What does sustainability mean? Sustainability consists of meeting the needs of current generations without compromising the needs of future generations, while ensuring a balance between economic growth, environmental care, and social well-being. Here at Encorus Group, we are striving to operate our business in an environmentally sustainable manner, by implementing sustainable practices.
This past April, Alfred State College students Derek Walter and Jake Bethel worked with Encorus engineers Ross Trainor, Jeff Scott, and Geoff Chadwick to complete their senior design project at Encorus Group’s West Seneca office. Their project was focused around increasing the sustainability of the concrete curing chamber by reclaiming and recycling water used by the misting system. During the initial testing, the system reduced total water consumption by 45% and initial analysis states that tuning the system should cut the water used by half again.
The team has some more work to do to complete the project, such as reducing the vibration generated by the new pump. The new system adds the benefit of having an automatic continuous datalog of temperature and humidity for the concrete curing chamber as well as the amount of water used from now on. If Encorus Group is ever asked to prove the conditions a sample was cured in, we will have the level of data an ASME standards aficionado dreams about!
Encorus Group decided to undertake this project because we were looking to reduce waste water and improve environmental sustainability, and working with students on projects that provide real world experience is important to the firm.
Derek Walter stated that this project was valuable to his education because it allowed him to connect some of the concepts he learned in the classroom with a real-world application and it also showed him how different stages of a real-project are conducted, from design and documentation to testing and commissioning. From Geoff Chadwick’s perspective, “projects like this are valuable not for the engineering challenges or rewards, but for the community outreach and getting to know and work with students who may turn into future candidates after graduation”. Encorus Group has another Alfred State project starting up for this year.
