WLPGA Announces the Winner of the 2012 WLPGA Innovation Award

The 2012 WLPGA Innovation Awards have been selected by the Global Technology Conference (GTC) steering committee from the presentations given at GTC in Doha in 2011.

The WLPGA is very pleased to announce that the winner is a paper called LPG Applied Technology for Seismic Hazard presented by Ito Koki Co Ltd from Japan. The paper describes technologies that can utilize the characteristics of LP Gas to provide a decentralized energy source in response to seismic hazards. Two highly advanced product security technologies are described designed for deployment after an earthquake. The prevention of large-scale damage and recovery technology to quickly restore the gas supply. ITO KOKI is a leading Japanese manufacturer of gas regulators for various gases. Founded in 1953, ITO KOKI has maintained a Quality-First philosophy. As well as our innovative Earthquake-Proof Shut Off Devices and Synthetic Gas Generators we also offer unique products, such as auto-changeovers with remote telemetry, liquid change-overs, tensile trigger hoses, and vaporizers. The key to achieving on-going quality is to continue maximizing the potential of numerous award-winning R&D capabilities, as well as our outstanding production technology. In our industry, ITO KOKI stands for Innovation.     The runner up is a paper called Development and Performance Comparison of Propane Flaming Equipment for Weed Control. The paper has a number of joint authors and was presented in Doha by Greg Kerr of the Propane Education Research Council (PERC). The paper mentions that although Propane flaming is an old weed control method, until recently the limited interest slowed equipment technology. An interdisciplinary approach, meshing weed science with engineering, produced significant advances in propane weed flaming equipment. Initial work yielded a 50% reduction in the required fuel when compared with existing open torch equipment.                                                      The Awards will be presented in Bali during the GTC on Tuesday 11th September 2012.  For more information about GTC, and the WLPGA Innovation Awards, contact David Tyler on dtyler@worldlpgas.com.