Good morning Mastodon!
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Good morning Mastodon! Remember when you were in primary school and went on school trips to places teachers though were important or free, and retained nothing from them except for who was sick on whom on the way there? Now you're older and nerdier did you ever think "Actually it might be really interesting to visit a major piece of civic infrastructure and learn how it works?" Just me? Well I was in luck today because the University sustainability team has organised a tour of #Exeter Energy Recovery Facility in #MarshBarton, where all our non-recyclable rubbish ends up.
https://www.viridor.co.uk/energy/energy-recovery-facilities/exeter-erf/
@afewbugs
I can highly recommend a visit to the Diamond Light Source synchrotron (a cyclic particle accelerator).It's free but tickets are by ballot.
https://www.diamond.ac.uk/Public/Public.html -
J jwcph@helvede.net shared this topic
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@TimWardCam @afewbugs I'm not sure I felt it as dodgy, the rhythmic pulsing and radiating warmth from the towers was both powerful and a bit scary... maybe that is dodgy! The huge warehouse with thousands of dumpy bags full of ammonium nitrate was something else as well. Disclaimer... I am a chemist.
@morgrugyn @afewbugs I wasn't much of a chemist. I only just scraped through one of the mock A level papers, but I was lucky with the questions in the real exam and got an A.
Then came school prizegiving. "We want to give you the chemistry prize," they said, "although we know perfectly well you're not the best chemist - so and so is - but we want to give him the maths prize, despite you being best at maths, because [something to do with the values of the individual prizes being different and who they though should end up with the largest total value of prizes, I don't remember the details]. Is this OK with you?"
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@morgrugyn @afewbugs I wasn't much of a chemist. I only just scraped through one of the mock A level papers, but I was lucky with the questions in the real exam and got an A.
Then came school prizegiving. "We want to give you the chemistry prize," they said, "although we know perfectly well you're not the best chemist - so and so is - but we want to give him the maths prize, despite you being best at maths, because [something to do with the values of the individual prizes being different and who they though should end up with the largest total value of prizes, I don't remember the details]. Is this OK with you?"
@TimWardCam @afewbugs absolutely... all seems logical to me!
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@morgrugyn @afewbugs I wasn't much of a chemist. I only just scraped through one of the mock A level papers, but I was lucky with the questions in the real exam and got an A.
Then came school prizegiving. "We want to give you the chemistry prize," they said, "although we know perfectly well you're not the best chemist - so and so is - but we want to give him the maths prize, despite you being best at maths, because [something to do with the values of the individual prizes being different and who they though should end up with the largest total value of prizes, I don't remember the details]. Is this OK with you?"
@morgrugyn @afewbugs The other "lucky with the questions" I got was in my finals, in the numerical analysis paper (which was compulsory, otherwise pretty well nobody would have chosen that course). They asked questions that I'd happened to have revised the week before the exam - who knows whether I'd have got the first otherwise.
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@TimWardCam @afewbugs absolutely... all seems logical to me!
@morgrugyn @afewbugs It was something like: they had to give me the physics prize as well, but the single largest one was the maths one, and they reckoned it was fair to give that to the other boy, who was best at chemistry. I did not, of course, have a problem with this.
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@afewbugs Actually the only one I remember was to a chemical plant in Avonmouth, to see amongst other things some Haber process pressure vessels.
One of which blew up and killed someone a few years later.
High temperature hydrogen attack of the steel tanks?
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They have now put me in a room with coffee to await the rest of the tour group and instructed me not to touch anything, so I'm back on Mastodon to distract me from the irresistible urge to touch everything
@afewbugs wait, are you allowed to touch the COFFEE? I hope the answer is yes...
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High temperature hydrogen attack of the steel tanks?
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Good morning Mastodon! Remember when you were in primary school and went on school trips to places teachers though were important or free, and retained nothing from them except for who was sick on whom on the way there? Now you're older and nerdier did you ever think "Actually it might be really interesting to visit a major piece of civic infrastructure and learn how it works?" Just me? Well I was in luck today because the University sustainability team has organised a tour of #Exeter Energy Recovery Facility in #MarshBarton, where all our non-recyclable rubbish ends up.
https://www.viridor.co.uk/energy/energy-recovery-facilities/exeter-erf/
@afewbugs this reminds me that, for better or for worse, I mean to go on this tour one day. https://events.amazontours.com/uk/onsite/LCY3
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I ended up parking my bike in the covered racks at the newly built (2023 it turns out, but it still feels new to me) Marsh Barton station and walking back. See we can invest in infrastructure if we try!
@afewbugs Oooh, those are pretty decent! Roof could be a bit wider, but well spaced!
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@afewbugs Oooh, those are pretty decent! Roof could be a bit wider, but well spaced!
@afewbugs (I am also interested in the energy recovery centre, honest, just love a bit of decent bike infra
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M mjack@mastodon.bsd.cafe shared this topic
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They have now put me in a room with coffee to await the rest of the tour group and instructed me not to touch anything, so I'm back on Mastodon to distract me from the irresistible urge to touch everything
@afewbugs So is this a place that basically burns all the stuff? Or is that also yet to be determined?
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@afewbugs So is this a place that basically burns all the stuff? Or is that also yet to be determined?
@afewbugs Ah, found https://www.viridor.co.uk/erf-virtual-tour/
Burninating it is indeed. Have fun! Much looking forward to your report.
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Good morning Mastodon! Remember when you were in primary school and went on school trips to places teachers though were important or free, and retained nothing from them except for who was sick on whom on the way there? Now you're older and nerdier did you ever think "Actually it might be really interesting to visit a major piece of civic infrastructure and learn how it works?" Just me? Well I was in luck today because the University sustainability team has organised a tour of #Exeter Energy Recovery Facility in #MarshBarton, where all our non-recyclable rubbish ends up.
https://www.viridor.co.uk/energy/energy-recovery-facilities/exeter-erf/
@afewbugs Extremely jealous! Please post plenty of pics.
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They have now put me in a room with coffee to await the rest of the tour group and instructed me not to touch anything, so I'm back on Mastodon to distract me from the irresistible urge to touch everything
@afewbugs Go on! Touch stuff!!!!
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Even as late as 2014 the temperature and pressure safety limits were set too high for various types of steel. And any non destructive testing back in the 80s was probably not good enough to detect early methane build up.
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I cycled here and am stupidly early because I was (justifiably as it turns out) worried about bike parking, so you're just going to have to entertain me till 9:45, sorry folks. The back of the building is actually much more interesting than the front, I spotted it from a distance not just by the chimney but the flock of swifts swooping overhead, presumably catching flies drawn to the rubbish.
@afewbugs That’s a Jawa Sandcrawler in disguise!
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Good morning Mastodon! Remember when you were in primary school and went on school trips to places teachers though were important or free, and retained nothing from them except for who was sick on whom on the way there? Now you're older and nerdier did you ever think "Actually it might be really interesting to visit a major piece of civic infrastructure and learn how it works?" Just me? Well I was in luck today because the University sustainability team has organised a tour of #Exeter Energy Recovery Facility in #MarshBarton, where all our non-recyclable rubbish ends up.
https://www.viridor.co.uk/energy/energy-recovery-facilities/exeter-erf/
@afewbugs This sounds fascinating, looking forward to hearing about it. I was all a tingle a few weeks ago when the local water treatment plant had an open house. Three species of swallows and purple martins! And voted best tasting water in the state.
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Good morning Mastodon! Remember when you were in primary school and went on school trips to places teachers though were important or free, and retained nothing from them except for who was sick on whom on the way there? Now you're older and nerdier did you ever think "Actually it might be really interesting to visit a major piece of civic infrastructure and learn how it works?" Just me? Well I was in luck today because the University sustainability team has organised a tour of #Exeter Energy Recovery Facility in #MarshBarton, where all our non-recyclable rubbish ends up.
https://www.viridor.co.uk/energy/energy-recovery-facilities/exeter-erf/
@afewbugs I have extremely clear memories of the field trip to a plant where plywood was made. It was insanely cool!
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Good morning Mastodon! Remember when you were in primary school and went on school trips to places teachers though were important or free, and retained nothing from them except for who was sick on whom on the way there? Now you're older and nerdier did you ever think "Actually it might be really interesting to visit a major piece of civic infrastructure and learn how it works?" Just me? Well I was in luck today because the University sustainability team has organised a tour of #Exeter Energy Recovery Facility in #MarshBarton, where all our non-recyclable rubbish ends up.
https://www.viridor.co.uk/energy/energy-recovery-facilities/exeter-erf/
@afewbugs ooh, just the other day I saw a GWR Marsh Barton badge for sale https://www.gwrsouvenirs.co.uk/GWR/p-GWR147
