Total Water Usage Research Articles

Reduction of water and energy consumption in the sanitary ware industry by an absorption machine operated with recovered heat

Water scarcity is a real problem that affects directly over one third of the world population, and greenhouse gases only worsen the situation. Due to this, action must be taken against the overexploitation of resources. Water accounting and saving should be mandatory for a proper sustainable industry. In this regard, the sanitary ware industrial sector, as an intensive consumer of water, should make a social commitment to contribute to stopping water overuse. Sanitary ware manufacturing delivers an amount of water equivalent to the half of the total production weight via evaporation. The aim of this research was to find a green process to reuse the evaporated water and thereby reduce the overall water consumption level as well as promote a cleaner technology with low environmental impact. The key point in supporting sustainability restriction is to match water condensation with heat recovery to avoid any energy surplus. The thermal energy recovered from kiln exhaust gets transferred into a cold flow, which condenses the evaporated water by an absorption cycle. Computational modeling was used to thermodynamically analyze and optimize the performance of this novel technology. The proposed model was applied to the most extended technologies to reduce natural gas usage by 25% and total water usage by 16%. Besides, the surplus of condensed water from combustion and from air moisture has been quantified to be added to savings. The present research provides a practical tool for the sector to use in designing more efficient, green manufacturing plants while supporting a more sustainable business model. It demonstrates and quantifies the potential of water saving in the sanitary ware industry, which had never before been tackled.

Correlation analysis of environmental treatment, sewage treatment and water supply efficiency in China

With the rapid economic growth and a large number of industrial production activities in China in recent years, the public has paid more and more attention to the improvement of environmental quality. Issues such as control of pollution in water and air resources, solid waste and noise, as well as energy use and alternative energy development, have received increasing attention. How to effectively manage and utilize precious water resources is a major issue for China to achieve sustainable development. The present study tried to the concepts of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) with slacks-based model (SBM) model under Constant Returns-to-Scale (CRS) technology (CRS-SBM-DEA) to find a solution, by estimating the total factor water usage efficiencies and sewage treatment efficiencies across Eastern, Central and Western areas in China. The results showed that, before 2007, the Eastern Area in China had the highest water usage efficiency, followed by the West Area and then the Central Area. After 2007, the Western area has gradually become the one with the highest water usage efficiency, followed by the East Area and then the Central Area. In addition, the empirical estimates also consider the impact of the social level. Through panel analysis, this paper finds that population pressure will significantly reduce the efficiency of water use in the region, and the government's actions can effectively boost the use and conservation of water resources.

Oil Palm Water Balance; a tools for Analysing Oil Palm Water Footprint and Root Water Uptake Distribution in Root Zone

The varying condition of climate, soil properties, crop stage, ground water existing in oil palm cultivation require the specific water balance model to perform the precision crop water use. The purposes for this research were to develop oil palm water balance model for calculating the hydrological parameter of oil palm and analysing oil palm water footprint and root water uptake distribution in root zone. The model of oil palm water balance was developed through the following step: oil palm root architecture study, instrument installation and data observation, model development and calibration. The oil palm water balance tool was developed by inputting the data base including climate, soil properties, crop stage, root density and root zone layer as well. The results in the case for 11th year oil palm tree on soil type ultisol in Central Kalimantan during the simulation climate data pointed out that the average root water is 3.46 mm/day and distributed 63% on 2st root zone. From the total water usage and the average production 14.19kg/month, it resulted the 1.053 m3/kg water footprint of FFB (76 % green water and 24% blue water).

Conservation agriculture based sustainable intensification: Increasing yields and water productivity for smallholders of the Eastern Gangetic Plains

In the Eastern Gangetic Plains (EGP) region of South Asia cropping systems are predominantly rice-based and comprise rice and non-rice crops (e.g. maize, wheat, lentil, mungbean, jute) in rotation. There are large gaps between potential crop yields and those achieved in farmers’ fields, primarily due to poor crop and soil management practices. Increasing climate variability and injudicious use of natural resources, particularly water and soil, mean that cropping systems have little resilience and are showing signs of being unsustainable. We hypothesized that replacing traditional crop rotations, grown under conventional tillage (CT) and with full residue removal, with crops grown under zero tillage (ZT) and with partial or full residue retention would improve both crop and cropping system yields, and reduce crop water demand, thus increasing the water productivity of cropping systems across the EGP. We evaluated four tillage-and-crop-establishment scenarios in three major cropping systems (rice-wheat, RW; rice-maize, RM; rice-lentil, RL) across eight districts of the EGP in 433 farmers’ fields between 2015 and 2017. We compared farmers’ traditional crop establishment practices (T1) against three scenarios based on the principles of conservation agriculture based sustainable intensification (CASI) and comprising a “partial CASI” option (T2: only non-rice crops grown under CASI management) and two “full CASI” options in which both crops were grown under CASI management; in T3 rice was direct seeded rice (DSR) and in T4 rice was transplanted without prior land preparation such as puddling (UPTR).Rice yields under all systems were not significantly different between CT (PTR) and CASI (ZTDSR and UTPR) but there was a significant yield gain of around 5% in both full and partial CASI on the yield of wheat and maize in the RW and RM systems. There were significant spatial trends in rice yields across all cropping systems. Total in-crop water (irrigation plus rainfall) usage was similar for the rainfed PTR, DSR and UTPR in all cropping systems as rice was primarily a rainfed crop grown during the wet season, however CASI practices reduced the required irrigation water, and thus the total in-crop water, to the dry season wheat or maize (but not to lentil) crops, compared to CT. This resulted in increased irrigation water productivity (greater than 27%) and total water productivity (greater than 26%) in both the wheat and maize crops. In the RW and RM systems irrigation water productivity was increased by over 25% and total water productivity by around 10%. These results indicate that the uptake of full or partial CASI practices, particularly in RM and RW systems, can lead to improvements in both cropping system and water productivity for smallholder farmers in the EGP.

Optimal sustainable water-Energy storage strategies for off-grid systems in low-income communities

Energy-water supply in low-income rural communities is addressed using a multi-objective model for defining the configuration and size of the system. The considered objective functions are minimizing the total annual cost, water and land usage, CO2 emissions and maximizing local jobs and the social opportunity associated to technological change. The multi-objective strategy meets a trade-off solution between economic, environmental and social dimensions which are integrated by subsets of objective functions. Strategies for energy-water surplus management based on batteries and pumping systems are evaluated. Conflicts between social and economic objectives are identified. As Case Study, profiles of energy and water consumption of a rural community from Mexico are presented.

Evaluating water-saving efficiency of plastic mulching in Northwest China using remote sensing and SEBAL

Plastic mulching of agricultural land surfaces has been widely used to cope with growing water shortage, but little research has been done in evaluating its water-saving efficiency at large catchment scale. We evaluate the effectiveness of water use in plastic mulching in a large catchment in Northwest China using remote sensing data and the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL). We use a decision-tree method to delineate the plastic mulching lands (PML) from other croplands (NPML) based on land surface albedo and temperature derived from Landsat images. We use SEBAL and Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data to estimate evapotranspiration (ET) and the water use in PML and NPML. Our study shows that ET from the PML reduced about 6.6% compared with NPML, and the area of PML increased about 84.2% during the 14-year period of 2000–2013 in the catchment. However, the total water use in the area still increased 50.0% as the total cropland area increased about 48.6% in the same period. Our study therefore suggests that the best water management strategy in arid China needs not only to increase water use efficiency but also to control total water usage by limiting reclamation of farmlands.

An unexpected decrease in urban water demand: making discoveries possible by taking a long-term view

Abstract Forecasting supply and demand is fundamental to the sustainability of the water system. Demand for urban water seems on an ever-upward trajectory, with use increasing twice as quickly as population throughout the 20th century. However, data from Ballarat, a city in south-eastern Australia, show that despite this conventionally held wisdom, total water usage actually peaked over 30 years ago. While the 1997–2009 ‘Millennium Drought’ had some effect, the decline commenced many years before. Initially, this was due to a reduction in external domestic water use, which correlates well with an increase in water price. However, the effect was found to not be purely economic as the price was not volumetric-based. Internal water use seems more affected by technological advances and regulatory controls. Interestingly, there was no relationship found between rainfall and water demand. The role of price, water-reduction education programmes, water-efficient technology and regulation supports previous research that a multifaceted approach is required when developing demand-reduction policies and strategies. This finding emphasises the importance of understanding the component of consumptive behaviour being targeted, and ensuring that policies being implemented are appropriate for the desired behavioural change.

Analysis Of Raw Water Supply In Pucang Gading Housing Complex, District Of Demak To Preparation Of Water Resources And Water Resources Management

Pucang Gading Housing Complex is an area within the Village Batursari, District of Demak with a population of 2018 as many as 44,257 inhabitants. Raw water service system Mranggen Unit is divided into 5 areas of service (service area Mranggen, Batursari I, Batursari II, Batursari III and Kebon) which utilize raw water source of water treatment plant (IPA Waru) and 8 Wells In a total discharge of 120 liter/second. The number of home connections in Pucang Gading area is currently 3,374 house connections, with a total water usage 14.25 liter/second Water discharges from clean water sources in Pucang Gading region are currently not maximally available to supply water to Pucang Gading service area. In this research will know the problems and readiness that exist by looking from the achievement of Medium Term Development Plan of Demak Regency Year 2016-2021. This research uses SWOT analysis method that is internal and external factors. The selection of raw water sources for drinking water should pay attention to aspects of quality, quantity and continuity. Demak Regency has the potential of surface water either river/ reservoir/dam. The problems and challenges of drinking water supply include issues of safe access to water supply, and regulation of groundwater utilization for the community.

China’s water situation; the supply of water and the pattern of its usage

Abstract This study specifically looked at total water supply in China, water withdrawal from various sources and various usage of water. From the analysis, it was realized that water supply from the underground source contributes greatly to the total water supply in China, a cubic unit withdrawal in underground water results in about 45% increase in the total water supply. Water from other sources also contributes to the total water supply in China. Water from other sources includes supplies from wastewater treatment, rain collection, seawater desalinization and other water projects. The result shows that a cubic unit increase in withdrawals from other sources results in about 3% change in gross water supply in China. A cubic unit withdrawal of water for industrial use results in about 29% increase in water use in China. For the agriculture sector, the result shows that a cubic unit increase in agriculture usage leads to approximately 67% increase in total water use in China. Water for household consumption, saw a 15% increase in total water usage in China for every cubic unit withdrawal.

Modeling of Mixed Crop Field Water Demand and a Smart Irrigation System

Taiwan average annual rainfall is approximately 2500 mm. In particular, 80% of the rainfall occurs in summer, and most of the heavy rainfall is caused by typhoons. The situation is worsening as climate change results in uneven rainfall, both in spatial and temporal terms. Moreover, climate change has resulted the variations in the seasonal rainfall pattern of Taiwan, thereby aggravating the problem of drought and flooding. The irrigation water distribution system is mostly manually operated, which produces difficulty with regard to the accurate calculation of conveyance losses of channels and fields. Therefore, making agricultural water usage more efficient in the fields and increasing operational accuracy by using modern irrigation systems can ensure appropriate irrigation and sufficient yield during droughts. If agricultural water, which accounts for 70% of the nation’s total water usage, can be allocated more precisely and efficiently, it can improve the efficacy of water resource allocation. In this study, a system dynamic model was used to establish an irrigation water management model for a companion and intercropping field in Central Taiwan. Rainfall and irrigation water were considered for the water supply, and the model simulated two scenarios by reducing 30% and 50% of the planned irrigation water in year 2015. Results indicated that the field storage in the end block of the study area was lower than the wilting point under the 50% reduced irrigation water scenario. The original irrigation plan can be reduced to be more efficient in water usage, and a 50% reduction of irrigation can be applied as a solution of water shortage when drought occurs. However, every block should be irrigated in rotation, by adjusting all water gates more frequently to ensure that the downstream blocks can receive the allocated water to get through the drought event.

Estimating micro-populations through social media analytics

Estimation of crowd sizes or the occupancy of buildings and skyscrapers can often be essential. However, traditional ways of estimation through manual counting, image processing or in the case of skyscrapers, through total water usage are awkward, inefficient and often inaccurate. Social media has developed rapidly in the last decade. In this work, we provide novel solutions to estimate the population of suburbs and skyscrapers—so-called micro-populations, through the use of social media. We develop a big data solution leveraging large-scale harvesting and analysis of Twitter data. By harvesting real-time tweets and clustering tweets within suburbs and skyscrapers, we show how micro-populations can be calculated. To validate this, we construct linear and spatial models for the suburbs in four cities of Australia using census data and geospatial data models (shapefiles). Our prediction of micro-population shows that Twitter can indeed be used for population prediction with a high degree of accuracy.

Water and Energy Use of Antimicrobial Interventions in a Mid-Size Beef Packing Plant

<abstract> <b><sc>Abstract. </sc></b>Data regarding the water and energy usage of current antimicrobial interventions in beef packing plants is scarce. The objective of this study was to collect representative water and energy usage data in a beef packing plant, with emphasis on antimicrobial interventions, to provide baseline data for comparison of new intervention technologies developed by researchers. Permanent and portable water flow meters were installed on the plant‘s plumbing system to collect water flow data from March 2014 to March 2015. A local utility company was hired to meter electricity at the different subsystems using portable data loggers. The natural gas used in each subsystem was estimated by the amount of steam required to heat the water to the desired temperature and assuming the boiler efficiency as 82%, as estimated by the plant personnel. All data was normalized per 1000 kg live body weight (1000 kg LBW). The overall plant-wide water usage was 2968 L/1000 kg LBW (355 gal/1000 lb LBW). The antimicrobial interventions used 15.7% of the total water usage while viscera and byproducts processing, and overnight cleaning water accounted for 19% and 39% of the total water usage, respectively. The water usage was 100, 16, 253, and 97 L/1000 kg LBW for the pre-evisceration wash, organic acid spraying, carcass wash, and thermal pasteurization, respectively. The total metered electrical energy was 110.5 MJ/1000 kg LBW, over 96% of which was used by the plant‘s cooling and hydraulic systems. The overall plant-wide natural gas usage was 512.6 MJ/1000 kg LBW, 11.6% of which was used by antimicrobial interventions for water heating. The viscera and byproducts processing, overnight cleaning, and other usage and losses, accounted for 11.7%, 36.1%, and 40.6% of the total natural gas, respectively.

Impact of water price reform on water conservation and economic growth in China

Water pricing has been used as an effective method of conserving water and optimizing water allocation. However, little is known about how to set a rational and efficient water price and how water pricing impacts economic growth. In this paper, we address this challenge by using the SICGE model, a dynamic general equilibrium model for China that is augmented by a total water constraint module. We also include a water subdivision module that allows for substitution between various water sources. These extensions facilitate a comprehensive estimate of the impact that various water price reforms have on water conservation and economic growth. The modeling results confirm that an increase in the water price will lead to a decline in total water usage, a better water use structure, and enhanced water use efficiency. We conclude with a comparison of multiple scenarios that suggests an optimal water price system.

Water usage in a multi-speciality hospital and its effective management

Context: Water is an important resource for hospitals. There are few studies about the quality, quantity and cost of water that is required for health care. Aims: To study the quality, quantity, cost and applications of water in a hospital. Settings and Design: Observational study. The study was done in a cancer hospital in eastern India. Methods and Material: Water generation and consumption patterns and costing were assessed after: Discussion with the engineers; analysis of documented records; observation of patient/visitor/staff behaviours; measurement of flow rates and metered readings; Individual water consumption surveys. Statistical Analysis Used: None. Results: The total filtered reverse osmosis (RO) water used by the hospital per day was 200,000 L. This equated to 1093 L/patient/day. The volume of filtered reversed osmosis water consumed showed that the total water usage for drinking was 1%, water usage for hand-washing was 18%, water usage for showering was 6%, kitchen water consumption was 2%, housekeeping activities usage was 4%, central sterile supply department usage was 4%, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems usage was 36%, hot water consumption was 5% and toilet flush usage was 24%. Cost was Rs. 1119/- for 10,000 liters of RO water and about Rs. 31/- for 10,000 liters of raw water. Conclusions: The economics of hospital water both in terms of consumption and cost is a valuable source of information for hospital planners, administrators and hospital engineers.

Impact of Irrigation Methods on Land Surface Model Spinup and Initialization of WRF Forecasts

AbstractIn the United States, irrigation represents the largest consumptive use of freshwater and accounts for approximately one-third of total water usage. Irrigation impacts soil moisture and can ultimately influence clouds and precipitation through land–planetary boundary layer (PBL) coupling processes. This study utilizes NASA’s Land Information System (LIS) and the NASA Unified Weather Research and Forecasting Model (NU-WRF) framework to investigate the effects of drip, flood, and sprinkler irrigation methods on land–atmosphere interactions, including land–PBL coupling and feedbacks at the local scale. To initialize 2-day, 1-km WRF forecasts over the central Great Plains in a drier-than-normal (2006) and a wetter-than-normal year (2008), 5-yr irrigated LIS spinups were used. The offline and coupled simulation results show that regional irrigation impacts are sensitive to time, space, and method and that irrigation cools and moistens the surface over and downwind of irrigated areas, ultimately resulting in both positive and negative feedbacks on the PBL depending on the time of day and background climate conditions. Furthermore, the results portray the importance of both irrigation method physics and correct representation of several key components of land surface models, including accurate and timely land-cover and crop-type classification, phenology (greenness), and soil moisture anomalies (through a land surface model spinup) in coupled prediction models.

Water Source and Distance is Associated with Hygiene Behaviors in Karamoja, Uganda

We investigated the relationship between distance to improved water sources and hygiene practices Karamoja Uganda. We conducted semi‐structured interviews and household observations among mothers of children under 24 months (n=56) from seven villages during the rainy season, when seasonal stream use is common. Distance to water source was estimated using a GPS monitor and total water use was estimated per‐capita by the volume of water containers used divided by the total household members. Households with a water source closer than 300 meters had significantly greater daily hand washing frequency among mothers (4.6 vs 3.6, p=.038) but not among children (3.00 versus 2.89, p=0.33). When the closest water source was a borehole compared to a stream, the daily frequency of hand washing was higher among children (3.4 vs 2.8 times, p .023) but not among mothers (4.2 vs 4.8, p=0.60). The mean per capita water use was 10.9L (SE 1.1), and 82.1% of households consumed less than 20L per person. Larger households did not account for greater water needs: households with more than 5 children had the same total water usage as households with fewer than 5 children (64.8L vs 64.1L, p=0.53). Findings suggest that children in large families may be vulnerable to poor hygiene practices owing to a lack of sufficient water for increased family size. Increasing access to boreholes may improve child hand‐washing frequency in this remote region.

수위-유량 관계곡선을 이용한 수막재배용 지하수 사용량 추정

수위-유량 관계곡선을 이용한 동절기 수막재배기간의 지하수 사용량 추정 방법을 제시하고, 이를 논산 왕전리 수막재배 지역에 현장 적용하였다. 연구지역의 동절기 수막재배 기간의 농수로수의 구성성분은 주로 지하수와 강우의 직접 유출 성분으로 구성된다. 농수로 수위를 관측하고, 강우에 의한 농수로 수위 상승분을 수위 관측 자료로 부터 제거시키기 위해 기저유출분리법을 적용하였다. 강우에 의한 수위 상승분이 제거된 농수로 수위자료에 수위-유랑 관계를 적용하여 연구지역의 수막재배용 지하수 배출량을 산출하였다. 왕전리 지역의 수막재배용 지하수 사용량은 평균 10,900 m³/d, 420 m³/d/ha인 것으로 추정되었다. 추정 지하수 사용량(420 m³/d/ha)과 전국의 수막재배면적(10,746 ha), 그리고 연간 수막재 배일수(120 days/year)을 기준한 전국 규모의 수막재배용 지하수 사용량은 5억 4천만 m³에 이른다. 이는 농업용 지하수 연간 사용량(약 17 억 m³)의 약 32%에 달한다. A method is proposed to estimate groundwater usage for water curtain cultivation (WCC) using a rating curve, and it is applied to field measurements of groundwater discharge used for WCC in Wangjeon-ri, Nonsan. During the winter season, the hydraulic components of irrigation ditches in the study area consist mainly of direct run-off and groundwater discharged from nearby pumping wells. Changes in stage of the ditches were monitored, and a baseflow separation method was applied to remove increments in stage due to direct run-off. The resulting records of stage were translated to groundwater discharge by applying the-stage-discharge relation. The estimated average groundwater discharge for the WCC in Wangjeon-ri was 10,900 m³/d or 420 m³/d/ha when the estimation is normalized by the total area for WCC facilities of this region. Applying this estimation (420 m³/d/ha) to the entire area of the WCC in Korea (10,746 ha),and considering the number of pumping days for the WCC (120 days/year), the total ground water usage for the WCC nation-wide is estimated to be 0.54 billion m³. This is equivalent to 32% of the total groundwater discharge for agricultural use in Korea (1.7 billon m³).

Anaerobic membrane bioreactor for the treatment of synthetic wastewater to produce energy and water reusable in agricultural sector

Total utilizable water resource in India has been estimated to be about 1,123 billion cubic meters (BCM). Out of total water usage by different sectors, about 85% (688 BCM) of water usage is being diverted for irrigation, which may increase to 1,072 BCM by 2050. Since the demand for domestic and industrial water usage may increase in near future, the water availability for irrigation is expected to reduce. Overall analysis of water resources indicates that in coming years, there will be a twin edged problem to deal with reduced fresh water availability and increased wastewater generation due to increased population and industrialization. With increasing water demand and depleting water availability, recycling of domestic wastewater has huge potential in India to bridge the water scarcity and provide good source of water for non-potable use like irrigation. Considering various lacunas of conventional wastewater treatment technologies and cost implications of advanced technologies in Indian context, a need exists to develop sustainable technologies which can provide recyclable quality of water with low operating cost. An anaerobic bioreactor coupled with membrane unit is phrased as anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) and could be an effective solution to treat low-strength domestic wastewater. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of external AnMBR for the treatment of sewage equivalent synthetic wastewater having 365 mg/l chemical oxygen demand (COD). Overall 95% COD removal efficiency was obtained during performance evaluation of AnMBR. The treated effluent with average COD concentration less than 20 mg/l was obtained for 8-h hydraulic retention time in bioreactor at 37 °C. The total suspended solids removal efficiency was 100% in AnMBR. The obtained biogas yield was higher than 0.4 m3/kg of COD removed in the system. The membrane flux was found higher than 60 l/m2 h at 1 bar trans-membrane pressure.

China's Energy-Water Nexus in 2009 by Sankey Diagram

We visualize water utilization in China from source to service and onward to destination, using a Sankey diagram to analyse the energy-water nexus at the national level. Among total water usage in China, about 53.4 % ultimately enters the atmosphere through evaporation and evapotranspiration; and 20.7 % and 6.4 % flows out to other countries or to salt basins, respectively. Only 0.4 % is re-used after sewage treatment and reclamation. The electricity required for water supply, treatment, utilization and post-use utilization comprised about 4–10 % of total national electricity consumption in 2009. Water used by energy-related industry represents an important contribution (about 14 %) of total water consumption and withdrawal in this country.

Factors influencing residents’ energy use—A study of energy-related behaviour in 57 Swedish homes

The aim of this work has been to study everyday energy-related behaviour in homes. All residents in 57 Swedish homes, living in three housing areas, have recorded time diaries over a period of four days, during the same time period in each area. The technical differences between the houses are limited, as the building designs within each housing area are the same. On an aggregated level, the diary data has been analysed with and without typical power data of appliances as well as in relation to measured total energy use, indoor temperature and water usage. Cluster analyses have been performed in order to find characteristics of groups of residents with regard to their energy-related behaviour. Some of the findings were that residents report long time use/operating time for activities related to electronic equipment (45% of total reported time). Residents which used energy to a greater extent than others were characterised by performing activities with long operating times, in combination with high, and fairly high, typical power ratings. The majority of residents showed many different energy-related behaviours, which indicates that a number of strategies to influence the behaviours – not just one – will be required.