Walking Thoughts

As someone who has returned to more traditional vegetarian foods after reducing plant-based meat alternatives, I found this paper on mycotoxins in UK meat substitutes and plant-based beverages particularly thought-provoking. I was struck by the headline finding that detectable mycotoxins were present, and fascinated by the possibile implications of chronic low-level co-exposure from highly processed composite foods. I am keen on selecting vegan alternatives. As the meat-free landscape changed in supermarkets, at first I was thrilled. Then I began to experience unexplained abdominal pain, with standard clinical investigations returning negative for an internal cause. Yet I’ve noticed a significant improvement after removing the newer plant-based meat alternatives from my diet. Of course that does not establish causation, and there are many possible explanations. But studies like this are a useful reminder that food systems are biochemically complex, and that “plant-based” and “healthy” ...

  Today I found myself reflecting on something quietly important about engineering delivery. I was reviewing a colleague’s scope for nutrient removal. One of those vital but often unsung areas of environmental investment that protects rivers from eutrophication and helps safeguard ecosystems, biodiversity and water quality for future generations. We discussed carbon reduction. We discussed treatment process options. We discussed how a concept evolves into something that can actually be procured, constructed and ultimately operated reliably in the real world. And it struck me that there are really two distinct forms of process engineering at play in capital delivery. There is process engineering for treatment design: The science. The chemistry. The hydraulics. The biological understanding. The art of creating a treatment solution that achieves environmental compliance and protects receiving watercourses. But there is also process engineering for procurement and construction: Transla...

  Seven months into my new role, and no two days look the same. It’s been a full and varied week already. And it’s only Tuesday.  Today took me out to a WRC, boots on, brain switched fully into process mode, exploring an innovative treatment technology with the potential to shape the future capital schemes I deliver and protect the environment. That site visit  was sandwiched between working from home in the morning To a Teams meeting Working remotely in the afternoon. My seven months to date has been a period defined by momentum and collaboration. I’ve had the privilege of receiving feedback from a multidisciplinary team spanning operations, science, and asset planning. One comment stayed with me: that the depth of knowledge demonstrated on the site and the different technologies were clearly appreciated, and every question was met with clarity and depth. That balance  of technical rigour without losing the audience is something I’ve worked hard to refine. But none ...

  Rutland is the sort of place that looks, at first glance, like it might apologise if you bumped into it. It is small. Not just small in the way that a village is small, but small in the way a well-kept secret is small. You can cross it in the time it takes for a cup of tea to become thoughtfully drinkable. And yet, like certain cupboards and at least one well-known wardrobe, it contains rather more than its dimensions strictly permit. Rutland is small enough that history cannot help but bump into itself. In larger counties, the past has room to stretch out, to yawn, to keep a respectful distance from the present. In Rutland, it must share the same narrow lanes, queue politely at the same village shop, and occasionally apologise when it treads on its own toes. Take  Rutland Water , for instance. Officially, it is a reservoir.  Unofficially, it is a sort of inland sea that dreams of tides. The water lies there, doing its best impression of a respectable reservoir, bu...

  The circular economy is about maintaining the highest value for as long as possible in the resources we use through Intelligent design maintenance and reuse and refurbishment before they need to be recycled or recovered. Intelligent design 1996 to 2002 Research into efficient regeneration of granular activated carbon To Remove organics from water for supply As clean drinking water My PhD is the design of a novel reactor to remediate pollutant in water using recycled materials for environmental protection. Innovative technology for water and wastewater treatment for portable supply and water recycling to the environment. Technical evaluation of technology Maintenance 2009 to 2020 Performance and risk balancing performance of water Treatment assets and water recycling assets with the risk carried by the business so that they are neither over maintained nor under maintained. This achieved efficient maintenance strategies. Predictive maintenance maintained assets Preventing the need ...

  However the circular economy approach is different and involves changing the linear approach by closing the loop. This involves  designing out waste at the beginning designing and  manufacturing products so they can be maintained over their lifetime  designing for deconstruction  recycling end of life products back into new products and materials and maintaining the value of the materials in the product cycle to refurbishment reuse and recycling and avoiding landfill.  This has high level benefits on the environment including  reducing the need to extract raw virgin materials  reducing greenhouse gas emissions and  reducing waste and pollution.  It also has other business benefits including  Stream lining manufacturing processes  saving costs such as production costs and landfill tax  improving customer interaction and loyalty  improving local economy resilience,  ensuring a more secure source of supply for raw...