”๐๐ง ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด๐ด” – Magnus Tรฅngring, Volvo Construction Equipment Hallsberg.
It takes a driven, curious and bold engineer to try out new technology. In this case, his name is Magnus Tรฅngring and he works as a process engineer at Volvo CE in Hallsberg.
Hallsbergโs lacquering facility is a nearly wastewater-free site, where water is constantly circulating and reused. In this closed system consisting of a number of large tanks and pipes, microbiological growth used to contaminate the water.
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ง ๐ฐ๐๐ญ๐๐ซ?
โExtremely important. The chemical processes work best with clean water and 90% of our tanks contain water. If we donโt have control over the water, we lose control over the rest of the process.โ
Magnus first heard about PBS through a supplier in 2023. He understood the potential of ozone as a water purifier, and hoped they could finally gain control over the process water quality theyโve had trouble with.
After a 6-month pilot including ~40 lab tests, the results speak for themselves: completely bacteria-free water entering the system, and minimal bacterial growth 70 meters down the pipes.
๐๐ก๐๐ง ๐๐ข๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ญ๐๐๐ก๐ง๐จ๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ?
โWhen we did the first ever lab test and saw the difference between before and after. The second time was when the technicians showed me the flow meter and how much cleaner it was compared to 3 months ago. This could only be due to reduced microbiological growthโ.
Ultimately, Magnus hopes to reduce wastewater even more, by keeping one batch of process water circulating in the system for a longer time.
After the pilot, Volvo CE Hallsberg decided to buy the installed unit, and is currently looking into how they could use a mobile unit to clean the water used outside the closed-loop system.
โPersonally I find it very exciting to be part of a productโs journey from the start. Doing pilot tests, adapting and learningโ, says Magnus, showing exactly the drive, curiosity and boldness it takes to try something new.
Text and interview: Johanna Swartling
Pictures: John Nyberg from PBS, Magnus Tรฅngring and Patrik Hammar from Volvo CE Hallsberg
