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Market information
Rapidly increasing urbanization
This is a consequence of development that China has been experiencing for some time now. Rapidly increasing industrialization and urbanization pose major problems for large cities such as Shanghai and Beijing. This devel- opment has made it dif cult to structure a well-function- ing water system, meaning large parts of the population cannot be supplied with clean drinking water, explains the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. Even today, around 100 million people in China have no access to clean drinking water. The same time, water demand will increase by more than 500 billion cubic metres between 2005 and 2030. Water scarcity is particularly prevalent in the ‘dry’ north of China.
On top of that, contaminated wastewater from industry reaches the ground water and rivers un ltered, reports the Federal Ministry and 57 percent of ground water ranks bad or very bad in quality estimates. In addition, there is a great shortage of industrial and public wastewater treatment systems. But it’s not only megacities suffering from this shortage. Rural areas are not experiencing the economic boost that could be possible, as a lack of water resources is putting the brakes on this.
Extensive investments in China
The situation in China is that the danger has been recog- nized, but not quite put to a stop yet. For several years, the Chinese government has been making “substantial investments in the expansion of the necessary infra- structure,” according to the Federal Ministry. However, experts believe that investment in water and sanitation infrastructure so far has not kept pace with China’s rate of urbanization.
Meanwhile, China intends to tackle its water problem with two strategies: transport and water treatment. One project to provide the required amount of water to the arid north of China is the South-North Water Transfer Project, the construction of which began in the mid- 1990s.This will provide for the transport of 3.6 billion cubic metres of water per year over a distance of around 1,200 kilometres. Numerous pipes have already been installed and two of three routes have now been com- pleted. By 2050, it should be possible to transport 44.8 billion cubic metres of water each year. The estimated cost of the project is approx. 500 billion US dollars.
Water management has become more professional
A mega-project, but one that cannot solve the funda- mental problems with sewage. But here, too, there is progress. “China’s water management has clearly become more professional,” summarizes GRAI. The professional-
PIPE ID 4.0: MONITORING PIPE PLANTS IN REAL TIME
SCHULER INTRODUCES COMPREHENSIVE PROCESS CONTROL SYSTEM FOR THE MANUFACTURING OF LARGE PIPES INCLUDING PRODUCT DATA ACQUISITION.
For its spiral pipe plants, Schuler continuously develops optimizations aiming at similar objectives: creating a stable and safe process flow which offers high quality large pipes, low costs of operation and a high degree of automation. This is also true for the company’s latest innovation, Pipe ID 4.0 – a comprehensive process control system for the manufacturing of large pipes in real time featuring a track and trace system, overall equipment efficiency (OEE) monitoring, condition monitoring, smart diagnostics and power monitoring.
Schuler has already implemented machine monitoring in other production lines, e. g. for the manufacturing of railway wheels.