Archive for April, 2016

NEW SOIL STEAMING FACILITY IN VIETNAM

Dienstag, April 19th, 2016

A mobile steam facility for sterilising substrate and soil was launched in the first quarter of 2016 at one of the largest national seed producers in Vietnam.  The leading company is implementing the extremely cost-effective sandwich-type steam procedure for the first time using a hood with pins to sanitise topsoil up to a depth of 25cm under covered greenhouses, and thereby fully liberates them from weeds and soil-borne diseases.

Very effective sandwich steaming with two steaming hoods with spikes
Very effective sandwich steaming with two steaming hoods with spikes

Here, two manually portable steaming hoods with a surface cover of 8m² and 20cm deep special hollow pins are applied in each case. Both hoods are used in parallel and alternately moved. A steam chamber with a steam output of 400kg per hour is therefore used.  The system’s ground coverage amounts to up to 400m² per working day, in which the soil is heated to more than 80°C within seven minutes at a depth of 25cm.

Steaming of coco peat in special steaming bunkers with vacuum system
Steaming of coco peat in special steaming bunkers with vacuum system

In addition to steaming surfaces with the sandwich-type steaming method using a hood with pins, the company also sanitises large quantities of coco peat substrate. Therefore, special steam shelters were constructed with an extraction system and put into operation. Extraction is made possible using a special drainage system in the base of the individual immovable boxes. A mobile steam boiler, Type „S 350“, from the company MSD with a steam output of 400kg/h is also used for this purpose. The system works with the greatest efficiency and has the ability to fully clean up to 16m³ of coco peat at a target temperature of something above 80°C in one hour. The hot oil requirement rests on the basis of on-site readings with an average ~19L/h.

CITY OF BÖBLINGEN HAS FLOWER BEDS STEAMED

Dienstag, April 5th, 2016

In the spring of 2016, following a break, the nursery in the town of Böblingen decided to sanitise selected open spaces prior to sowing ornamental flowers in an environmentally friendly manner, by means of steaming weeds and weed seeds following recent years using other procedures in which no comparable, satisfactory results have been achieved.

The public provider therefore utilised the experience of the company mobildampf from Waiblingen (www.mobildampf.de). The company has provided steaming equipment and supervised as well as monitored the individual steaming processes.

Sheet steaming of flower beds in the city of Böblingen
Sheet steaming of flower beds in the city of Böblingen

Highlight beds on public streets were recently identified in the first days of April, which shall be designed as decorative flower arrangements, so-called „highlight beds“, following weed control using superheated steam. The company, mobildampf, has covered and steamed surfaces of up to 120m² in size within 2.5 days using the popular sheet steaming procedure. At the same time, a steam boiler from the company MSD was used with an output of up to 1,000kg steam/h.

The city of Böblingen made a conscious decision to use steam. Extra comparative tests were previously made in 2015 and thereby also left surfaces unsteamed. The results speaks for themselves (photos below). The steamed surfaces are completely weed free and the shoots of ornamental plants sown are clearly visible in rows. On the unsteamed surface (under the surface), the seeds grow uninhibitedly.

Steamed flower bed at Herrenberger Str. in Böblingen - no weeds
Steamed flower bed at Herrenberger Str. in Böblingen – no weeds
Unsteamed flower bed at Calwer street in Böblingen - weeds are everywhere
Unsteamed flower bed at Calwer street in Böblingen – weeds are everywhere

Unsteamed flower bed at Calwer street in Böblingen – weeds are everywhere