Abstract
Sustainable development has been an idea raised in recent years. The results are related to the improvement and the use of new technologies to maximize efficiency in water management. However, energy consumption has been increasing as a consequence of new management and uses of water. Especially in pressurized water distribution systems, the use of pressure reduction valves (PRVs) increases the water usage efficiency but it decreases the energy consumption efficiency, since the valves dissipate energy that could be recovered. This research presents a proposal of a recovery system based on the installation of pumps used as turbines (PATs). These machines are located in different points of the high-pressure water distribution system in the Valencia Metropolitan System (Spain). An annual estimate of the theoretical recoverable energy as well as the “ideal” pump for each point were proposed. The theoretical recovered energy value was 847,301 kWh/year for a specific analyzed point. Besides, the characteristic curves of the PATs from a selected point were determined, estimating an improvement in the sustainable indexes. The calculus of these green parameters showed that the implementation of this solution caused a reduction in consumed energy of 1.50 kWh/m3.
Highlights
Water supply distribution systems have a fundamental objective: assuring the availability of water in the desired quantity and the required quality to satisfy the health parameter
Energy has always been considered an important factor in society
For each of the chosen study points. They are the results of the data registered from a pressure reduction valves (PRVs) installed at every case, with a time interval between each entry of 10 min
Summary
Water supply distribution systems have a fundamental objective: assuring the availability of water in the desired quantity and the required quality to satisfy the health parameter. To fulfill this intent, urban distribution systems depend on a great amount of energy to supply the water at a minimum pressure for it to be rightly used. Its significance has grown pressingly in recent years This is due to the uncontrolled increase in the world population, the concentrations in urban cities and the rise in the demand of resources such as water and energy which threaten to force a future global deficit in natural resources [1]. These strategies are focused on looking for approaches to have economic and sustainable development [2]
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