Significant Water Consumption Research Articles

Wastewater treatment in the pulp and paper industry: A review

The pulp and paper industry plays a large role in global manufacturing, which creates significant water consumption and generation of wastewater that is filled with organic compounds and other chemicals. This paper will explore many different aspects of the pulp and paper industry such as raw material sourcing, manufacturing processes, environmental concerns, technological advancements, and the various wastewater treatment approaches. While there are many different methods to approach this wastewater issue, in this paper we will focus on anaerobic digestion, the application of biological aerated filters, and the use of constructed wetlands. The main material utilized in this industry is wood pulp, which undergoes multiple different procedures and processes to create the typical paper products we use every day. These processes, such as pulping and bleaching, create a large number of environmental concerns despite efforts to encourage better manufacturing practices and paper recycling.

Technology Progress in High-Frequency Electromagnetic In Situ Thermal Recovery of Heavy Oil and Its Prospects in Low-Carbon Situations

Heavy oil resources are abundant globally, holding immense development potential. However, conventional thermal recovery methods such as steam injection are plagued by high heat loss, substantial carbon emissions, and significant water consumption, making them incompatible with carbon reduction goals and the sustainable socioeconomic development demands. A new method of high-frequency electromagnetic in situ heating, which targets polar molecules, can convert electromagnetic energy into heat so as to achieve rapid volumetric heating of the reservoir. This method has the potential to overcome the drawbacks of traditional techniques. Nevertheless, it faces significant drawbacks such as limited heating range and inadequate energy supply during later production stages, which necessitates auxiliary enhancement measures. Various enhancement measures have been reported, including nitrogen injection, hydrocarbon solvent injection, or the use of nano-metal oxide injections. These methods are hindered by issues such as pure nitrogen being easy to breakthrough, high costs, and metal pollution. Through extensive literature review, this article charts the evolution of high-frequency electromagnetic in situ heating technology for heavy oil and the current understanding of the coupled heat and mass transfer mechanisms underlying this technology. Moreover, based on a profound analysis of the technology’s progression trends, this work introduces a new direction: CO2-N2 co-injection as an enhancement strategy for high-frequency electromagnetic in situ heavy oil recovery. There is promising potential for the development of new technologies in the future that combine high efficiency, low carbon emissions, environmental friendliness, economic viability, and energy conservation. Furthermore, some research prospects in low-carbon situations and challenges for the new technology in future are presented in detail. All in all, the contribution of the paper lies in the summarizing of some main drawbacks of current enhanced electromagnetic in situ thermal recovery methods, and presents a novel research direction of using CO2-N2 co-injection as an enhancement strategy based on its current research status in low-carbon situations.

Microbial osmotic pressure desalination system for desulfurization wastewater from coal-fired power plants: A pilot study

The treatment of desulfurization wastewater has emerged as a critical area of research due to the significant water consumption and drainage volume associated with thermal power plants, which account for 30 %–40 % of industrial water usage. The desalination and treatment of this wastewater generate desulfurization byproducts, posing environmental risks and incurring high operational costs. This study established a pilot-scale desalination system based on the principle of microbial osmotic pressure for the treatment of desulfurization wastewater from power plants. The desulfurization wastewater primarily contains Cl−, SO42−, Mg2+, Ca2+, and Na+ ions. The microbial osmotic pressure device reduced the water conductivity from 26,000 μs/cm to below 8000 μs/cm, achieving a total salt removal rate of 70 %. The removal rates for Cl−, SO42−, Mg2+, Ca2+ and Na+ were 69.10 %, 76.55 %, 73.0 %, 35.34 % and 52.80 %, respectively. The desalinated water from the osmotic pressure device then undergoes aerobic removal of organic compounds, followed by membrane filtration and reverse osmosis for further desalination. The effluent conductivity is <1000 μs/cm, meeting the standards for reuse water. The microbial osmotic pressure device enriched salt-absorbing halobacteria and was dominated by norank_f__Bacteroidetes_vadinHA17, Trichococcus, Acidovorax, Soehngenia, and norank_f__Hungateiclostridiaceae. Compared to traditional processes, the biological desalination process demonstrates lower operational and annual maintenance costs under conditions of regular addition of microbial agents and liquid activators to sustain the desalination bacterial community. Future research could focus on desalination microbial cultivation methods to improve stability and reduce costs.

JUSTIFICATION OF NOZZLE PARAMETERS OF JET-TYPE WASHING MACHINES FOR CLEANING AGRICULTURAL MACHINES AND UNITS

Agricultural machinery and equipment are exposed to significant contamination by various types of pollutants, some of which can be easily removed, while others require the use of special cleaning agents and machines. To remove these contaminants, a pressurized water jet is used, the biggest disadvantage of such devices is the significant water consumption, so the issue of intensifying the cleaning process of agricultural machinery using a limited amount of water is an important scientific task. Cleaning of agricultural machinery and units from contaminants is a complex technological operation, therefore, there is a need to develop and justify the parameters and operating modes of a high-tech washing device that would ensure high-quality removal of all types of contaminants with high efficiency, minimal water consumption and minimal labor costs. The analysis of cleaning technologies showed that water jet cleaning is the most promising for removing dirt from the surface of agricultural machines and units, the technology allows to increase the level of mechanical impact by using additional energy, which can be the energy of a rotating jet. The study examines the efficiency of cleaning washing plants from various contaminants. The main focus is on studying the impact of nozzle design on the quality and productivity of the washing process. Nozzles determine the shape of water jets and their velocity, determining the cleaning efficiency. The dagger and fan nozzles, their advantages and disadvantages are considered. Nozzle parameters such as orifice diameter, spray angle, and number of fan jets are investigated. It is shown that properly selected nozzle parameters play an important role in achieving the optimal cleaning effect and water saving. Factors such as flow coefficient, drag coefficient, and velocity coefficient that affect the performance and energy of the jet are outlined.

Revolutionizing water treatment, conservation, and management: Harnessing the power of AI-driven ChatGPT solutions

This study analyzes the global water crisis and the pressing need for innovation in water treatment, conservation, and management practices. It introduces potentially transformative solutions involving the use of ChatGPT to address water-related challenges. The research underscores the potential of AI-Driven ChatGPT applications in enhancing water management schemes through real-time insights, optimization of resource usage, and predictive maintenance. The paper dilates upon the role of ChatGPT in improving water quality control, enriching decision-making systems, optimizing water usage, and promoting precision irrigation. It also discusses various scenarios where ChatGPT has been applied in this regard, such as in Klir Comply and its integration into Rammas. The study further discusses the significant water consumption and environmental implications of AI models like ChatGPT and suggests tangible solutions such as employing renewable energy sources and water recycling systems. Additionally, it delves into ethical and regulatory implications of integrating AI-Driven ChatGPT solutions in water management, covering aspects of data privacy, transparency, accountability, and conformity to international standards. It emphasizes the need for concerted efforts to construct a responsible AI governance model and highlights the importance of education and awareness regarding AI ethics and regulations.

EVALUATION OF STRATEGIES FOR THE REDUCTION OF WATER CONSUMPTION IN REAL ESTATE PROJECTS

Activities related to the construction sector consume a large amount of water; consequently, it is imperative to quantify the amount of water used in each project phase. Particularly the operation of a real estate project is characterized by being much longer than the other project phases, resulting in significant water consumption. This work aims to evaluate the impact of strategies in reducing water consumption during the operation stage of real estate projects. To achieve this goal, a baseline scenario of water consumption was developed for the operation stage of the real estate projects in the city of Bogota, Colombia, from 2022 until 2050. Strategies used to reduce water consumption during the operation stage of real estate projects were implemented to the baseline to evaluate their impact. The cost of implementing each measure and the monetary benefits obtained were analyzed to quantify the effectiveness of each measure. The results of this work allow determine whether certain strategies will have a better impact in reducing water consumption and generating monetary savings.

Pump-and-treat (P&T) vs groundwater circulation wells (GCW): Which approach delivers more sustainable and effective groundwater remediation?

Pump-and-treat (P&T) is commonly used to remediate contaminated groundwater sites. The scientific community is currently engaged in a debate regarding the long-term effectiveness and sustainability of P&T for groundwater remediation. This work aims to provide a quantitative comparative analysis of the performance of an alternative system to traditional P&T, to support the development of sustainable groundwater remediation plans. Two industrial sites with unique geological frameworks and contamination with dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) and arsenic (As) respectively, were selected for the study. At both locations, attempts were made for decades to clean up groundwater contamination by pump-and-treat. In response to persistently high levels of pollutants, groundwater circulation wells (GCWs) were installed to explore the possibility of accelerating the remediation process in unconsolidated and rock deposits. This comparative evaluation focuses on the different mobilization patterns observed, resulting variations in contaminant concentration, mass discharge, and volume of extracted groundwater. To facilitate the fusion of multi-source data, including geological, hydrological, hydraulic, and chemical information, and enable the continuous extraction of time-sensitive information, a geodatabase-supported conceptual site model (CSM) is utilized as a dynamic and interactive interface. This approach is used to assess the performance of GCW and P&T at the investigated sites. At Site 1, the GCW stimulated microbiological reductive dichlorination and mobilized significantly higher 1,2-DCE concentrations than P&T, despite recirculating a smaller volume of groundwater. At Site 2, As removal rate by GCW resulted generally higher than pumping wells. One conventional well mobilized higher masses of As in the early stages of P&T. This reflected the P&T's impact on accessible contaminant pools in early operational periods. P&T withdrew a significantly larger volume of groundwater than the GCW. The outcomes unveil the diverse contaminant removal behavior characterizing two distinct remediation strategies in different geological environments, revealing the dynamics and decontamination mechanisms that feature GCWs and P&T and emphasizing the limitations of traditional groundwater extraction systems in targeting aged pollution sources. GCWs have been shown to reduce remediation time, increase mass removal, and minimize the significant water consumption associated with P&T. These benefits pave the way for more sustainable groundwater remediation approaches in various hydrogeochemical scenarios.

Review of fluorine removal methods from aqueous solutions

Introduction. The high-quality water conditioning problem does not disappear from the agenda of chemists, biologists, and ecologists. Fluoride content is an important water quality indicator, as fluoride can have both positive and negative effects on the human body. The purpose of this work is a critical review of methods for removing fluorine compounds from natural surface and underground waters, and from wastewater. An analysis of 77 modern scientific articles was performed, the advantages and disadvantages of such methods as precipitation and co-precipitation, methods using semipermeable membranes, dialysis and electrocoagulation, ion exchange and sorption methods were determined.&#x0D; Results and discussion. It was determined that the precipitation and co-precipitation methods use of chemical reagents, so they are quite expensive, and the sediments formed in the defluoridation process are subject to disposal. Membrane methods do not require the chemicals addition, are highly efficient and easy to control, but at the same time, defluoridation removes other ions that are present in water and are important indicators of the drinking water quality. A significant disadvantage of membrane methods is that a major amount of brine is formed during the treatment process, which also creates a disposal problem. Dialysis and electrocoagulation methods have the advantages and disadvantages of electrochemical methods: they provide high quality water, but this is accompanied by increased electricity consumption, the use of limited service life electrodes. Along with the high degree of water defluoridation, ion exchange methods are characterized by high cost, as well as significant water consumption for such technological processes as loosening, regeneration and washing of ion-exchange resins. An additional problem is the flushing and rinsing wastewater disposal. Sorptive fluoride removal is the most promising and widely used method. The main advantages include the method simplicity, non-deficiency and availability of sorbents. Effective sorbents are natural minerals, foremost, clinoptilolite, nepheline, low-quality phosphorites and apatites, glauconite, basalt tuffs, which are abundant in the subsoil of Ukraine. Unlike other methods, the spent materials are easily disposed of, or can be used as additives in the production of silicate materials, for example, bricks.&#x0D; Conclusions. Promising fluoride removal methods are sorption methods using natural mineral and modified sorbents.

Multicompartment Depletion Factors for Water Consumption on a Global Scale.

Balancing human communities' and ecosystems' need for freshwater is one of the major challenges of the 21st century as population growth and improved living conditions put increasing pressure on freshwater resources. While frameworks to assess the environmental impacts of freshwater consumption have been proposed at the regional scale, an operational method to evaluate the consequences of consumption on different compartments of the water system and account for their interdependence is missing at the global scale. Here, we develop depletion factors that simultaneously quantify the effects of water consumption on streamflow, groundwater storage, soil moisture, and evapotranspiration globally. We estimate freshwater availability and water consumption using the output of a global-scale surface water-groundwater model for the period 1960-2000. The resulting depletion factors are provided for 8,664 river basins, representing 93% of the landmass with significant water consumption, i.e., excluding Greenland, Antarctica, deserts, and permanently frozen areas. Our findings show that water consumption leads to the largest water loss in rivers, followed by aquifers and soil, while simultaneously increasing evapotranspiration. Depletion factors vary regionally with ranges of up to four orders of magnitude depending on the annual consumption level, the type of water used, aridity, and water transfers between compartments. Our depletion factors provide valuable insights into the intertwined effects of surface and groundwater consumption on several hydrological variables over a specified period. The developed depletion factors can be integrated into sustainability assessment tools to quantify the ecological impacts of water consumption and help guide sustainable water management strategies, while accounting for the performance limitations of the underlying model.

Assessing Climate Change Impacts on Irrigation Water Requirements under Mediterranean Conditions—A Review of the Methodological Approaches Focusing on Maize Crop

Climate change is a challenging fact influencing diverse sectors in society including the agricultural one, which is heavily dependent on natural resources and climate. In the Mediterranean region, climate change-related increases in air temperature, and in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as droughts, boost the pressure on the agricultural systems and affect crop yield potential. The growth of the world population implies that production needs to increase in a sustainable manner. Therefore, this study focuses on the maize crop due to its importance for food security and because it is a crop with significant water consumption that occupies a large worldwide area. In order to study climate change impacts on crop production, plant water requirements, and provide farmers guidelines helping them to adapt, it is necessary to simultaneously evaluate a large number of factors. For this reason, modelling tools are normally used to measure the future impact of climate change on crop yield by using historical and future climate data. This review focuses on climate change impacts on maize crop irrigation requirements and compares—by means of critical analysis—existing approaches that allow for the building a set of mitigation and adaptation measures throughout the study of climate.

Assessing the performance of industrial water resource utilization systems in China based on a two-stage DEA approach with game cross efficiency

While shouldering the burden of economic development, China's industrial sector has significant water consumption and wastewater discharge, which has intensified the country's water shortage. To improve the efficiency of industrial water resource utilization system, data envelopment analysis (DEA) has been widely used to assess the performance of the system. The current network DEA approaches adopted to investigate the system all belong to the self-evaluation mode, and existing network DEA cross-efficiency evaluation approaches have shortcomings. Therefore, a two-stage DEA approach with game cross efficiency is proposed to evaluate the system. First, according to the operation process of the system, this paper decomposes the system into a general two-stage network structure: water use stage and wastewater treatment stage. Second, the DEA game cross-efficiency model is improved to the general two-stage DEA game cross-efficiency model to evaluate the overall efficiency of the system. Third, given the overall efficiency, an efficiency decomposition model is proposed to determine a set of weights for each decision-making unit to evaluate water use efficiency and wastewater treatment efficiency. Finally, the rationality of the proposed approach is illustrated by model comparison, and the efficiencies of industrial water resource utilization systems in 31 regions of China from 2010 to 2015 are evaluated based on the proposed approach. The results indicate that, from the overall efficiency perspective, no region in China is always evaluated as being overall efficient and the overall efficiencies of 17 regions show an increase before a decreasing trend or decreasing trend during the study period. In 11 regions, wastewater treatment efficiency is far lower than water use efficiency, and in 11 other regions, both sub-stages are inefficient. In terms of the three areas, the eastern area has the highest water use efficiency, the central area has the lowest efficiency of both sub-stages, and the western area has the highest wastewater treatment efficiency. Some recommendations are presented to ensure China's sustainable development.

Comprehensive understanding of the effects of metallic cations on enzymatic hydrolysis of humic acid-pretreated waste wheat straw

BackgroundHumic acids (HA) have been used in biorefinery process due to its surfactant properties as an aid to the pretreatment of lignocellulose, with results indicating a positive effect on delignification. However, the HA remaining on the surface of the pretreated lignocellulose has also been shown to provide a negative effect on ensuing enzymatic digestibility. Hence, a strategy of complexing metallic cations with HA prior to enzymatic hydrolysis was proposed and demonstrated in this work in an effort to provide a means of HA mitigation that does not involve significant water consumption via extensive washing.ResultsResults showed that the enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency of waste wheat straw decreased from 81.9% to 66.1% when it was pretreated by 10 g/L HA, attributed to the inhibition ability of the residual HA on enzyme activity of cellulase with a debasement of 36.3%. Interestingly, enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency could be increased from 66.1% to 77.3% when 10 mM Fe3+ was introduced to the system and allowed to associate with HA during saccharification.ConclusionsThe addition of high-priced metallic cations (Fe3+) has successfully alleviated the effect of HA on cellulase activity. It is our hope in demonstrating the complexation affinity between metallic cations and HA, future researchers and biorefinery developers will evaluate this strategy as a unit operation that could allow economic biorefining of WWS to produce valuable biochemicals, biofuels, and biomaterials.

Regional and seasonal water stress analysis of United States thermoelectricity

Most thermoelectric power plants in the United States (U.S.) rely on fresh water for cooling, resulting in significant water consumption. An understanding of the regional and seasonal water stress impact of such water consumption is needed. In this study, we used a U.S. county-level water stress index, Available Water Remaining for the United States (AWARE-US), with facility-level thermoelectric power generation water consumption data, to quantify the regional and seasonal water stress impact of U.S. thermoelectric power plants. Water stress impact was evaluated as water-scarcity footprint (WSF) using monthly AWARE-US data. Results show that most thermoelectric power plants in the United States that use fresh water are in water-abundant regions. Our findings also show that a small fraction of the U.S. thermoelectric generation facilities (13% by power) located in water stressed regions contribute the most water stress impact (88% of the total WSF) caused by thermoelectric power generation in the U.S. Even if fresh water is abundant on an annual basis, many power plants are in counties with seasonal water shortages. Of the 401 counties with thermoelectric power plants using fresh water for cooling, 80 counties in February and 160 counties in August had fresh water withdrawal requirements that exceeded the sustainable fresh water available (availability minus demand or AMD) in that region. This means that 27% and 46% of power generation facilities have difficulty securing sustainable fresh water in February and August, respectively. This study is intended to support water consumption management in existing power plants and guide the deployment of future power plants to mitigate water stress impact.

Assessment of climate change impact on rice yield and water footprint of large-scale and individual farming in Thailand

Large-scale farming (participation in large-scale agricultural extension program) and individual farming (no participation) are two farming management practices of rice cultivation in Thailand, both of which cause significant water consumption and degradation and are vulnerable to climate change. However, given that climate change will influence both grain yield and water resource availability, it is not fully understood which type of farming management practice is more adaptive to climate change. This study aims to evaluate the adaptation capabilities of large-scale and individual farming by simulating rice yield changes under future climatic conditions and estimating the climate change impact on the water footprint (WF) of rice production. Rice management practices were obtained from large-scale and individual farming. Five General Circulation Models of RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios under four future time periods were used as future climate projections. Simulation results show a remarkable increase in rice yield of individual and large-scale farming under RCP4.5, ranging from 1.3 to 29.8% and 2.0 to 30.8%, respectively, whereas it fluctuates from 11.7 to −29.0% and 8.3 to −20.8% under RCP8.5 for individual and large-scale farming, respectively. The projected total WF of rice production under RCP4.5 will decline, ranging from −10.0 to −43.0% and −0.5 to −67.0% for individual and large-scale farming, respectively. Conversely, the RCP8.5 shows a fluctuation in projected total WF of −26.5 to 63.3% and −51.1 to 60.0% for individual and large-scale farming, respectively. The total WF, mainly grey WF, in large-scale farming is lower than in individual farming. The increase of rice yield under RCP4.5 is due to an increment of temperature and precipitation, resulting in a decrease of the total WF and vice versa for RCP8.5. The large-scale farms are highlighted as adopting appropriate management practices for rice production in which they can maintain rice yield and reduce grey WF.

Biocatalysis in seawater: Investigating a halotolerant ω-transaminase capable of converting furfural in a seawater reaction medium.

The increasing demand for freshwater and the continued depletion of available resources has led to a deepening global water crisis. Significant water consumption required by many biotechnological processes contributes to both the environmental and economic cost of this problem. Relatively few biocatalytic processes have been developed to utilize the more abundant supply of seawater, with seawater composition and salinity limiting its use with many mesophilic enzymes. We recently reported a salt tolerant ω-transaminase enzyme, Ad2-TAm, isolated from the genome of a halophilic bacterium, Halomonas sp. CSM-2, from a Triassic period salt mine. In this study we aimed to demonstrate its applicability to biocatalytic reactions carried out in a seawater-based medium. Ad2-TAm was examined for its ability to aminate the industrially relevant substrate, furfural, in both seawater and freshwater-based reaction systems. Furfural was aminated with 53.6% conversion in a buffered seawater system, displaying improved function versus freshwater. Ad2-TAm outperformed the commonly employed commercial ω-TAms from Chromobacterium violaceum and Vibrio fluvialis, both of which showed decreased conversion in seawater. Given the increasingly precarious availability of global freshwater, such applications of enzymes from halophiles have the ability to reduce demand for freshwater in large-scale industrial processes, delivering considerable environmental and economic benefits.

Waste Heat and Water Recovery System Optimization for Flue Gas in Thermal Power Plants

Fossil-fueled power plants present a problem of significant water consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, and environmental pollution. Several techniques have been developed to utilize flue gas, which can help solve these problems. Among these, the ones focusing on energy extraction beyond the dew point of the moisture present within the flue gas are quite attractive. In this study, a novel waste heat and water recovery system (WHWRS) composed of an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) and cooling cycles using singular working fluid accompanied by phase change was proposed and optimized for maximum power output. Furthermore, WHWRS configurations were analyzed for fixed water yield and fixed ambient temperature, covering possible trade-off scenarios between power loss and the number of stages as per desired yields of water recovery at ambient temperatures in a practical range. For a 600 MW power plant with 16% water vapor volume in flue gas at 150 °C, the WHWRS can produce 4–6 MWe while recovering 50% water by cooling the flue gas to 40 °C at an ambient temperature of 20 °C. Pragmatic results and design flexibility, while utilizing single working fluid, makes this proposed system a desirable candidate for practical application.

METHODOLOGY OF EVALUATING THE CONSUMPTION OF VIRTUAL WATER CONSIDERING THE FEATURES OF ORGANIC PRODUCTION

The article is devoted to the study and substantiation of the theoretical and methodological foundationsfor assessing the consumption of virtual water taking into account the features of organic productionusing the water trace tool, which allows you to make the right management decisions on the rational useof water resources in the agricultural sector, particularly in organic agricultural production.Water should be a tool that makes it possible to comprehensively assess the attitude of the consumer orproducer to the use of freshwater systems: it is a comprehensive indicator of assessing the volume of waterconsumption and the level of pollution of water resources for all quality components; It is not an indicatorof local environmental impact, water consumption and water pollution, since this impact depends onthe vulnerability of the local water system and the amount of water used by consumers and pollutants ofthe freshwater system. The water footprint tool provides accurate information on how water is used forvarious purposes; is the basis for drawing conclusions about the sustainable and reasonable use of waterresources and their distribution, as well as the basis for assessing the environmental, social and economicimpacts at the regional level.Based on an adapted methodology, an assessment of the water footprint of organic farming in Ukrainehas been carried out. In most regions characterized by low water availability, this indicator is high due tothe growing of crops with significant water consumption. In general, the implementation of the proposedmethodology will ensure food, environmental safety of the object of study and increase the competitivenessof the industry.

English

Water demand is continuously increasing worldwide parallel with the growing population. Because agriculture is considered as a significant water consumption sector, water demand in this sector may be reduced by improving water use efficiency to make farming more irrigated and sustainable. This study was planned to estimate the technical and water use efficiency of hazelnut growers in Carsamba district of Samsun, Turkey. For this purpose, a sample of 350 farmers representing this district was drawn in advance. Hazelnut growers were identified from this sample, and they were contacted in Spring 2016 season to administer a questionnaire regarding their farming practices, particularly irrigation. Results of the study showed that only 27.70% hazelnut growers were irrigating their hazelnut orchards by a specific source of water (canal, reservoir, or groundwater). Among these farmers who used irrigation for hazelnuts only 13.40% adopted the pressurized irrigation systems, namely sprinkler or drip irrigation, and the remaining farmers were using the floating irrigation method. The adopters used lower quantity of water and received higher yields as compared to non-adopters. Similarly, they were 98% technically efficient, and their water use efficiency level was 78%. The same figures for non-adopters were 94 and 54%, respectively. It was concluded that both of the two groups were technically efficient, but hazelnut growers may focus on water saving by adopting the pressurized irrigation systems which reduce water wastage and enable the growers to use water sources efficiently. Key words: Water use efficiency, technical efficiency, pressurized irrigation, sprinkler irrigation, drip irrigation, floating irrigation, hazelnut farming, data envelopment analysis (DEA). &nbsp

Catalytic Exhaust Gas Recirculation-Loop Reforming for High Efficiency in a Stoichiometric Spark-Ignited Engine through Thermochemical Recuperation and Dilution Limit Extension, Part 1: Catalyst Performance

The use of fuel reformate from catalytic processes is known to have beneficial effects on the spark-ignited combustion process through enhanced dilution tolerance and decreased combustion duration, but, in many cases, reformate generation can incur a significant fuel penalty. In this two-part investigation, we demonstrate that efficient catalytic fuel reforming can result in improved brake engine efficiency while maintaining stoichiometric exhaust under the right conditions. In Part 1 of this investigation, we used a combination of thermodynamic equilibrium calculations and experimental fuel catalytic reforming measurements on an engine to characterize the best possible reforming performance and energetics over a range of equivalence ratios and O2 concentrations. Ideally, one might expect the highest levels of thermochemical recuperation for the highest catalyst equivalence ratios. However, reforming under these conditions is highly endothermic, and the available enthalpy for reforming is constrained. Thus, for relatively high equivalence ratios, more methane and less H2 and CO are produced. Our experiments revealed that this suppression of H2 and CO could be countered by adding small amounts of O2, yielding as much as 15 vol % H2 at the catalyst outlet for 4 < Φcatalyst < 7 under quasi-steady-state conditions. Under these conditions, the H2 and CO yields were highest and there was significant water consumption, confirming the presence of steam reforming reactions. Analyses of the experimental catalyst measurements indicated the possibility of both endothermic and exothermic reaction stages and global reaction rates sufficient to enable the utilization of higher space velocities than those employed in our experiments. In a companion paper detailing Part 2 of this investigation, we present results for the engine dilution tolerance and brake engine efficiency impacts of the reforming levels achieved.

REGULATION OF THE WATER REGIME OF PEAT EARTH MECHANICAL LOW-DIRECTION BY SCALING

On peatlands annually in sunny weather there is a drying and self-ignition of the upper layer due to the cessation of the flow of groundwater during the rupture of the capillary rim and the violation of the water-lifting capacity. On drained peat soils, groundwater plays a major role in the fire-fighting plan and water and mineral nutrition of plants. One of the ways to maintain groundwater at the optimal level is the sluicing. It is most effective at groundwater objects, in the presence of well permeable soils. In this case, moistened land has a slight bias and when it is possible to supply water to the soil in the required quantities to cover the costs of evaporation, transpiration. At the same time, many issues related to the regulation of the water regime of peat soils by flooding remain unexplored, so the topic of our research is relevant and of great importance for the subsequent agricultural use of these soils. The aim of the work is to study the water regime of peat soils in the Mescher lowland and the scientific justification for its regulation by sluicing. Full-scale field experiment was carried out on peat soils of the Meshcherskaya lowland in the Polkovo collective farm of the Ryazan region of the Ryazan region in 2012-2016. With options for standard dehumidification, sluicing 0.5 m and 0.8 m. The control was a site on a low marsh. The methods of research and technology of cultivating annual grasses (vetch-oat mixture on green forage) are generally accepted. To more accurately describe the processes of locks, the characteristics of soil mois-ture, the assessment of changes in water balance items in the model, thermodynamic and geosystemic (landscape) approaches are used. We used the mathematical model of moisture transfer Shlyuzovanie, developed by A.I. Golovanov and Yu.I. Sukharev with the introduction into it of the terrain of the pilot site. In our forecast calculations, the depth of the systematic drains was assumed to be 1.0 ... 1.2 m, the en-closing network (trap drains) was assigned within the limits of 1.2 ... 1.4 m. We established that the results depend on the variant of sluicing, weather conditions, regular A decrease in the depth of groundwater and an increase in peat moisture with rising levels in canals. It was found that when the water level in the canal is raised to 0.8 m and up to 0.5 m from the edge, the depth of groundwater decreases from 0.85 to 0.58 m, and the humidity in the 0 ... 25 cm layer increases from 63 to 74% Porosity. Shlyuvanie with rising water level in the canals to 0.5 m provides sufficient fire-fighting humidity, but is associated with a significant water consumption - almost twice as large and with a marked decrease in the productivity of crops - up to 25% than with a slip of 0.8 m. As a result Five-year field experiments, the processes of sluicing of the dried peat bog in fire-fighting purposes have been studied and it is established that, as applied to the conditions of the experimental plot, the rise in the water level in the channel to a depth of 0.40 m from the edge provides the moisture of the upper layer fyanika in the dry period of about 0.59 share porosity, that is fire safety. For the climatic conditions of the Meshcherskaya lowland, a soft sluice with a rise in the water level in the canals to 0.8 m from the surface of the earth proved to be sufficient in the fire resistance.