Freshwater Evaporation Research Articles

Photothermal-photocatalytic thin-layer flow system for synergistic treatment of wastewater

The integration of the photocatalytic effect into solar steam is highly desirable for addressing freshwater shortages and water pollution. Here, a ternary film structure for the adsorption and photothermal and photocatalytic treatment of wastewater was designed by combining the technique of self-assembled carbon nano paper with a nitrogen composite titanium dioxide (N-TiO2) deposited on the surface of carbon nanotubes (CNT) using polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) as a substrate. The photogeneration of reactive oxygen species can be promoted by rapid oxygen diffusion at the three-phase interface, whereas the interfacial photothermal effect promotes subsequent free radical reactions for the degradation of rhodamine B (93%). The freshwater evaporation rate is 1.35 kg·m−2·h−1 and the solar-to-water evaporation efficiency is 94%. Importantly, the N-TiO2/CNT/PVDF (N-TCP) film not only effectively resists mechanical damage from the environment and maintains structural integrity, but can also be made into a large film for outdoor experiments in a large solar energy conversion device to collect fresh water from polluted water and degrade organic dyes in source water simultaneously, opening the way for applications in energy conversion and storage.

Distal fluvial to lacustrine/palustrine carbonate facies of the El-Ris Formation (Late Miocene?) at the Bahariya Depression, Western Desert, Egypt: Depositional model and controls

This article aims to discuss the distal fluvial to lacustrine/palustrine carbonate facies of the El-Ris Formation (Late Miocene?) in the Bahariya Depression (Western Desert, Egypt), in terms of their depositional evolution and factors (base-level, climate, tectonics) controlling deposition. The El-Ris Formation disconformably overlies the Lower Cenomanian Bahariya Formation. It is up to 11 m thick, and includes siliciclastic facies, followed upward by carbonate facies. The siliciclastic facies consist of greenish-white, fine-grained calcareous sandstones interbedded with subordinate yellowish-brown mudrocks having insects ichnofossils reflecting deposition in a distal fluvial distributary system. The carbonate facies include the fossiliferous (mostly ostracods and a few dispersed gastropods, Lanistes carinatus,) fine crystalline lacustrine/palustrine carbonates, and calcretes-dolocretes. The lacustrine/palustrine beds are grey to pale-yellow colored massive dolomitic beds, with exposure features, reflecting deposition in a shallow, low-gradient (marginal) lake with frequent base-level changes. Calcretes-dolocretes are nodular to massive orange beds, developed at the expense of siliciclastic facies, that formed a fringe between the distal alluvial and central lacustrine-palustrine environments. Palustrine carbonate and duricrust (calcrete/dolocrete) facies increase progressively toward the top of the studied rock unit. The development of silica nodules in the palustrine facies is a result of intense evaporation just above the water table. Silica could have been released by silicate dissolution from the host alluvial deposits into the groundwater. δ13C and δ18O data indicate a hydrologically closed palustrine/lacustrine environment fed by meteoric waters, that originally precipitated calcite. Progressive evaporation of freshwater in this closed system led to dolomitization. The upward increase of carbonates in the El-Ris Formation reflects a progressive decrease of a terrigenous clastic supply in the source area and a dominance of carbonate development in the study area. During the deposition of the El-Ris Formation, the climate had marked more arid seasons with fewer intermittent humid periods. Also, the tectonic influence cannot be ruled out, since tectonic instability led to the creation of the basin depression and subsequent accommodation space that made the deposition of the El-Ris Formation.

Ethyl cellulose composite membranes containing a 2D material (MoS2) and helical carbon nanotubes for efficient solar steam generation and desalination

With the increasing water consumption, water evaporators have been investigated for clean water production. Herein, the fabrication of electrospun composite membrane evaporators based on ethyl cellulose (EC), with the incorporation of light-absorption enhancers 2D MoS2 and helical carbon nanotubes, for steam generation and solar desalination is described. Under natural sunlight, the maximum water evaporation rate was 2.02 kg m−2 h−1 with an evaporation efficiency of 93.2 % (1 sun) and reached 2.42 kg m−2 h−1 at 12:00 pm (1.35 sun). The composite membranes demonstrated self-floating on the air–water interface and minimal accumulation of superficial salt during the desalination process due to the hydrophobic character of EC. For concentrated saline water (21 wt% NaCl), the composite membranes maintained a relatively high evaporation rate of up to ~79 % compared to the freshwater evaporation rate. The composite membranes are robust due to the thermomechanical stability of the polymer even while operating under steam-generating conditions. Over repeated use, they exhibited excellent reusability with a relative water mass change of >90 % compared to the first evaporation cycle. Moreover, desalination of artificial seawater produced a lower cation concentration (~3–5 orders of magnitude) and thereby yielded potable water, indicating the potential for solar-driven freshwater generation.

Water as driver of economic capacity: Introducing a physical economic model

Ecological economics has long affirmed that all economic activity takes place within a context of physical, ecological, and biological systems we commonly refer to as ‘the environment’. As a subsystem of the environment, the economy cannot escape the rules and behaviors of the systems that form its context. This places constraints on the rate at which inputs can be extracted and transformed into outputs of useful goods and services, and on the rate at which the emission and waste by-products of economic activity can be processed and absorbed. Extracting resources and releasing emissions and waste in excess of the processing capacities of the environment will result in growing pressures on resourcing and sink capacities and ultimately impair the capacity of the economic subsystem itself. We examine the hydrological cycle as an empirical example of the constraints a physical/environmental context system places on the economic capacity of five countries with different economic characteristics: China, Germany, India, Russia, and the United States. By calculating the amount of energy available for freshwater evaporation and the allocation of freshwater to domestic, industrial, and agricultural uses, we replicate the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the five countries with our calculated GDP levels ranging from 93 to 99% of the reported levels. Our findings suggest four important lessons: (1) the hydrological cycle impacts the capacity of economies with different characteristics; (2) the processing capacity of nature is considerably more efficient than available technological substitutions; (3) the non-use of water, and possibly of other resources, is as valuable (or more) as its use; and (4) price policies can be effective in steering resource use and non-use in the right direction by incentivizing higher savings in available freshwater rather than incentivizing its efficient use. Our findings encourage further research on the capacity implications of other critical physical cycles (i.e. the carbon and nitrogen cycle) captured in the ecosystems category ‘supporting ecosystem services’.

System dynamics characterisation and synthesis of floating photovoltaics in terms of energy, environmental and economic parameters with WELF nexus sustainability features

The invention of floatovoltaic technologies brought new meaning to the theoretical framing of sustainability as the technology delivers extended natural resource conservation benefits. However, planning assessments for this novel sustainable energy technology exposed knowledge gaps jeopardising global financial investments and regulatory approvals. Knowledge and methodological gaps cause inaccurate performance predictions in current geospatial-engineering modelling tools and fail to adequately quantify the diverse range of layered performance qualities and impacts of floating photovoltaics. This paper advances a geo-sensitive system dynamics framework to systemically integrate the energy, environmental and economic domain object functions in characterising the behaviour and sustainability of floating photovoltaic systems theoretically. The framework serves as computer logic in a geospatial digital twin to synthesise floatovoltaic operations to predict the technology’s sustainability impact and offset attributes in balanced scorecard metrics and water–energy–land–food nexus indicators. Experimental evaluations with the proposed framework in a real-world setting demonstrate the value of the holistically integrated framework in analytical floatovoltaic project appraisal and planning support. The results highlight significant advantages when comparing a 1000 m2 floatovoltaic system with a similar-sized conventional photovoltaic alternative, including a 19.3% lifetime energy gain, a carbon emission displacement of CO2e=5168t and a freshwater evaporation benefit of 983 kL. Predictive energy, environmental and economic modelling also offers water–energy–land–food–resource analysis parameters, thus delivering multi-attribute performance profiles that solve many of the current problems with the “technology unknowns” of floatovoltaics that impede energy project commissioning and licensing approvals.

Suggested solutions for the problems of salinity increase and cumulated pollution in lake Qarun, Egypt: Present and future (A review)

Lake Qarun is the third-largest natural lake in Egypt. The lake turned from a freshwater body to a saline basin. The lake receives up to 70% of the drainage water of Fayoum (i.e. agriculture drainage, sewage drainage, and industrial drainage). Drainage water is the only source of lake inflow while the evaporation of freshwater is the only outflow. At the present, the level of salinity concentration in the lake exceeds the global allowable level. This increase in salinity and cumulated pollution affected the ecosystem and reduced fish production to 25% of its value in 2014. This research aims to identify the problems of salinity increase and cumulated pollution in Lake Qarun and review the suggested solutions. Also, the efforts of the Fayoum governorate for developing the lake and the future projects planned to be implemented were reviewed. The development of Lake Qarun turned in an increase in national income.

Geochemical Characteristics and Origin of Formation Water From the Upper Triassic Xujiahe Tight Sandstone in the Xiaoquan-Fenggu Structural Belt, Western Sichuan Depression, China

Formation water represents an important driving force and carrier for the migration and accumulation of oil and gas; thus, research on its origin is a hot spot in petroleum geology. The Upper Triassic Xujiahe Formation in the Xiaoquan-Fenggu Structural Belt in the western Sichuan Depression, China, has developed thick tight sandstone gas reservoirs. However, previous studies have provided different conclusions on the origin of the formation water in the Xujiahe tight sandstone reservoir. In this paper, the origin of the formation water in the Xujiahe Formation was determined based on the latest major and minor elemental concentration data, hydrogen and oxygen isotopes data of formation water, and carbon and oxygen isotope data of carbonate cements. The results show that the salinity of the formation water of the Xujiahe Formation in the study area is generally greater than 50 g/L. The water type is mainly the CaCl2 type, although a small proportion of NaHCO3 type water with high salinity is observed, which is related to hydrocarbon expulsion by overpressure. Moreover, the formation water in the sandstone of the Xujiahe Formation is obviously rich in Br, which is related to membrane infiltration, overpressured hydrocarbon expulsion of shale and diagenesis of organic matter. The composition of Cl− and Na+ ions in the formation water in the Xujiahe tight sandstone reservoir is consistent with the seawater evaporation curve, which deviates significantly from the freshwater evaporation curve. The hydrogen and oxygen isotopes of condensate water in the Xujiahe Formation tight sandstone are similar to those of atmospheric precipitation water, while the hydrogen and oxygen isotopes of the formation water in the Xujiahe Formation show that it is of seawater origin. Therefore, to use hydrogen and oxygen isotopes to determine the origin of formation water, condensate water must be accurately differentiated from formation water. Otherwise, if the condensate water is misjudged as formation water, then incorrect conclusions will be drawn, e.g., that the formation water of the Xujiahe Formation originated from fresh water. Affected by organic carbon, the carbon isotope Z value of the carbonate cements in the Xujiahe Formation is low (mainly distributed between 110 and 130). A Z value of less than 120 does not indicate that the ancient water bodies formed by cements were fresh water or mixed water bodies. However, Z values greater than 120 correspond to a formation temperature lower than 80 C, which indicates that carbonate cement was not affected by organic carbon; thus, the Z value can reflect the origin of ancient water bodies. The results of this study indicate that the formation water of the Xujiahe tight sandstone in the study area is of seawater origin. The determination of the origin of the formation water and seawater of the Xujiahe Formation provides strong evidence for the determination of the marine sedimentary environment of the Xujiahe Formation in the study area, and can provide scientific guidance for the search for high-quality reservoirs.

Water and the Circular Economy: Learning from Nature

This paper examines the hydrological cycle and its implications for the production capacity of two countries, China and the United States. While it takes a macro-level view, it illustrates the relevance of understanding the circularity of nature as exemplified by the hydrological cycle, for urban and regional circular economy considerations. Taking the circularity of nature as a starting point is a departure from common circular economy conceptions, which take an anthropocentric perspective rather than a nature based one. We calculate the amount of solar energy available for freshwater evaporation and the allocation of freshwater to its key uses in the domestic, industrial, and agricultural sectors. Our calculations indicate that the capacity to generate economic output can be accurately described by the embodied solar energy distribution that determines the availability of freshwater for allocation to different uses. This illustrates the need to take environmental/physical conditions more fully into account in economic development decisions at every level, from local to regional, national, and global. We begin our analysis with a review of circular economy concepts and argue that they reveal a limited understanding of the circularity of nature evident in energy and material cycles and their economic capacity implications. Achieving further expansions of economic capacity may increasingly depend on an improved understanding of nature’s circularity, especially when competing resource pressures and land-use constraint exacerbate economic capacity limits. Our findings suggest three particularly important lessons for decision makers: first, the efficiency increases needed to realize growing economic output will require circular economy models that consider the efficient processing capacity of nature rather than relying solely on technological solutions; second, the non-use of resources may be as valuable or more than their use; and third, price policies can be effective in steering resource use and non-use in the right direction.

Evaluation of SEBS, SEBAL, and METRIC models in estimation of the evaporation from the freshwater lakes (Case study: Amirkabir dam, Iran)

Evapotranspiration (ET) estimation is of great importance due to its key role in water resource management. Surface energy modeling tools such as Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL), Mapping Evapotranspiration with Internalized Calibration (METRIC), and the Surface Energy Balance System (SEBS) can estimate the amount of evapotranspiration for every pixel of the satellite images. The main objective of this research is evaporation investigation from the freshwater bodies using SEBAL, METRIC, and SEBS. For this purpose, the Amirkabir dam reservoir and its nearby agricultural lands in a semi-arid climate were selected and studied from 2011 to 2017 as the study area. The implementations of this study were accomplished on 16 satellite images of Landsat TM5 and OLI. Then, SEBAL, METRIC, and SEBS were implemented on the selected images. Moreover, the corresponding pan evaporate measurements on the reservoir bank were considered as the ground truth data. Regarding to the results, SEBAL is not a reliable method to evaluate freshwater evaporation with the coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.36 and the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 5.1 mm. On the other hand, METRIC with RMSE and R2 of 0.57 and 2.02 mm and SEBS with RMSE and R2 of 0.93 and 0.62 demonstrated a relatively good performance.

Preserving Our Water Resources

Water covers 70 percent of our planet’s surface but is becoming an increasingly scarce resource. As the earth’s population continues to expand, the amount of potable water is becoming severely limited. Exacerbated by global warming, the evaporation of freshwater into the atmosphere is progressing at faster rates, and water is cycling back to earth where it is not necessarily needed. And a small amount that dissipates into the atmosphere is lost forever. Engineers are equipped to create structures that contain water efficiently and help prevent its evaporation. Spatial structures and tensioned membrane structures are ideally suited to the task of protecting this most vital of resources.

The water regime of the Monegros playa-lakes as established from ground and satellite data

The Monegros playa-lakes are isolated saline wetlands, locally named ‘saladas’, situated in a vulnerable semi-arid territory where agricultural expansion threatens the natural hydrologic cycle with regular artificial flooding, risking the survival of a valuable natural resource. This study aims to examine the water regime of these playa-lakes from climate data and available hydrologic records. These records are historical and limited to a series of weekly measurements of depth and of water extent extracted from Landsat imagery. We have characterized the hydrological behavior of the playa-lakes by treating ground and satellite data separately. For this purpose, the playa-lakes are first grouped according to the water occurrence episodes. Then their hydrologic status is related to the previous rainfall and also to ET 0, since there is a lack of local records of wind as well as brine or fresh water evaporation. The northern playa-lakes respond to rain faster than the southern ones. All playa-lakes have a significant relationship between water occurrence and rainfall accumulated within 180 days prior to an observation. A significant relationship between ET 0 and water occurrence was found for a shorter 15-day accumulation period. Quantifying the current water regime now is critical for monitoring the effects of expanding irrigation in adjacent lands. Remote sensing is well-suited to an environmental assessment for regions of difficult access with the added benefit of lowered field measurement cost. The hydrological data from the Monegros playa-lakes could be integrated with other playa environments worldwide to compare regionally specific climate conditions.

Summer temperatures of late Eocene to early Oligocene freshwaters

Research Article| March 01, 2005 Summer temperatures of late Eocene to early Oligocene freshwaters Stephen T. Grimes; Stephen T. Grimes 1Department of Geology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Jerry J. Hooker; Jerry J. Hooker 2Department of Palaeontology, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Margaret E. Collinson; Margaret E. Collinson 3Department of Geology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar David P. Mattey David P. Mattey 3Department of Geology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Stephen T. Grimes 1Department of Geology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK Jerry J. Hooker 2Department of Palaeontology, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK Margaret E. Collinson 3Department of Geology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK David P. Mattey 3Department of Geology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 29 Jul 2004 Revision Received: 17 Nov 2004 Accepted: 18 Nov 2004 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (2005) 33 (3): 189–192. https://doi.org/10.1130/G21019.1 Article history Received: 29 Jul 2004 Revision Received: 17 Nov 2004 Accepted: 18 Nov 2004 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Stephen T. Grimes, Jerry J. Hooker, Margaret E. Collinson, David P. Mattey; Summer temperatures of late Eocene to early Oligocene freshwaters. Geology 2005;; 33 (3): 189–192. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G21019.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The marine foraminiferal isotope record displays a positive δ18O shift early in the Oligocene, which has been identified as the onset of the Antarctic Oi-1 glaciation. Reported here are the first oxygen isotope–derived summer paleotemperatures for continental freshwater in the Northern Hemisphere (Hampshire Basin, Isle of Wight, UK) leading up to and across this event. These paleotemperatures are derived from multiple paleoproxies (rodent tooth enamel, gastropod shells, charophyte gyrogonites, and fish otoliths) and are independent of freshwater evaporation effects and changes in ice volume. We conclude that a fluctuating mesothermal climate existed, but that there was no significant decrease in summer temperatures across the Oi-1 glaciation. This result is concordant with several other studies in suggesting that the majority of the isotopic shift in the marine realm across the Oi-1 glaciation is linked to changes in Antarctic ice volume and not to global temperature change. Our new approach has allowed us to derive numerical values for summer temperatures as well as to reconstruct relative temperature change across this key interval of the Eocene-Oligocene transition. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.

Determination of evapotranspiration from an alfalfa crop irrigated with saline waste water from an electrical power plant

Investigations were carried out in 1989 to determine the evapotranspiration (ET) of alfalfa when irrigated with saline waste water coming from the evaporation of fresh water in the cooling towers of Utah Power and Light Company Electrical Power Plant at Huntington in central Utah, U.S.A. The primary goal is to dispose of the waste water from the power plant by irrigation and to maximize salt deposition in the soil, maximize crop ET, minimize runoff from the soil surface, and minimize leaching to the ground water. Using the Bowen ratio-energy balance method, alfalfa evapotranspiration was measured at an experimental site for each 20-minute period during the 1989 irrigation season. Using a simplified seasonal water balance, the results showed that cumulative irrigation plus rain was less than evapotranspiration for the 1989 irrigation season. This means that for the long term in addition to irrigation and precipitation some water was withdrawn from the soil for alfalfa crop water requirements (ETa). Short term evaluations showed that because of unforeseen heavy rain (thunder showers) in this mountainous area between irrigations, ETa was occasionally less than irrigation plus rain. This means the excess water was stored in the soil for later use. The average value for ETa/ETp (potential ET) for the 1989 irrigation season was 0.47 but occasionally the ratio was greater than unity. Short-term studies (Hanks et al. 1990 a) indicate that yield and ETa are likely to decrease only slightly for the coming years if saline irrigation water is applied. This method of investigation can be applied to any industrial processes which produce waste water.

Evaporation of Brine: A Field Study on the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah

Evaporation rates were determined for seven brines whose average specific gravities varied from 1.207 to 1.333. Evaporation of the brines ranged from 70% to 9.5%, respectively, of the freshwater evaporation rate. The field data agree exceptionally well with differential vapor pressures over Great Salt Lake brine, measured in the laboratory by Dickson et al. [1965]. Water occasionally condenses on the heavier brines because of an inverted vapor pressure gradient.