Alliance unveils $2.3m UV water treatment system
Wednesday, 4 December 2024
Alliance Group has finished installing what it says is the world’s largest Supercritical Ultraviolet (UV) Water Treatment System at its Mataura plant.
The $2.3 million investment was a condition of the group’s resource consent to discharge water into the Mataura River, which was granted in 2021.
Nevertheless, Hokonui Rūnanga, who opposed the application, have congratulated Alliance on its commitment to the health of the Mataura.
It was the second technology investment Alliance have announced this week, after launching new AI-powered probes to analyse meat quality.
The UV water treatment system was developed by New Zealand manufacturers NovoLabs — based in Palmerston North — and while it’s been in development for 18 years, it had only been sold commercially for three.
It passed water between multiple, stacked UV lamps to disinfect it, rather than using chemical pre-treatment.
NovoLabs business development manager Jordan Shilton said that while UV disinfection had been widely used over the past 40 years, it hadn’t been used for cloudy liquids yet because typically, its efficacy decreased as the liquid’s clarity did.
“The key difference between legacy UV and NovoLabs Supercritical UV is that Supercritical UV can disinfect liquids with 100 times lower clarity,” he said.
NovoLabs had patented its Supercritical UV technology.
Alliance Chief executive Willie Wiese said that by adopting the technology, the group was setting a new benchmark for the industry.
“This investment highlights our commitment to the Mataura plant, showcases our dedication to New Zealand innovation and reflects how determined we are to adopt sustainable practices that benefit both the environment and the community,” he said.
“We’re working hard to drive continuous improvement and improve the environmental footprint of our plant network across the country.”
Alliance applied to renew multiple consents for its takes and discharges into the Mataura River in 2019.
While Environment Southland received multiple submissions supporting the application, it was opposed by the Department of Conservation, Fish and Game New Zealand’s Southland branch, Hokonui Rūnanga-Aukaha and Te Rūnanga O Ngāi Tahu.
The consents were eventually granted by independent commissioners in 2021, with conditions including that equipment be installed to disinfect wastewater discharged from the Mataura plant.
Hokonui Rūnanga manager Terry Nicholas said the $2.3m investment was an example of a major industry working to improve the health of the river.
“You’ve got to congratulate them in achieving this.”
He hoped the group would lead the way, as working with industry positioned along the river was one of the objectives of Reimagining Mataura, Nicholas said.
“It’s not just the Mataura, it’s all the tributaries that run into the river,” Nicholas said.
Hokonui Rūnanga kaiārihi taiao Riki Parata said the new technology showed Alliance’s forward-thinking approach to improving water quality.
But, there needed to be “a concerted effort along the river” to restore its health, he said.
The rūnanga still stood by its stance that there should be no discharges into the river, Parata said.
Alliance’s beef and lamb processing plants were also being fitted with probes from AI- technology and machine learning business Meat Eating Quality.
The probes analysed the intramuscular fat in lamb and marbling in beef, key indicators of tenderness, juiciness and flavour, to give farmers instant insight into the quality of their animals and help them make decisions about breeding, feeding and livestock management.
“Our Meat Eating Experience (MEEx) programme independently verifies the quality of each livestock unit to ensure an exceptional eating experience,” Wiese said.
Platinum and Gold status farmers will be able to access a dashboard and request tailored results.
The tool would also help Alliance create regional benchmarks which it hoped to share with farmers by the end of the year.
“This new dashboard is part of Alliance’s enhanced offering for farmers, alongside a simplified equitable livestock pricing schedule and processing sheets, a reshaped loyalty programme, and refined premium programmes,” Wiese said.