Sustainable weed control: how Empas machines are making a difference
By Selina de Lang
Thursday 27 July
Weed management
Environmentally friendly operations are increasingly becoming the norm in weed control. Although in practice there can be snags and eyes on sustainable weed control and there are sometimes ambiguities about legislation, one thing is clear: it is a movement that green entrepreneurs need to get on board with. Because using an eco-friendly machine is half the battle, Empas makes its machines as sustainable as possible. Read in this blog how our machines make sustainable weed control easier.
Hot water technology eliminates the need for chemicals
All of Empas' weed control machines are equipped with an innovative hot water technology, eliminating the need for chemicals. The hot water technique uses boiling water to spray over the weeds, causing the plant to decompose.
Hot water technology works like this:
- The machine sprays water heated to 99 to 100 degrees over the weed plant.
- The treatment causes the plant's cell structure to burst.
- The plant starts to recover, but this takes a lot of energy.
- After a few treatments, the plant's reserves are depleted and it perishes.
Chemicals are therefore a thing of the past with this method. To make hot water technology as efficient as possible, we have equipped our MCB 3.0 machine with a unique self-regulating temperature system. The machine constantly regulates the water temperature, keeping it nicely around 100 degrees. So the user no longer needs to adjust it manually.
Tap points for boiling water
An additional advantage of hot water technology is that tapping points become more available in the Netherlands. Such tapping points are appearing in more and more places, so weed managers no longer need to travel long distances with the water. They simply fetch boiling water from the tapping point nearby.
Emission-free drive, so no CO2 emissions
Besides using environmentally friendly resources, we have also taken a close look at the drive of the machines. As a result, we have started offering emission-free options. Those machines no longer emit CO2 while working.
> For example, the MCE is fitted with a 230V drive and uses the normal power supply.
> Other machines are built as electric vehicles: there is a battery pack on it that you charge to run the machine and use it on site.
Less driving through additional tanks
Empas machines are modular, meaning they can be adapted and expanded as required. Many customers choose to add extra water tanks so that they can carry more water and they have to drive less. The MCB 3.0 has an extension system in the frame especially for this purpose. Although of course, extra driving is not necessary when you have one of the aforementioned taps nearby!
Fight weeds more sustainably together?
Do you want to work more sustainably? Empas has specialised in hot water thermal weed control since 1999. Our specialists are happy to think along with you about what sustainability improvements you can make. So please feel free to contact us to spar with us.