provides the heat needed for the process and the mineral part is transformed into cement. In this way co-processing in the cement industry provides society with significant benefits: safe and efficient local waste treatment options, diversion of waste from landfill, energy recovery, recycling of discarded resources, district heating and all using existing facilities and infrastructure.
thanks
 http://amp.weforum.org/

18-Yr-Old Rifath Shaarook From Tamil Nadu Makes India Proud, Builds World’s Smallest & Lightest Satellite

Eight months of hard work, a team of seven youngsters from Tamil Nadu, a contest involving designs and models from 57 countries, and a winning model of a satellite that is only 64 grams in weight: seven Indian students have made the country proud by designing the world’s lightest and smallest satellite.

The Logical Indian spoke to the team’s leader, Rifath Shaarook. Rifath is only 18 years old and extremely passionate about space. He grew up in a science-crazy household, with his small room in Pallapatti, Karur, Tamil Nadu serving as his first research station.

“My dad, Mohamed Farook, was a scientist who did independent research in astronomy,” Rifath said. “He was an EC Engineer. He passed away in 2008 when I was 9. We always talked about space and astronomy in my childhood. I used to tell him that, one day, I would launch a satellite of my own. Now that’s dream is coming true but, sadly, my dad is no more with me.”

Shaarook built the 65gram (0.14lb) device as an exercise in demonstrating how well carbon fiber performs when 3D printed.

His invention is now set for a sub-orbital, four-hour mission in outer space.

During this short mission, the tiny satellite will be fully operational for 12 minutes in space’s micro-gravity.

“We designed it completely from scratch. It will have a new kind of on-board computer and eight indigenous built-in sensors to measure acceleration, rotation and the magnetosphere of the earth,” he told Business Standard.

Shaarook named the little tech-wonder after India’s science-loving former President Abdul Kalam. He calls it KalamSat.

Kalam spearheaded many initiatives and paved the way for the country’s aeronautical scientists to make great advancements in space exploration for India.

Shaarok’s background is a humble one. He comes from a small town in Tamil Nadu and is currently working as a lead scientist for Space Kidz India.

The program encourages and promotes young children and teenagers in India to study science and education.

Shaarok also has a history of invention. For example, three years prior, he built a variation of a helium weather balloon as part of a nationwide young scientist’s competition. 

Wankel Engine.

Friday, June 22, 2012, the Wankel rotary engine's last remaining and steadfast devotee, Mazda, produced their final rotary engine in their Hiroshima plant. The Wankel engine never really fulfilled its promises and hopes, though over its history over 25 major automobile, motorcycle, tractor, and aircraft companies, ranging from Suzuki to Rolls-Royce, were actively researching, developing, and/or building the piston-less engine.

The Wankel motor is one of those things that, for all its issues, was just too pure and beautiful for engineers to ignore. With far fewer parts than a regular reciprocating piston engine and a visually elegant design, it's no wonder Mazda kept with it. For a given displacement, it produces far more power than a given piston engine, at a much smaller size and weight. It can rev faster and is inherently smooth, since the motive force is rotational from start to finish— not the back-and-forth hopping of a piston engine. The down side is that Wankels are always a bit more fuel-gluttonous than a piston engine, and almost always have dirtier exhaust. Poor fuel economy and more polluting are pretty much the only strikes you need against you in our modern age, so the mainstream Wankel is going away.

Felix Wankel was a gifted and largely self-taught engineer. The fundamental concept behind the rotary engine came to him quite early, as he is reported to have told friends at the age of 17 he would build a new kind of car with "a new type of engine, half turbine, half reciprocating. It is my invention!" I think I remember saying similar things at 17, but replace "turbine" and "reciprocating" with "boobs" and "magic".

Wankel's past was checkered, with periods in Hitler Youth and the Nazi party, though he was forced out in 1932. After his first patent in 1929 for the engine, it wasn't until after WWII that development started in earnest, thanks to a development deal with NSU in 1951. In 1957, an NSU engineer built the first working Wankel motor without Wankel knowing, which caused him to comment "you have turned my race horse into a plow mare." Like a typical gearhead, I'm sure Wankel was imaging a powerful racing motor instead of the practical lump made by NSU.

The NSU Spider was the first production Wankel-engined car, in 1964. A pretty little rear-engined roadster, it was sort of like the VW Type III convertible that was never made, with its under-trunk-floor engine position and two luggage compartments. Later NSU created the legendary Ro80, a beautiful rotary-engined sedan that looked 20+ years ahead of its time. Sadly, the Wankel proved to be the achilles heel of the car, with issues with rotor-tip sealing causing some engines to fail as early as 30,000 miles.

Attempts from the Wankel's homeland were nothing compared with the engine's longest and greatest patron, Mazda. Starting with the lovely Cosmo back in 1967 (which had the first two-rotor Wankel) and ending this year with the advanced Renesis engine in the RX-8, Mazda has built cars (and trucks) with rotary engines for 45 years, and in that time managed to work out most of the major sealing and other issues.

The final version of Mazda's rotary, the Renesis, made 238 HP out of 1.3 liters— very impressive. Less impressive is its fuel consumption and emissions, the latter being the final, shiny coffin nail, as the engine failed to pass the Euro 5 emissions tests. Mazda did release a limited run of a hydrogen-based rotary engine, but future development seems unlikely.

It's not totally gone, though. The engine's just too elegant and simple to disappear entirely, and is finding strange and novel niches in which to survive. Like seat belts. The seat belt emergency pretensioner system in some Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen is actually a tiny Wankel motor driven by an explosive charge. I need to comb the junkyards and see if I can find one of those. Here's the patent on that.

Wankels may also stick around in certain niche markets, like for snowmobiles, since when they fail it's more gradual, and some power may still be generated, for a time. This is unlike piston engines, who may throw a rod and be done with it in a horrific moment of smoke and oil. For snowmobiles, this is a big deal, since breaking down can mean much more than an annoying afternoon. Much more as in lost noses and fingers to frostbite or determined wolves. UAVs are also experimenting with small Wankels, since their simplicity and durability are big advantages for robot aircraft.

 http://jalopnik.com

So why aren’t we all driving Wankel-powered cars? 
The problem lies in the pitfalls of the design.
Fuel Economy: The Wankel’s combustion chamber is long, thin, and moves with the rotor. This causes a slow fuel burn. Engines try to combat this by using twin (leading and trailing) spark plugs. Even with the two plugs, combustion is often incomplete, leading to raw fuel being dumped out the exhaust port. The small 1.3 liter 232 horsepower two rotor engine in the 2011 Mazda RX-8 gets worse fuel economy (16 city / 23 highway) than the 6.2 liter 455 horsepower V8 engine used in the 2015 Corvette Stingray (17 city / 29 highway).
Emissions: The unburnt fuel, along with burned oil (described below) both result in terrible emissions from Wankel engines. The emissions problems are one of several reasons the RX-8 was pulled from production.
 
Sealing: Rotors use seals on the faces, seals around the central port, and most importantly apex seals. The apex seal rides the wall of the housing, sealing each of the three chambers formed by the rotor. The apex seals are under extreme thermal and pressure stresses as they travel around the engine housing. Failing apex seals are the primary cause of rotary engines going down for overhaul. YouTube is littered with videos showing the rotary overhaul process.
Much like piston rings, these seals have to be lubricated. However, due to the design of the rotary engine, there is no way to keep the oil lubricating the seals out of the combustion chamber. Mazda engines include an injector pump which pushes small amounts of oil right into the engine housing, as well as into the air intake. This oil is eventually burned, causing increased carbon and emissions over the life of the engines.
Overhaul interval: Rotary engines in general don’t last as long as piston powered engines. As explained eloquently by Regular Car Reviews, the primary problem is with the seals. Browsing Mazda and rotary forums shows people rebuilding somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 miles. However, this all must be taken with a grain of salt. The RX-7 and 8 are after all, sports cars. While some people treat them gingerly, many people drive these cars hard. Aftermarket performance parts like turbochargers will also negatively impact engine reliability.

A step closer to LIMITLESS energy

UK's latest nuclear fusion reactor could supply the grid with clean power by 2030

The heart of the Tokamak ST40 reactor will reach 100 million centigrade in 2018

Temperature could trigger nuclear fusion and release huge amounts of energy

And by 2030, the reactor will provide clean energy to the UK's national grid

Britain's newest fusion reactor has been fired up and taken the world one step further towards generating electricity from the power of the stars.

The heart of the Tokamak ST40 reactor - a super-hot cloud of electrically charged gas, or plasma - is expected to reach a temperature of 100 million centigrade next year.

That is how hot it needs to be to trigger fusion, the joining together of atomic nuclei accompanied by an enormous release of energy.

And by 2030, the reactor will provide clean energy to the UK's national grid, according to its creators Tokamak Energy.

Fusion involves placing hydrogen atoms under high heat and pressure until they fuse into helium atoms.

The same process enables stars to shine and in a less controlled way provides the destructive force of H-bombs.

Tokamak Energy, a private company pioneering fusion power in the UK, built the new reactor at Milton Park, Oxfordshire.

It is Tokamak Energy's third upgraded reactor and represents the latest step in a five-stage plan to bring fusion power to the national grid by 2030.

Fusion power holds out the promise of almost unlimited supplies of clean energy. It uses special forms of hydrogen as fuel, produces no greenhouse gases, and the only waste product is helium.

But harnessing and raining in the mighty forces involved is a daunting challenge.

The plasma, which at 100m C is seven times hotter than the centre of the sun, has to be contained in a doughnut-shaped 'magnetic bottle'.

The tokamak is the most developed magnetic confinement system and is the basis for designing fusion reactors.

Plasma is contained in a vacuum vessel, which is then heated by driving a current through it.

Combining two sets of magnetic coils creates a field in both vertical and horizontal directions, acting as a magnetic 'cage' to hold and shape the plasma.

The heating provided by the current plasma supplies a third of the 100 million°C temperature required to make fusion occur.

Additional plasma heating is provided when neutral hydrogen atoms are injected at high speed into the plasma, which is ionized and trapped by the magnetic field. As slowed down, they transfer their energy to the plasma and heat it.

High-frequency currents are also induced in the plasma by external coils.

The frequencies are chosen to match regions where the energy absorption is very high.

This way, large amounts of power may be transferred to the plasma.

Some way has also got to be found to turn the energy of fast-moving elementary particles into electricity.

Speaking after the ST40 reactor was officially turned on and achieved 'first plasma', Tokamak Energy chief executive Dr David Kingham said: 'Today is an important day for fusion energy development in the UK, and the world.

'We are unveiling the first world-class controlled fusion device to have been designed, built and operated by a private venture.

'The ST40 is a machine that will show fusion temperatures - 100 million degrees - are possible in compact, cost-effective reactors.

This will allow fusion power to be achieved in years, not decades.'

He said the project, now halfway to the goal of fusion energy, still needed 'significant investment'.

To date, the company has raised £20 million from private contributors.

Dr Kingham added: 'Our approach continues to be to break the journey down into a series of engineering challenges, raising additional investment to reach each new milestone.'

https://www.techpowerup.com/…/uks-latest-nuclear-fusion-re…/

Jet Train from the 1970s

The first experiments to create a high-speed models of locomotives in the Soviet Union began in the 1930s. In 1934, at the Kolomna plant carried out preliminary designs of high-speed trains.The Russians want to copy the USA’s first Jet Train.

Don Wetzel, an engineer for the New York Central Railroad, was given the task in the mid-1960s of trying to make trains safer, less expensive and faster. 

His solution: strap two jet engines to the roof of a locomotive and see what happens.

What happened was Wetzel created the first jet-powered train that even to this day is the fastest locomotive in America.

A turbojet train is a train powered by turbojet engines. Like a jet aircraft, but unlike a gas turbine locomotive, the train is propelled by the jet thrust of the engines, rather than by its wheels. Only a handful of jet-powered trains have been built, for experimental research in high-speed rail. Turbojet engines have been built with the engine incorporated into a railcar combining both propulsion and passenger accommodation rather than as separate locomotives hauling passenger coaches.

Turbojet engines are most efficient at high speeds and so they have been applied to high-speed passenger services, rather than freight.

Some time ago we had a few photos of a piece of technology called “Soviet Turbojet Train”.   The projected speed for this out-of-the-sixties monster was planned to be up to 360 km/h, and it set a record of 250 km/h on the Soviet standard railway. The project was discarded afterwards, partly due to the very high fuel consumption of the jet engines compared to the engines of jet planes, and we thought the only train built was lost, but recently these guys discovered it rusting on the back ways of some railroad.

The first attempt to use turbojet engines on a railroad was made by the New York Central Railroad in 1966. Their railcar M-497 was able to reach speeds up to 184 miles per hour (296 km/h) – we will cover that next week

The Russian train maker Kalininsky formed the Speed Wagon Laboratory. Following the New Yorker’s example, the modified the chassis of one of their ER22 head engines to look more or less like a rough version of a Shinkansen, the Japanese bullet train which was already working in 1964 at 130 mph (210km/h).

They added two turbojet engines on the front as well: two turbojets from a Yakovlev YAK-40. Their first test was in 1971 on the line joining Golutvin with Ozery. They achieved a low 116mph (187km/h). However, they kept increasing the speed until they got up to 154mph (249km/h).

Like it’s American counterpart it never really went any further than that. Jet fuel costs, noise levels, and probably just the fact that this is plane old silly contributed to the closing of the programs in both countries..

Apollo 11 being rolled out to the launch site of the Kennedy Space Center in July, 1969.

Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first two humans on the Moon. Mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin, both American, landed the lunar module Eagle on July 20, 1969, at 20:18 UTC.

Inclination: 1.25°

Period: 2 hours

Launch date: July 16, 1969, 6:32 AM GMT-7

Dates: 16 Jul. 1969 – 24 Jul. 1969

Crew size: 3

Operator: NASA

Members: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin

Cool ways to generate electricity from the ocean!

Ocean energy has many forms, encompassing tides, surface waves, ocean circulation, salinity and thermal gradients.  There is growing interest around the world in the utilization of wave energy and marine currents (tidal stream) for the generation of electrical power. Marine currents are predictable and could be utilized without the need for barrages and the impounding of water, whilst wave energy is inherently less predictable, being a consequence of wind energy. The conversion of these resources into sustainable electrical power offers immense opportunities to nations endowed with such resources and this work is partially aimed at addressing such prospects.

Researchers first examined how human-modified sea floors could mimic the ability of muddy shoreline seabeds to dampen and absorb ocean wave energy.  Then began considering how a synthetic seabed might harness that wave power to produce electricity, and this research led Lehmann to eventually develop the Wave Carpet.

A flexible membrane that runs the length of each Wave Carpet undulates in response to passing waves, absorbing much of their energy, just as muddy sea floors do.

Fastened to the membrane are a series of vertical double-action pumps. When flexed by wave energy, the membrane drives the pumps to pressurize and push seawater through a shared discharge pipe. The water gushing through that pipe powers a shore-based turbine that can generate electricity, drive a desalination plant, or do both.

The Wave Carpet is also designed to survive tough ocean conditions. It’s built of corrosion-resistant materials, operates submerged and thus sheltered from storm conditions, and sits far enough below the waterline to eliminate most surface collision danger.

An average device will measure about 30 feet long by 30 feet wide and about 3-10 feet high, depending on local conditions, says Alam. Several devices can also be sited together on one shoreline to power one or more turbines.

Pasona's Urban Farm the Farm to office desk ( Amazing Technology)

 

Forget farm to table, how about farm to office desk?

New York firm Kono Designs created the urban farm in 2010, in a nine-storey office building in Tokyo to allow employees to grow and harvest their own food at work. Dezeen spoke with company principal Yoshimi Kono this week to hear more about the project.

Pasona Urban Farm

"Workers in nearby buildings can be seen pointing out and talking about new flowers and plants and even the seasons – all in the middle of a busy intersection in Tokyo's metropolitan area," Kono told Dezeen. "The change in the way local people think and what they talk about was always one of the long-term goals of the project."

Pasona Urban Farm

The creation of the new headquarters for Japanese recruitment firm Pasona consisted of refurbishing a 50 year old building to include office areas, an auditorium, cafeterias, a rooftop garden and urban farming facilities. Inside the 19,974 square metre office building there are 3995 square metres dedicated to green space that house over 200 species of plants, fruits, vegetables and rice.

Kono told Dezeen that all of the food is harvested, prepared and served on-site in the cafeterias - making Pasona's Urban Farm the largest farm-to-table office scheme in Japan.

Pasona employees are encourage to maintain and harvest the crops and are supported by a team of agricultural specialists.

Pasona Urban Farm

"My client has a larger vision to help create new farmers in urban areas of Japan and a renewed interest in that lifestyle," Kono told Dezeen.

"One way to encourage this is to not just tell urban communities about farms and plants, but to actively engage with them through both a visual intervention in their busy lifestyle and educational programs focusing on farming methods and practices that are common in Japan," he added.

Pasona Urban Farm

The building has a double-skin green facade where flowers and orange trees are planted on small balconies. From the outside, the office block appears to be draped in green foliage.

"The design focus was not on the imposed standards of green, where energy offsets and strict efficiency rates rule," said Kono. "But rather on an idea of a green building that can change the way people think about their daily lives and even their own personal career choice and life path."

Pasona Urban Farm

Inside the offices, tomato vines are suspended above conference tables, lemon and passion fruit trees are used as partitions for meeting spaces, salad leaves are grown inside seminar rooms and bean sprouts are grown under benches.

Pasona Urban Farm

Plants hang in bags surrounding meeting desks and there are vines growing within vertical cages and wooden plant boxes around the building.

Pasona Urban Farm

Ducts, pipes and vertical shafts were rerouted to the perimeter of the building to allow for maximum height ceilings and a climate control system is used to monitor humidity, temperature and air flow in the building to ensure it is safe for the employees and suitable for the farm.

Pasona Urban Farm

"It is important not to just think about how we can use our natural resources better from a distance, but to actively engage with nature and create new groups of people who have a deep interest and respect for the world they live in," said Kono.

Pasona Urban Farm

"It is important to note that this is not a passive building with plants on the walls, this is an actively growing building, with plantings used for educational workshops where Pasona employees and outside community members can come in and learn farming practices."

Pasona Urban Farm

Yoshimi Kono studied architecture in Tokyo and was a chief designer with Shigeru Uchida at Studio 80 in Tokyo and later became partner at Vignelli Associates in New York. He founded Kono Designs in 2000.

Pasona Urban Farm

Plants growing on the outside and inside of buildings have been popular on Dezeen recently. Other features include the news that botanist Patrick Blanc has unveiled his latest green wall during Paris Design Week this week and we reported on Blanc's collaboration with French architect Jean Nouvel to create the world's tallest living wall in Sydney.

Pasona Urban Farm

Photographs are courtesy of Kono Designs.

Here's a project description:

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Pasona Urban Farm

Located in down-town Tokyo, Pasona HQ is a nine story high, 215,000 square foot corporate office building for a Japanese recruitment company, Pasona Group. Instead of building a new structure from ground up, an existing 50 years old building was renovated, keeping its building envelope and superstructure.

Pasona Urban Farm

The project consists of a double-skin green facade, offices, an auditorium, cafeterias, a rooftop garden and most notably, urban farming facilities integrated within the building. The green space totals over 43,000 square feet with 200 species including fruits, vegetables and rice that are harvested, prepared and served at the cafeterias within the building. It is the largest and most direct farm-to-table of its kind ever realised inside an office building in Japan.

Pasona Urban Farm

The double-skin green facade features seasonal flowers and orange trees planted within the 3' deep balconies. Partially relying on natural exterior climate, these plants create a living green wall and a dynamic identity to the public. This was a significant loss to the net rentable area for a commercial office. However, Pasona believed in the benefits of urban farm and green space to engage the public and to provide better workspace for their employees.

Pasona Urban Farm

The balconies also help shade and insulate the interiors while providing fresh air with operable windows, a practical feature not only rare for a mid rise commercial building but also helps reduce heating and cooling loads of the building during moderate climate. The entire facade is then wrapped with deep grid of fins, creating further depth, volume and orders to the organic green wall.

Pasona Urban Farm

Within the interior, the deep beams and large columns of the existing structure are arranged in a tight interval causing low interior ceiling of 7'-6". With building services passing below, some area was even lower at 6'-8". Instead, all ducts, pipes and their vertical shafts were re-routed to the perimeter, allowing maximum height with exposed ceilings between the beams.

Lightings are then installed, hidden on the bottom vertical edge of the beams, turning the spaces between the beams into a large light cove without further lowering the ceiling. This lighting method, used throughout the workspace from second floor to 9th floor, achieved 30% less energy than the conventional ceiling mounted method.

Pasona Urban Farm

Besides creating a better work environment, Pasona also understands that in Japan opportunities for job placement into farming are very limited because of the steady decline of farming within the country. Instead, Pasona focuses on educating and cultivating next generation of farmers by offering public seminars, lectures and internship programs.

The programs empower students with case studies, management skills and financial advices to promote both traditional and urban farming as lucrative professions and business opportunities. This was one of the main reason for Pasona to create urban farm within their headquarters in downtown Tokyo, aiming to reverse the declining trend in the number of farmers and to ensure sustainable future food production.

Pasona Urban Farm

Currently, Japan produces less than one-third of their grain locally and imports over 50 million tons of food annually, which on average is transported over 9,000 miles, the highest in the world. As the crops harvested in Pasona HQ are served within the building cafeterias, it highlights 'zero food mileage' concept of a more sustainable food distribution system that reduces energy and transportation cost.

Pasona Urban Farm

Japan's reliance on imported food is due to its limited arable land. Merely 12% of its land is suitable for cultivation. Farmland in Pasona HQ is highly efficient urban arable land, stacked as a vertical farm with modern farming technology to maximise crop yields.

Despite the increased energy required in the upkeep of the plants, the project believes in the long term benefits and sustainability in recruiting new urban farmers to practice alternative food distribution and production by creating more urban farmland and reducing food mileage in Japan.

Pasona Urban Farm

Using both hydroponic and soil based farming, in Pasona HQ, crops and office workers share a common space. For example, tomato vines are suspended above conference tables, lemon and passion fruit trees are used as partitions for meeting spaces, salad leaves are grown inside seminar rooms and bean sprouts are grown under benches.

Pasona Urban Farm

The main lobby also features a rice paddy and a broccoli field. These crops are equipped with metal halide, HEFL, fluorescent and LED lamps and an automatic irrigation system. An intelligent climate control system monitors humidity, temperature and breeze to balance human comfort during office hours and optimise crop growth during after hours. This maximises crop yield and annual harvests.

Pasona Urban Farm

Besides future sustainability of farmers, Pasona HQ's urban farm is beyond visual and aesthetic improvement. It exposes city workers to growing crops and interaction with farmland on a daily basis and provides improvement in mental health, productivity and relaxation in the workplace. Studies show that most people in urbanised societies spend over 80% of their time indoors. Plants are also known to improve the air quality we breathe by carbon sequestration and removing volatile organic compound. A sampling on the air at Pasona HQ have shown reduction of carbon dioxide where plants are abundant. Such improvement on the air quality can increase productivity at work by 12%, improves common symptoms of discomfort and ailments at work by 23%, reduce absenteeism and staff turnover cost.

Pasona Urban Farm by Kono Designs

Employees of Pasona HQ are asked to participate in the maintenance and harvesting of crops with the help of agricultural specialists. Such activity encourages social interaction among employees leading to better teamwork on the job. It also provides them with a sense of responsibility and accomplishment in growing and maintaining the crops that are ultimately prepared and served to their fellow co-workers at the building's cafeterias.

Pasona Urban Farm

Pasona Urban Farm is a unique workplace environment that promotes higher work efficiency, social interaction, future sustainability and engages the wider community of Tokyo by showcasing the benefits and technology of urban agriculture.