Consumer laundry practices in Germany

Background: India is facing high water stress and it is amongst those with the most fragile and uncertain water resource countries in the world. Crop productivity depends on quality of input supply including seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and supported by irrigation facilities. In India, ground water irrigates more than 61% of net cropped area and much of water being used for irrigating rice crop. The disproportionate water uses for crop production results in poor water productivity. The planning of water resources could be achieved by knowing the crop water requirements in different seasons and productivity of water. Hence, study was taken up to assess the water use and productivity of crops under intensively ground water irrigated watershed.Methods: A study conducted to assess the water use and productivity of different crops grown in Kothakunta sub watershed (having 206 working bore wells with cultivated area of 203.5 ha) in Siddipet district of Telangana, India during kharif and rabi season of 2008 to 2012, data were collected from 147 farmers on rice, maize, cotton, potato, flora beans and tomato crops grown under irrigation. The water applied to crops was measured by fixing water meters at the end of water delivery pipe and recorded the quantity of water applied each time. For rice crop four plots were taken and for other crops two plots were taken for measuring the water. The water use and productivity were assessed by using standard procedure. Result: The water productivity was found to be higher to vegetables, which ranged between 2.43 kg of potato, 1.57 kg of beans and 1.26 kg of tomato than cereals (0.79 kg for maize and 0.39 kg for rabi rice) per cubic meter of irrigation water consumed. Water productivity in terms of monetary return (₹) per cubic meter of water consumed was higher with beans (₹ 17.20) in contrast to potato (₹ 16.12). Rice equivalent yield (REY) calculated per cubic meter of irrigation water consumption was very similar to economic return (₹ per cubic meter of water).

Washing laundry is one of the most widespread housework tasks in the world. Washing machines, performing this task already in many private households, are now responsible for about 2% of the global electricity consumption. Worldwide, more than 840 million domestic washing machines are in use, with an annual consumption exceeding 92 TWh of electricity and 19 billion m3 of water as well as causing emissions of more than 62 megatons CO2eq. In North America, Western Europe and Pacific OECD countries, most households own a washing machine. In these economies standard and label policy programs already addressed and reduced the specific electricity and water consumption of washing machines per wash cycle. Nevertheless, in other world regions, the level of ownership for washing machines is still well below saturation and high growth rates can be observed in developing and newly industrialising countries. As washing machines use water, electricity, chemical substances and process time as resources, also the absolute worldwide resource consumption and emissions of these appliances are still on the rise. Due to different washing habits and practices as well as types of washing machines in different world regions, the specific consumption of resources for doing the laundry is varying to a large extent. On that score, this paper presents an overview of the current situation worldwide as well as respective saving potentials. Bottom-up scenario calculations, carried out for the 11 world regions according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change classification, show that large energy, water and greenhouse gas savings are possible with the ‘Best Available Technologies’ today, and even higher savings will be possible with next generation ‘Best Not yet Available Technologies’. According to model results, these savings are usually also very cost-effective. Following these calculations, it is highly advisable for policymakers world-wide to pay even more attention to improvement options in order to implement ambitious and product-specific policy packages, including minimum performance standards and labelling schemes.

The global energy demand is increasing day by day due to factors such as industrialization, technological advancements, and population growth. In order to meet this growing demand, merely exploring new energy sources is not sufficient; issues such as energy efficiency and power quality are also gaining increasing importance. Harmonics, one of the most critical parameters of power quality, refer to the distortions caused by electrical devices in power systems and can directly affect the efficiency and safety of energy systems. Household appliances such as air conditioners, computers, televisions, washing machines, and dishwashers are among the major contributors to harmonic pollution. In this study, the harmonic effects of three different washing machines manufactured in different years were examined. The primary objective of this study is to analyze the impact of washing machines on power quality at different washing temperatures and to compare their harmonic generation levels. Within the scope of the study, harmonics generated during washing cycles at different temperatures (30°C, 60°C, and 90°C) were analyzed in detail for each washing machine. Measurements were conducted using a Fluke 435 power quality analyzer, and the obtained data were processed using MATLAB software for detailed analysis. The measurements revealed that the harmonic levels of washing machines vary depending on the model year, motor type, and washing temperature. It was observed that older models produced lower harmonic levels, whereas modern inverter motor washing machines exhibited higher harmonic levels. Additionally, it was determined that harmonic distortion changes as the washing temperature increases. The results highlight the significance of design modifications aimed at reducing the harmonic generation of electrical household appliances and the importance of techniques that enhance energy efficiency. This study aims to contribute to raising awareness among consumers and engineers regarding power quality and harmonic management, thereby guiding the development of more efficient and environmentally friendly electrical devices.

Centralized hot water systems widely used in Russia and Belarus are characterized by a considerable length and branching which inevitably leads to increased heat losses and to an unstable hydraulic system. The operation of the domestic hot water system in the circulation mode can be characterized by several parameters; one of which is the specific ratio of the cost of thermal energy for heating a cubic meter of hot water. The parameter is often regulated by law in Russia; exceeding this parameter is considered as administrative violation. The aim of the research is to determine the design and actual costs of thermal energy for hot water supply (hot water heating) and their comparison, analysis of the data obtained. The methodology for determining the design and real costs of thermal energy for hot water supply was to study the operation of the hot water supply system of a residential 144-apartment 9-storey building. The research showed that the actual circulating flow rate is much less than the calculated circulating flow rate. The authors note that in order to optimize the standard for heating a cubic meter of water it is necessary to observe the calculated circulation modes. This will require stabilization of the hydraulic systems of both the external and internal networks which is a difficult but feasible task. The research results are supposed to be taken into account when setting up existing hot water supply systems.

Due to its location in arid and semi-arid climates, Iran is one of the countries with the highest water stress, and the need for a study that states a solution for using salt water is felt more than ever. For the first time in this paper, an indirect method is presented to identify areas prone to salty water in the entire country of Iran, which simultaneously have the potential of wind energy to supply electricity for reverse osmosis desalination devices. Simultaneously economic, environmental, technical, and geological parameters have been considered. The proposed methodology provides a structured decision aid, which can be used in other countries to identify the mentioned areas and produce fresh water using reverse osmosis devices. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are used to generate layers of data and to apply the elimination criteria and constraints. Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) is then used to rank and sort the grids via the identified evaluation criteria. Seventy-eight cities in Iran, mainly located in the east of the country, were identified as potential areas, and 16 cities with the best conditions for using wind energy in the supply of reverse osmosis energy were identified, which are areas with operational potential. For each cubic meter of saltwater desalination at 25 °C, about 0.38 kWh of electricity is consumed, the amount of water that can be desalinated depends on the amount of electricity produced by wind turbines. If the total amount of water that can be operationally extracted through 550 kW turbines can be exploited, it can supply 63.8475% of the country's water needs . About 11658552.6321 cubic meters of water can be desalinated and used. Torbat-e-Jam, located in Khorasan Razavi province, can produce 2244868.421 cubic meters of fresh water, the most prone among other areas.

Agro industry plays a crucial role in the industrialization process of developing countries. Sugar industry is second largest agro industry in the world. In sugar manufacturing plants there are various processes for production of sugar i.e. extraction of juice, clarification, evaporation, concentration of juice, forming and separating crystals etc. These processes consumed energies in the form of mechanical energy, electrical energy and heat energy. So there are various sources of heat in sugar factory i.e. heat from hot flue gasses, hot water from evaporative body and boiler blow down. The large amount of heat passes from various devices of sugar factory causes decrease in the efficiency of sugar plants, and also increase the Global Warming which is very dangerous for our environment. The present cooling system for condenser is inappropriate & hence decrease vacuum in evaporators and pans. This will increase the boiling point temperature of juice. The proposed cooling system gives solution of both problems. The most important source of heat i.e. hot flue gases are use to run absorption chiller. The absorption chiller gives better cooling system for condenser. There will be improvement in condensation of vapour in condenser which will cause increase vacuum in evaporators and pans thereby reducing boiling point temperature of juice. This reduced boiling point temperature of juice requires less amount of steam for boiling, ultimately saving of bagasse and fuel economy can be attained. Thus this arrangement can be treated as the efficient method of utilization of heat for cooling condenser water in sugar factory thus saving further depletion of natural resources like coal, petroleum or else increasing its availability to other important processes and one can hope that the waste heat recovery may play an even greater role in the industrial development in this new millennium. Key word: Boiling of juice, bagasse yields, crushing, scrubbing system, vacuum measurement, gur. Introduction: The sugar industry processes sugar cane and sugar beet to manufacture edible sugar. More than 60% of the worlds sugar production is from sugar cane, the balance is from sugar beet. Sugar manufacturing is a highly seasonal industry, with season lengths of about 6 to 18 weeks for beets and 20 to 32 weeks for cane. Approximately 10% of the sugar cane can be processed to commercial sugar, using approximately 20 cubic meters of water per metric ton (m3/t) of cane processed. Sugar cane contains 70% water; 14% fiber; 13.3% saccharose (about 10 to 15% sucrose), and 2.7% soluble impurities. Sugar canes are generally washed, after which juice is extracted from them. The juice is clarified to remove mud, evaporated to prepare syrup, crystallized to separate out the liquor, and centrifuged to separate molasses from the crystals. Sugar crystals are then dried and may be further refined before bagging for shipment. In some places juice is extracted by a diffusion process that can give higher rates of extraction with lower energy consumption and reduced operating and maintenance costs. For processing sugar beet (water, 75%; sugar, 17%), only the washing, preparation, and extraction processes are different. After washing, the beet is sliced, and the slices are drawn into a slowly rotating diffuser where a countercurrent flow of water is used to remove sugar from the beet slices. Approximately 15 cubic meters (m 3 ) of water and 28 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy are consumed per metric ton of beet processed. Sugar refining involves removal of impurities and decolonization. The steps generally followed include, affixation, melting, clarification, decolonization, evaporation, crystallization, and finishing. Decolonization methods use granular activated carbon, powdered activated carbon, ion exchange resins, and other materials. 1 Methodology

In energy production based on combustion of fossil fuels, particularly the lowgrade ones (lignite, sulphur-rich coal, oil shale etc.), huge amounts of alkaline wastewater are formed. This situation is characteristic for the Republic of Estonia where 59% of the need in primary energy was covered by local oil shale in 2006. Due to the calcareous origin of the mineral part of oil shale, its combustion yields lime-containing ashes (5–6 million tons annually, containing 10–25% of lime as free CaO) as well as enhanced amounts of CO2 (up to 29.1 t C per TJ energy produced) as compared to coal combustion. To transport the ash into wet open-air deposits, a hydraulic system is used. As a result tens of millions of cubic meters of alkaline water (pH level 12-13) saturated by Caions is recycling between the plant and sedimentation ponds. Before directing excessive water to nature it should be neutralized to a pH level accepted by environmental regulations (< 9). Related to this, the current work was targeted to develop possibilities for neutralizing wastewater with CO2-containing flue gases, leading to reduction of CO2 emissions. Intensification of respective heterogeneous gas–liquid reactions and characterization of calcium carbonate (PCC) forming were other objectives of the study. A cycle of laboratory-scale neutralization experiments using industrial wastewater samples and a model gas of flue gas composition has been carried out. Two different reactors – barboter-type columns and a dispergator-type phase mixer – have been comparatively examined. Sedimentation of PCC particles of rhombohedral crystallic structure has been shown and their main characteristics have been determined. A neutralization method having up to fifty times higher specific intensity has been proposed. According to calculations 970–1010 tons of CO2 can be trapped and 2200–2300 tons of PCC per million cubic meters of water can be obtained.

Irrigation resources are among the most important and current productive resources and the main determinant of agricultural production and expansion. Therefore, the problem of this research is determined by answering the following questions: What is the economic yield of the irrigation water used in field crops production and what is the economics of that use? The aim of this research is to determine the economic and quantitative benefits of the water unit used in the production of most field crops, in order to achieve the rationalization of irrigation water used in the production of these crops in all regions of the Republic. The results of the research were based on descriptive and quantitative analysis methods and some quantitative and value indicators for comparison between field crops average the period (2013-2017). - The amount of water discharged from Aswan to the field is about 1.25 billion cubic meters annually, representing about 10.1% of the annual average of the amount of water lost from Aswan to the field and about 12.4 billion cubic meters during the period (2003-2017). - The water balance in Egypt during the period of study took a decreasing trend from the beginning of 2003 until 2008 and then started to achieve water deficit in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2017, and the maximum deficit in 2012 was about 4.6 billion cubic meters The lowest of about 0.2 billion cubic meters in 2017, which is due to the increase in the volume of applications on the total volume of water resources received, resulting in a deficit of about 0.11 billion cubic meters. - The Sesame crop is the first in terms of its water needs of about 5850 m3/ton, followed by Cotton with about 5389 m3/ ton, followed by Sudanese peanut of about 2251 m3/ t, followed by sorghum crop with about 1734 m3/ton. - The highest yield per cubic meter of water achieved by alfalfa was about 13.1 kg/m3, followed by continuous alfalfa yield of 10.4 kg /m3, then sugar beet with 8.98 kg/ m3, onions with 7.7 kg /m3 followed by garlic and sugar cane, 4.3 kg/m3. - The efficiency of the delivery of irrigation water between the irrigated canal and the field average the period (2013-2017) at the level of the Republic reached a maximum of 93.6% for the Sesame crop, and a minimum of about 66.9% for the sugar beet crop. The efficiency of water delivery of field crops between Aswan and the field at the level of the Republic reached a maximum of about 92.6% for sugarcane crop, but only about 65.3% for maize crop. - The yield of cubic meter of field crop water for the winter meal in the different regions of the republic is higher than that of the summer crop crops, which leads to a decrease in water discharge, especially the sea side, in the middle and upper Egypt regions. - The net yield of the above water unit in the garlic crop was 6.3 LE/m3, followed by the onion crop at 6.2 LE/ m3, then the continuous clover and the clover, which was 5.3, 4.1 LE/ m3 respectively. - The highest yield of the cost of irrigation was achieved by the onion crop at 57.9 pounds, followed by garlic at about 39.7 pounds, lentils about 33.9 pounds, and permanent clover about 33.3 pounds. - Clover yield is estimated to be the first by irrigation costs to 31.4%, followed by 29.2%, followed by sugarcane, rice, (18.7%,17.6%) respectively. Sugar cane and alfalfa crops ranked first and second with irrigation costs to 11.8%, 11.4% respectively, followed by rice yield 11.1%.- The correlation between the net yield of feddan and the net return of the water unit for some types of cropping patterns reached an average of about 0.51.

In order to realize the healthy circulation of Erhai Basin water system, this paper constructs the Mike basin simulation model of Erhai Basin water resource system through the concept of water resource comprehensive allocation. Which is based on the principle of Erhai Lake water ecological environment protection and follows the principle of ecological priority, sanitary water into the lake, double control of total amount and consumption, and water conservation and emission reduction. The results show that agriculture irrigated area of Erhai Basin should be gradually reduced to 472000 mu, and 48200 mu of wetland ecological pool should be increased, which is used as the collection area of basin landscape and irrigation return water. After adjusting the crop planting pattern according to the depth of water saving in Erhai irrigation area, the goal of controlling the agricultural water consumption to be no more than 201 million cubic metre and the total water consumption to be less than 366 million cubic metre should be achieved. The effect of reclaimed water irrigation on water saving and emission reduction is considerable. The application of reclaimed water irrigation can reduce the amount of clean water used in paddy growth period by 46.4%, and the amount of nitrogen fertilizer applied by 30.2%. The replacement rate of garlic reclaimed water can reach 100%. After the comprehensive allocation of water resources, it can supply 501 million cubic metre of ecological water in the river channels and 359 million cubic metre of water out of the river channels. Through the comprehensive utilization project of farmland drainage water and the construction of ecological regulation and storage belt, all irrigation drainage water should be reused and zero discharge can be realized. TN and TP emissions in irrigated area will be reduced by 39.3% and 46.3% respectively. Compared with the current situation, Erhai Lake water inflow and cleanly water inflow increased by 65 million cubic metre and 134 million cubic metre respectively. The annual average water level of the lake will be 0.15m higher than the current situation.

The article discusses the technical and economic analysis of a seawater desalination plant, where the power source is a hybrid of solar and nuclear energy, as they are considered the cleanest energy sources compared to fossil fuel power plants. The source of nuclear energy in this study is a small modular reactor (SMR). This plant also uses a hybrid of seawater desalination systems: either a reverse osmosis plant with a multi-effect distillation (RO + MED) unit, or a reverse osmosis plant with a multi-stage flash distillation (RO + MSF) unit. Small modular reactors can be used for other applications besides generating electricity, as they produce high-temperature steam which can be used in many industrial processes such as hydrogen production and seawater desalination. Small modular reactors are also considered to be more cost effective, safer, more flexible and have a greater number of applications compared to high power reactors. The analysis is based on calculating the cost of producing of one cubic meter of fresh water using this hybrid desalination plant and comparing the results with those of desalination plant integrated with a power plant that uses exclusively nuclear energy as a source of thermal and electrical power, which uses the VVER-1200 reactor. Also, this study studies the impact of the degree of hybridization, that is, the ratio of power used from solar energy to power used from nuclear energy, on the cost of desalination of one cubic meter of water, as well as on the quality of the desalinated water.

Rivers are a link between human life and nature. All the ancient developed cities are situated on the banks of some river or the other ancient civilizations of India have developed on the banks of rivers. The river is helpful in both, flood and drought conditions, works to balance nature by absorbing the flood water inside itself and giving water to animals and humans during drought. In the present scenario, due to the increasing population of cities and the pollution arising from it, the water of rivers is getting polluted rapidly. Many rivers of the country are slowly disappearing and some rivers have water only during monsoon. Our country is slowly moving towards water crisis. To get out of this crisis, we all need a corrective change in behaviour along with scientific remedial system. The per capita availability of water has decreased significantly in the last 75 years. According to one figure, in 1951 the per capita was 5177 cubic meters but in the year 2011 only 1545 cubic meters of water is available per person. According to a study by the National Institute of Hydrology, India will have only 814 cubic meters of usable water per capita in 2025. When we studied the water of Sarayu river, it was found that all the parameters and heavy metals present in the water raised after monsoon are within the processed limit. When the properties of the water of Sarayu river were studied, surprising results came out. All the elements present in the water like calcium, magnesium, chloride, fluoride, alkalinity, nitrate ion, sulphate ion, arsenic and manganese etc. were within the required limits. Desirable limits of calcium, magnesium, chloride, alkalinity, nitrate ion, sulphate ion are 75 mg/l, 30 mg/l, 25 mg/l, 200 mg/l, 200 mg/l, respectively. The maximum values in pre-monsoon were found to be 38.47 mg/l, 26.24 mg/l, 15.9 mg/l, 192 mg/l, 0.20 mg/l and 20.10 mg/l respectively and in post-monsoon its maximum value was found to be 28.86 mg/l, 12.49 mg/l, 17.99 mg/l, 128 mg/l, 1.5 mg/l and 41.30 mg/l, respectively. The desirable limit of arsenic is 0.01, found to be 0.01 at some places in pre-monsoon but found to be nil in post-monsoon.

STATISTICAL ESTIMATION OF PRODUCTION FUNCTIONS AND AGRICULTURAL COSTS AND MEASURES OF PRODUCTIVITY EFFICIENCY OF WATER USERS' ASSOCIATIONS OF DIFFERENT IRRIGATION SYSTEMS IN AL-BEHEIRA GOVERNORATE

Previous research often regard household and individual as synonymous actors, although the overall household electricity consumption is the aggregate of diverging actions by individual household members. We disentangle the impact of actor-specific predictors on household and individual electricity consumption, employing regression models to data of 204 Austrian multi-person households. Predictors add more to the explained variance of household and individual electricity consumption if they are located at the same actor level as the dependent variable. While household electricity consumption is best predicted by the household context and value/knowledge factors, individual electricity consumption depends foremost on habit and whether a person stays at home during the day. The study exemplifies that future research and interventions need to decompose actor levels to better understand and target the drivers of private electricity consumption. Methodological challenges in measuring individual and household consumption behaviour are discussed.

Biological study of Acrocalanus gibber was carried out at Phuket Marine Biological Center, Thailand, with two main objectives ; 1) seasonal variation in egg production, abundance, biomass and secondary production, in relation to environmental factors, and 2)roles of A. gibber in pelagic marine food web by determination of ingestion rate, stomach content of fishes and relationship within the zooplankton community. The study was conducted within one year period from July 1990 to July 1991. Length-weight relationship of copepodid stages of A. gibber, size range between 53.7 an^micrometers, was expressed by the equation :W = (1.188 X 10 ) L. Egg production of A. gibber ranged between 6.2-52.0 eggs per female per day. Secondary production of A. gibber showed seasonal pattern with peaks in February and May. The minimum production was 4.62 microgram carbon per cubic meter of water per day recorded in January 1991 and the maximum was 187.54 microgram carbon per cubic meter of water per day recorded in May 1991. The main factor effecting egg production and secondary production of A. gibber is food availability. Ingestion rate of A. gibber adult female increased with food concentration, ranged from 1.98 to 13.08 microgram carbon per cubic meter of water per day at the algal concentration of 50 and 1,500 microgram carbon per liter, respectively. From stomach content analysis, A. gibber was consumed by 13.9 per cent of fish species observed around the study area. Thus, even the copepod, A. gibber, is only a small fraction, 2 per cent, of the whole zooplankton population at PMBC pier, it can be concluded from this study that it plays an important linkage between the primary producer, within the zooplankton community, and the higher trophic level.

A research intervention was conducted in the dairy supply chain of the Tadla irrigation scheme in Morocco. The main objective was to assess water productivity through dual purpose herds (milk and meat) and to identify ways of improving it through better fodder yields and cattle rearing practices. An intervention method was tested. It relied on technical support for 10 cattle farmers. A regular evaluation of diets distributed to lactating cows was undertaken. In cases of nutritive insufficiencies or imbalances in relation to cows' potential milk yield requirements, an adequate supplementation was proposed and its effects on milk productivity assessed. In addition, a simulation tool was designed and tested with farmers to determine the effects of strategic changes (substitution of crossbreeds by pure Holstein cows, replacement of alfalfa by maize silage, introduction of drip irrigation) on their overall performance. The field study revealed that some 1.8 cubic meters of water were necessary for 1 kg of milk, whereas a volume of 10.6 cubic meters of water was needed for a kg of cattle live weight gain. The economic values of water productivity were 0.07 € and 0.24 € per cubic meter of water, respectively, for milk and live weight gain. The use of balanced diets made it possible to increase the average milk yield per cow. The results indicated that water productivity through irrigated cattle farming may be significantly improved by enhancing cropping and cattle rearing practices. This implies that on-farm extension services have to be improved to test such intervention tools at a larger scale.