Conventional Water System Research Articles

Integrated performance assessment of urban water systems: Identification and prioritization of one water approach indicators

Conventional water systems are facing challenges of increasing population, aging infrastructure, and climate change incidents. A paradigm shift towards integrated urban water management is desired, which is underpinned by the One Water Approach (OWA) concept. Assessment of integrated urban water system (IUWS) performance is required to manage urban water systems holistically. For this purpose OWA indictors are identified and prioritized in the present study. These indicators represent essential characteristics of water systems relationship, global sustainability attributes, infrastructure features in accommodating increasing water services demands, and holistic building of One Water Community. Twenty-nine indicators have been identified across five performance objectives and ranked by 35 municipal representatives. Fuzzy- Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solution) (F-TOPSIS) was employed to understand the impact of three decision criteria (sustainability, resiliency, and reliability) in identifying indicators and calculate their corresponding scores. Sustainability is a major criterion in identifying indicators, followed by resiliency and reliability. The achieved criteria scores were 0.764, 0.310, and 0.250, respectively. Fuzzy AHP (Analytical Hierarchical Process) was used to prioritize the OWA indicators. Rapid recovery from natural calamities was the top-ranked indicator followed by water leakage reduction, and public willingness to change behaviour, whilst GHG emissions from treatment plants is the bottom-ranked. Statistical analyses were conducted to discern variability in performance scores and determine relationship between decision criteria in indicators identification process. The findings from this study will open new avenues for policy-makers to improve urban water sustainability, resiliency, and reliability by assessing water system performance in an integrated manner to achieve OWA goals.

IoT Based Smart Fertilizer Management System

Agriculture is the backbone of the India and villages are the life lines for the growth of India. In our country, over 72% of individuals rely on cultivating which is 33% of the populace puts resources into cultivating. In this manner, the difficulties and issues concerning horticulture should be engaged to frustrate the nation development. The only one solution recommended to this issue is modernizing agriculture using smart technologies. In agriculture, irrigation and fertilizer supply are the two important processes which support crop production. The Conventional water system techniques include a ton of time and exertion in cultivating. A Sensor-based computerized water system framework with manure tank gives a promising answer for oversee rural action. This exploration article gives an immense report on the water system framework and in savvy horticulture.

Urban water resource management for sustainable environment planning using artificial intelligence techniques

In the current era, water is a significant resource for socio-economic growth and the protection of healthy environments. Properly controlled water resources are considered a vital part of development, which reduces poverty and equity. Conventional Water system Management maximizes the existing water flows available to satisfy all competing demands, including on-site water and groundwater. Therefore, Climatic change would intensify the specific challenges in water resource management by contributing to uncertainty. Sustainable water resources management is an essential process for ensuring the earth's life and the future. Nonlinear effects, stochastic dynamics, and hydraulic constraints are challenging in ecological planning for sustainable water development. In this paper, Adaptive Intelligent Dynamic Water Resource Planning (AIDWRP) has been proposed to sustain the urban areas' water environment. Here, an adaptive intelligent approach is a subset of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) technique in which environmental planning for sustainable water development has been modeled effectively. Artificial intelligence modeling improves water efficiency by transforming information into a leaner process, improving decision-making based on data-driven by combining numeric AI tools and human intellectual skills. In AIDWRP, Markov Decision Process (MDP) discusses the dynamic water resource management issue with annual use and released locational constraints that develop sensitivity-driven methods to optimize several efficient environmental planning and management policies. Consequently, there is a specific relief from the engagement of supply and demand for water resources, and substantial improvements in local economic efficiency have been simulated with numerical outcomes.

Optimization of Water Network in a Viscose Fiber Plant

In the production process of viscose staple fiber, a large amount of freshwater, steam and desalinated water will be consumed, and a large amount of acidic and alkaline wastewater will be generated, bringing great pressure on water resource and environmental protection. In this paper, the water using system of a viscose staple fiber plant in northwestern China is studied. The key constraints for water using in this system are pH, oxygen demand (COD) and suspended solid (SS). Since pH and COD are non-conserved quantities, their constraints are property-based. So, the optimization of the water network needs to be carried out from both conventional water system integration and property integration. In this paper, the Mathematical Programming method is used to solve the optimization problem. By analyzing the various constraints and taking the corresponding integration methods, the mathematical model is constructed to target the minimum freshwater flowrate, the minimum regenerated water flowrate and relevant parameters. The optimized network can reduce the freshwater consumption 93.1 m³/h and the wastewater discharge 131 m³/h, achieving obvious water-saving and emission reduction effects.

Study and Optimization of Design Parameters in Water Loop Heat Pump Systems for Office Buildings in the Iberian Peninsula

Water loop heat pump (WLHP) air conditioning systems use heat pumps connected to a common water circuit to fulfill the energy demands of different thermal zones in a building. In this study, the energy consumption was analyzed for the air conditioning of an office building in the typical climate of four important cities of the Iberian Peninsula. The energy consumption of one water loop heat pump system was compared with a conventional water system. Two design parameters, the range in the control temperatures and the water loop thermal storage size, were tested. Energy redistribution is an important advantage of the WLHP system, but significant savings came from high efficiency parameters in the heat pumps and minor air flow rates in the cooling tower. The low thermal level in the water loop makes this technology appropriate to combine with renewable sources. Using natural gas as the thermal energy source, a mean decrease in CO2 emissions of 8.1% was reached. Simulations showed that the installation of big thermal storage tanks generated small energy savings. Besides, the total annual consumption in buildings with high internal loads can be reduced by keeping the water loop as cool as possible.

Energy study in water loop heat pump systems for office buildings in the Iberian Peninsula

The energy consumption is analyzed for the air conditioning of an office building in four important cities of the Iberian Peninsula. A water loop heat pump (WLHP) system is compared with a conventional water system. Energy redistribution is an important advantage, but significant savings come from heat pumps high efficiency parameters and minor air flow rates in the cooling tower. Even using natural gas as energy source, 8.1% decrease of CO2 emissions is reached, but additional important reduction can be easily obtained by using a solar thermal energy system as energy source.

A Study of Failure Events in Drinking Water Systems As a Basis for Comparison and Evaluation of the Efficacy of Potable Reuse Schemes.

Potable reuse is implemented in several countries around the world to augment strained water supplies. This article presents a public health perspective on potable reuse by comparing the critical infrastructure and institutional capacity characteristics of two well-established potable reuse schemes with conventional drinking water schemes in developed nations that have experienced waterborne outbreaks. Analysis of failure events in conventional water systems between 2003 and 2013 showed that despite advances in water treatment technologies, drinking water outbreaks caused by microbial contamination were still frequent in developed countries and can be attributed to failures in infrastructure or institutional practices. Numerous institutional failures linked to ineffective treatment protocols, poor operational practices, and negligence were detected. In contrast, potable reuse schemes that use multiple barriers, online instrumentation, and operational measures were found to address the events that have resulted in waterborne outbreaks in conventional systems in the past decade. Syndromic surveillance has emerged as a tool in outbreak detection and was useful in detecting some outbreaks; increases in emergency department visits and GP consultations being the most common data source, suggesting potential for an increasing role in public health surveillance of waterborne outbreaks. These results highlight desirable characteristics of potable reuse schemes from a public health perspective with potential for guiding policy on surveillance activities.

Transgranular stress corrosion cracking of 304L stainless steel pipe clamps in direct use geothermal water heating applications

Direct use geothermal heating relies on heat extracted from naturally occurring geothermal water sources to provide heating needs for commercial and residential use. The city of Boise, Idaho maintains the largest district geothermal heating system in the United States, utilizing a source of geothermal water at 80°C. 304 Stainless steel (UNS S30400) pipe clamps are used throughout the system as repair seals and for new service connections. Occasionally unexpected fracture of the stainless steel clamps occurs with time-in-service periods as short as 1year. A failure analysis was conducted, including visual, microstructural, compositional, and mechanical characterization, to determine the cause and source of the degradation. Cracking of the clamps was limited to localized regions with the remainder of the clamp unaffected. Branched, brittle cracks were observed in the failure region and exhibited transgranular propagation. Based on the temperature, available moisture, stress level, and type of material used it was determined that the likely cause of failure was neutral pH, dilute chloride-induced stress corrosion cracking. Based on this failure analysis, geothermal or other buried heated water systems must consider protective measures or more SCC-resistant materials to prevent susceptible conditions from developing, compared to conventional water systems, to ensure maximum lifetime performance.

Impediments and constraints in the uptake of water sensitive urban design measures in greenfield and infill developments

Water sensitive urban developments are designed with integrated urban water management concepts and water sensitive urban design measures. The initiatives that may be included are the substitution of imported drinking water with alternative sources using a fit-for-purpose approach and structural and non-structural measures for the source control of stormwater. A water sensitive approach to urban development can help in achieving sustainability objectives by minimising disturbance to ecological and hydrological processes, and also relieve stress on conventional water systems. Water sensitive urban developments remain novel in comparison with conventional approaches, so the understanding and knowledge of the systems in regards to their planning; design; implementation; operation and maintenance; health impacts and environmental impacts is still developing and thus the mainstream uptake of these approaches faces many challenges. A study has been conducted to understand these challenges through a detailed literature review, investigating a large number of local greenfield and infill developments, and conducting extensive consultation with water professionals. This research has identified the social, economic, political, institutional and technological challenges faced in implementing water sensitive urban design in greenfield and infill developments. The research found in particular that there is the need for long-term monitoring studies of water sensitive urban developments. This monitoring is important to validate the performance of novel approaches implemented and improve associated guidelines, standards, and regulatory and governance frameworks, which can lead to mainstream acceptance of water sensitive urban development approaches. The dissemination of this research will help generate awareness among water professionals, water utilities, developers, planners and regulators of the research challenges to be addressed in order to achieve more mainstream acceptance of water sensitive approaches to urban development. This study is based on existing water sensitive urban developments in Australia, however, the methodology adopted in investigating impediments to the uptake of these developments can be applied globally. It is hoped that insights from this study will benefit water professionals in other countries where there is also a move towards water sensitive urban development.

Effects of Water Network Synthesis on the Air Pollutant Emissions and Energy Consumption of a Whole Economy

Environmental and energy performances of a water network system (WNS) utilizing water reuse are compared to those of a conventional water system (CWS) supplying only freshwater from the perspective of an entire economy and life cycle. Environmental input–output analysis (EIOA) is used to evaluate their air pollutant emissions and energy consumptions. The global warming potential and the emissions of carbon monoxide and of volatile organic compounds from the WNS are less than those from the CWS because of the decrease in the consumption of industrial water, while the emissions of sulfur dioxide and of nitrogen oxides and energy consumption from the WNS are greater because of the increase in electricity consumption for pumping. For perfectly environmentally-friendly water reuse, electricity consumption should be constrained or optimized in water network synthesis, and primary energy mix for electricity generation should be shifted towards renewable energy.

Environmental and economic analysis of a water network system using LCA and LCC

AbstractWater network synthesis has been used to conserve water resources and reduce costs. The objective of this study was to verify the higher eco‐efficiency of a water network system (WNS), and to identify principal contributors to environmental burdens and economic costs using life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC). The WNS was compared to the conventional water system (CWS). LCA and LCC results showed that the total environmental burdens and life cycle cost of the WNS were lower than those of the CWS. The consumptions of industrial and ionized water were principal contributors to the environmental and economic burdens. The third principal contributor to the environmental burdens was electricity consumption, but that to the economic costs was piping cost. These principal contributors can be employed to obtain the simple and practical mathematical optimization models synthesizing the most environmentally friendly, economical, or sustainable WNSs. © 2007 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2007

Economic Evaluation of a Water Network System through the Net Present Value Method Based on Cost and Benefit Estimations

Water network synthesis has been employed to conserve water resources and reduce freshwater costs for the sake of sustainable development. However, the previous economic evaluations of water network systems did not comprehensively include all of the tradeoffs incurred in water network synthesis. The objective of this work was to evaluate the economic feasibility of a water network system using the net present value (NPV) method and estimate the principal cost and benefit contributors to its NPV. The procedure used for the economic evaluation consisted of water network synthesis, water system design, the estimation of the incremental costs and benefits, and the application of the NPV method. A total of 10 water-using operations in the steel and iron industry suffering from the shortage of water were used to evaluate the profitability of a water network system. The water network system was optimized by minimizing the freshwater consumption rates through nonlinear mathematical programming. This water network system was specifically designed, and its incremental costs and benefits were estimated on the basis of the conventional water system. The principal cost contributor to the NPV was the piping cost in the construction stage, while the principal benefit contributor to the NPV was industrial water used in the operations and maintenance stage. The results of the NPV method including all of the tradeoffs showed that the water network system was more economical than the conventional water system, with reduced industrial water consumption and wastewater generation rates. This work was expected to activate the implementation of water network systems by demonstrating the high profitability and contribute to the simple generation of a NPV-maximized water network system by estimating the principal cost and benefit contributors to the NPV used for the streamlined objective function of mathematical formulation.

A chemical treatment regimen to reduce bacterial contamination in dental waterlines

This article describes a pilot study in which the authors used aerobic bacterial cultures to compare the effects of 1:10 mouthwash, 1:20 mouthwash and 2 percent ethanol in reservoir systems with seven conventional water systems. The long-term, low-concentration antiseptic reduced bacteria to within acceptable limits.

High concentrations of guanidine chloride activate lactate dehydrogenase in low water media

The effect of guanidine chloride on the activity of bovine heart lactate dehydrogenase transferred to a system that was made with toluene, phospholipids, Triton X-100 and 3.8 % water ( v v ) was studied. The activity of the enzyme in the latter system was about 30 times lower than in standard water mixtues. In the low water system, 1.5 and 2.0 M guanidine chloride increased the activity by approximately 20 times. These concentrations of guanidine chloride caused complete inactivation of the enzyme in conventional water systems. The activating effect of the denaturant was independent of enzyme concentration. It is suggested that the increase in activity produced by guanidine chloride was due to a facilitation of the protein-solvent interactions that operate in a catalytic cycle.

Analysis of the feasibility of interim water supplies

The general problem of the feasibility criteria for interim water supplies is analyzed. Two forms are presented: (1) a combination of an interim supply and a long‐term supply and (2) the possibility of multiple interim supply projects and a long‐term supply. Both forms are compared with an immediate long‐term conventional water system. A problem formulation that yields to the optimal deferment period of the long‐term supply system is presented. The cost effectiveness of a combined desalting‐surface supply system is discussed, and a numerical example is presented. A table relating the different costs of the interim and long‐term projects with the water requirement is calculated. This table provides the optimal deferment period for the long‐term projects. The numerical results show that although the desalting system described clearly would not be competitive as a complete substitute for the surface system, the combination system of desalting for 10 years followed by the surface system is fully competitive.