Research & Development: innovations designed and developed by Ortec

The elo electric sewer cleaning truck

RESPONSABLE SANITATION

ELO by Ortec is a range of 100% electric vehicles, including commercial vehicles and sewer cleaning trucks. It has revolutionised sanitation services by reducing the environmental impact of cleaning and pumping operations.

• Thanks to their electrical drive, ELO vehicles do not produce any air pollution (CO2, NOx, particles). A hydrocarbon pumping process reduces the release of toxic gases to the atmosphere and the risk of explosion. They can therefore be used in confined spaces, such as car parks and pedestrian areas. As they are silent, they can also be used at night without disturbing local residents.
• A high pressure (HP) system with adjustable flow reduces water consumption and the volume of waste. Cleaning and pumping operations are safer and more precise. There is less risk of pipe damage and flooding, and work sites are cleaner.

The ELO range comprises three vehicles: a 3.5-t sewer cleaning truck, a 14-t hybrid sewer cleaning truck for large-scale cleaning operations, and an eNV-200 utility vehicle ideal for working in urban areas.

The sewer cleaning truck for Atex Environments

CLEANER AND SAFER PUMPING, LOW VOC EMISSIONS

The Ortec group is developing new equipment, inventing new solutions and improving its service offering through research and development and grassroots innovation. Presentation of innovations by Ortec.

EOLBOX®

THE SELECTIVE COLLECTION

EOLBOX® is an integrated, turnkey and patented solution designed by Ortec to facilitate the management of Hazardous Industrial Waste (HIW) on wind farms. EOLBOX® comes in the form of a 30 m3 mobile container, which is installed on site and has separate receptacles for the various types of waste resulting from the installation and maintenance of wind turbines: soiled materials and packaging, aerosols, WEEE, lead batteries, OIW, fluorescent lights and waste oils. Robust, watertight and perfectly safe, this mobile waste disposal unit, which complies with the legislation applicable to ICPEs (classified facilities for the protection of the environment) on wind farms, can be used to collect, sort, store and transport waste to appropriate recovery and treatment facilities. EOLBOX® does not require a power supply and has natural ventilation and lighting.

One, digital forms

CONNECTED SOLUTIONS FOR TEAMS ON THE GROUND

ONE is a comprehensive electronic application that facilitates the multi-site management of operations such as waste management and sanitation. Job requests are entered via a simple user interface and sent directly to operators on the ground, who then generate a job report using the mobile version of the application. It allows customers to closely monitor all operations on their sites, in real time. They also have a record of all the work carried out.

The mobile application Digital Forms improves the on-site monitoring process and simplifies the production of job reports. Manual note taking is replaced by a touchscreen tablet with a user-friendly interface. The key is to save input time, reduce the risk of error and share information instantaneously to increase responsiveness.

Tools that drive businesses forward

NEW DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES APPLIED TO BUSINESS PRACTICES

• Augmented reality supports aviation tooling maintenance by enabling operators to view assembly/disassembly parts and procedures, etc.
• 3D printing is used to create equipment prototypes.
• Interactive zoning tools (data to plan) are used to graphically process data and convert it to an image file.
• A pilot project to design and develop Internet-connected glasses has been carried out to allow sanitation teams to be geolocated and guided by GPS, receive written instructions, take and send photos, etc.

Pipe lining

NO-DIG PIPE REPAIR

Ortec uses the pipe lining – or cladding – technology to repair sewage systems without digging trenches. Performed with suitable ergonomic equipment, the operation consists in inserting a resin-coated sleeve inside the existing pipe, which acts as a sheath to create a new pipe with no joints. There are many advantages to this technology. It is faster: it takes just one day to complete the work, compared to one week if a conventional method is used. It is quieter and more environmentally friendly: it does not require heavy machinery, so does not have an impact on the natural environment. It is also safer: because there is no digging, there is no risk of collapse or hitting a gas line. Lastly, the new pipe is stronger and more sustainable, as there are no joints.

NT4

THE ROBOTISED EHP DESCALER

NT4 is a mechanised solution for the critical or non-critical descaling of condenser tubes. It is designed specifically for use on nuclear sites, and does not affect the integrity of equipment. This programmable logic controller has four nozzles. It is easy to operate and improves user safety and operational efficiency. It takes just one day to install, takes up very little space – with a ground footprint of 5 m2 – and is capable of descaling tubes of all diameters. It can even be used on very long tubes, including those on horizontal heat exchangers, simply by adjusting the settings according to the type of scale. An innovative technology that optimises maintenance time during unit shutdowns, and therefore quickly restores condenser efficiency.

Thermal desorption

HEAT TREATMENT OF CONTAMINATED SOILS

A new and highly effective method of soil remediation, in-situ or ex-situ thermal desorption consists in heating contaminated soil to a temperature of 300°C through a network of tubes. This causes the volatilisation of pollutants, which are then captured using a suction system and either treated on site or reused as a fuel supplement. This very cost-effective technique can be used to treat soils contaminated by either heavy or light hydrocarbons, without producing any smell or waste.

Biopile traitment

THE BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF SOIL

Biopile treatment is a method of treating contaminated soil by biological mechanisms. It consists in stimulating bacterial activity to accelerate the natural biodegradation of hydrocarbons. The principle: the excavated soil is mixed, aerated and combined with compost before being assembled into piles in a treatment area with a leachate collection system. The biopile is then aerated by vacuum extraction, while the waste gases produced by biodegradation are collected for treatment.

Connected land management

Ortec’s innovative land management application is used in real estate development projects to calculate, in real time, the best orientation for a soil cluster at a given time. A decision-making tool to optimise soil cluster orientation and project monitoring, this innovation reduces the carbon footprint of building sites and saves resources (backfill).

NED

THE NUCLEAR DECONTAMINATION ROBOT

A mechanised solution for decontaminating nuclear reactor pools, the Nuclear Environment Decontaminator (NED) significantly reduces the exposure of personnel to radiation. The robot, which is controlled remotely from a less exposed area, can treat 90% of the pool’s surface. It can treat walls up to two metres high, and its speed of travel can be controlled to ensure the uniform application of cleaning products. The NED minimises decontamination times.