Water Collection Methods Research Articles

Water collection through a directional leaf vein pattern by fast laser marker ablation of stainless-steel

Inspired by the natural water harvesting mechanisms of desert beetles, cactus thorns, and leaf veins, we designed a heterogeneous wettability surface with superhydrophilic pattern integrating leaf vein as the directional water transport main channel, attached capillary triangles as auxiliary channel plus a deep rough desorption channel on an overall superhydrophobic surface for an efficient water collection. A superhydrophilic surface was initially fabricated on the stainless steel disc by laser marker ablation allowing 1 μL droplet to spread completely to 0° within 0.12 seconds, followed by fluorine-containing coating transforming superhydrophilic surface to superhydrophobic one. Directional water transport patterns were then etched on the superhydrophobic surfaces by the secondary laser marker. The surface energy gradient and Laplace pressure induced by the pattern facilitated directional fast transport and efficient desorption of droplets, thus improving water collection efficiency. The enhancement mechanism of the water harvesting behavior for such surfaces was analyzed, with one focus on enhancing collection in hydrophobic regions with capillaries to reduce bouncing off loss and the other on improving balanced cycling of the collection process. At a fog flow rate of 1500ml/h and 20cm away from the fog outlet, the directional leaf vein-patterned 19.625cm2 sized surface demonstrated a fog water collection rate (WCR) of 5.6 Kg·m-2·h-1 and first drop collection at the 49th s, an impressively short time rarely reported. Compared to the superhydrophobic, superhydrophilic samples, and the reference, WCR increased by 180%, 62%, and 59%, respectively, and the first droplet collection time decreased by 73%, 46%, and 62%, respectively. This efficient water collection method has huge potential in arid regions.

Association Between Demographic Characteristics of Users’ and Overall Satisfaction with Water Supply Service

Water constitutes an indispensable resource for various aspects of daily life, encompassing essential needs such as drinking, cooking, sanitation, and irrigation. Beyond household applications, diverse livelihood activities, including livestock management, gardening, crop cultivation, food processing, aquaculture, and fisheries, also rely on water. The assessment of customer satisfaction holds paramount significance in driving performance enhancements for service providers, even within government-owned entities offering critical services like water supply. This research aims to scrutinize the interplay between overall satisfaction with water services and its determinants, including satisfaction with water quality, and various parameters such as water supply hours, tap pressure, supplied water quantity, management responsiveness and communication, and water tariff. Anticipatedly, water supply hours, quantity, and quality are expected to exert a crucial influence on user satisfaction. Although users express a satisfaction level above neutral, it falls short of reaching a fully satisfactory level. Key contributors to user satisfaction involve aspects such as water supply hours, pressure, quantity, and quality, while complaints about water supply yield slightly lower satisfaction. Satisfaction with water service hours, quantity, and quality emerges as a driving force for overall satisfaction. The analysis reveals no significant association between overall satisfaction and demographic variables such as occupation, gender, age, education, and the main income source. However, a noteworthy association exists between satisfaction with water pressure and the water collection method, and a robust link is observed between satisfaction with water quality and respondents' water treatment practices. The provision for complaints is significantly associated with satisfaction regarding management responsiveness and communication. Multiple regression analysis underscores a positive relationship between overall satisfaction with water services and satisfaction with water quality and supply hours, indicating that higher satisfaction with these factors enhances overall satisfaction with water services.

Multifunctional Piezoelectric Yarns and Meshes for Efficient Fog Water Collection, Energy Harvesting, and Sensing

Given global water scarcity and the quest for sustainable energy, there's a pressing need for integrated approaches addressing water‐energy interdependence worldwide. A practical approach for this challenge involves the implementation of fog water collectors. Herein, a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) multifunctional device capable of harvesting water and electricity from wind is developed and tested, collecting up to 365 mg cm−2 h−1 of fog water. Due to the piezoelectric nature of electrospun PVDF, these yarns and meshes not only serve as piezoelectric sensors, enabling the detection of incoming fog flow and determination of its speed and, bust also harvest electricity by charging a capacitor, making it a green and renewable power source. In this study, promising insights are offered into developing efficient fog water collection methods and utilizing piezoelectric fiber‐based yarns and meshes for multifunctional applications in sustainable water management, energy harvesting, and sensing in a single device.

Water Scarcity Zonation Mapping of Household in District Soreng West Sikkim by MCDM Method Using RS&GIS

Abstract: A major global problem, water scarcity has a negative impact on ecosystems, socioeconomic activity, and millions of people. Effective water resource management calls for well-informed decision-making processes that consider many factors and their respective importance. The goal of this case study is to use the Multiple Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) method to address the problem of ranking water scarcity. The study starts out by developing a set of pertinent standards for evaluating water shortage, including water availability, population demand, storage capacity, total population of the household, accessibility of a nearby source, distance to a perennial source, use of rainwater harvesting, number of animals in the household, water obtained from a public supply, and manual water collection methods. Surveys are used to gather information on these criteria, as well as statistical reports, remote sensing, and expert opinions. To ensure comparability across many parameters, the collected data are subsequently analysed and standardized. The regions are then ranked according to the severity of their water scarcity using a suitable MCDM approach. Using the MCDM method, decision-makers can consider their preferences and opinions as well as give various criteria proportionate weights based on their importance. The case study demonstrates how MCDM was used in the study area's battle against water scarcity. Policymakers and stakeholders can utilize the data to identify families that are experiencing the greatest levels of water scarcity and then priorities solutions based on those findings. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis can be performed to assess how well the ranking results hold up under other weightings and criteria. The results of this case study provide a systematic and all-encompassing strategy, which advances water resources management tactics also the results can be further used to prepare a Water Scarcity Zonation Map in ArcGIS or QGIS using RS&GIS method

Natural Ingredients in the Jimen Basin Using Remote Sensing Technology

The scarcity of water resources constitutes a real problem facing man on an ongoing basis, especially with the exacerbation of environmental degradation and drought that affected large parts of the globe. With the increase in the number of the earth's population, the world is in need of more water sources for various activities. The study of the importance of water harvesting in its economic and environmental advantages lies in the impact on increasing and improving the productivity of agricultural crops by providing additional water at a low cost using supplementary irrigation. Remote sensing and applications of informatics systems are used to detect the best sites for the application of rainstorm water collection methods. This study aims to produce a map of the optimal sites for water harvesting methods to benefit from the water at the site of its fall without waiting for it to reach the downstream in Jimen Basin. This site is characterized by the presence of geological formations that have an important role in the application of water harvesting such as solid formations that allow the construction of dams within the basin. The study analyzed a lot of data on air temperature, solar radiation, relative humidity, evaporation, and rainfall amount. The geological formations, natural plants, and types of soil were also studied. It was found that Jimen Basin is very suitable to be used as a water harvesting basin to develop the region around the basin which is semi-arid. In conclusion, the proposed lake can help provide the possibility of establishing a residential city and also be a promising tourist site.

Composite Braided Fabric Coupled with Photothermal and Electrothermal Processes for Stable and Continuous All-Day Desalination

In this study, a carbon fiber/tencel composite braided fabric was used in stable and continuous all-day desalination technology with superior photothermal and electrothermal conversion capability. The desalination performance was regulated by adjusting the braiding parameters. Because the water in carbon fibers is maintained in the capillary state and thus evaporates more easily in clusters, it required less energy to evaporate water off the composite fabric. Under 1 sun illumination, the average evaporation rate and the evaporation efficiency were 1.84 kg m-2 h-1 and 88.8%, respectively. When a small amount of electricity (3 V) was applied, the evaporation rate of the braided fabric was maintained at over 1.88 kg m-2 h-1, and a superior desalination performance during the daytime was achieved. Under continuous all-day operation, most of the organics, metal ions, and contaminants were effectively eliminated from the water, which satisfied the WHO drinkable water standards. Our results can contribute to paving the way for efficient and stable wastewater treatment, seawater desalination, and drinking water collection methods.

Extinguishment of a transformer fire with a long projection water mist system

When large oil-immersed power transformer fire happens, scenarios such as bushing explosion, oil pool fire, oil spray fire and oil flowing fire are commonly observed. As the nozzles of current water mist or sprinkler system are arranged in the fire region, they are at risk of damage during the explosion or under high temperature. This paper presents a long projection water mist technique based on axial flow inducing to effectively extinguish the fire at far distance. The droplet size, spray density, and effective spray distance were characterized via Laser diffraction technique, water collection method and laser distance measurement. Fire extinguishment tests were conducted through setting up a full-scale 800 kV converter transformer model to verify its capability. The results indicate that the proposed system can extinguish the 800 kV converter transformer fire within dozens of seconds, due to its long spray distance, small droplet size, and large spray density. This study will provide a new method for water mist generation and references for system design for large transformer fire or oil fire extinguishment in open space.

Physical-Chemical Properties Relationship of Pattani River and Implication for Water Quality Monitoring Study and Academic Service

STEM learning is methodology toward providing students with cohesive and conducive learning environments that expand their knowledge in fields relating to technology, engineering, mathematics, and science. The environment learning and management is large scale impacted by the people who do the actual influencing, teaching and managing. Pattani River is considered as the important river of the southern region. Which has a length of 210 kilometers, is an important river for environment studying and developing area including academic place, industrial-agricultural area and domestic settlements across Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat province. The river consumption which should be studied and monitored to assess and prevent deterioration Especially the part of the river that passes through urban communities like Yala and Pattani Municipality. Therefore, this research aims to study the relationship between physical water quality and chemical water quality of water in the Pattani River. Classified by water sampling stations Land use and seasons The research was conducted using a single sample water collection method on the waterfront and in the middle of the Pattani River that flows through the Yala province, with 11 sampling stations. Used to analyze pH, temperature, transparency, electrical conductivity, suspended sediment and dissolved oxygen once a month from January-June 2019 and the remaining data from the Office of Natural Resources and Environment, Region 16. The results showed that the water quality varies with the season (p-value < 0.05) but does not vary with water sampling stations and land use. In the dry season, Pattani River has higher water quality than the rainy season. For areas that do not have land use, water quality is slightly better than agricultural and community areas. Chemical water quality such as pH and dissolved oxygen are related to physical water quality changes such as transparency, electrical conductivity and temperature (p-value < 0.05). Which can be used as a guideline to prevent degradation of water quality and can be developed into indicators that can be applied to communities Causing the Tambon Administrative Organization and the community to be ready to be a leader in monitoring water quality.

Quantitative comparison of phytoplankton community sampled using net and water collection methods in the southern Yellow Sea

Quantitative and precise observation of the phytoplankton is required for biogeochemical and environmental monitoring in coastal seas. However, phytoplankton data may vary greatly depending on the sampling methods. Net and water collection methods are widely adopted for obtaining marine phytoplankton in China; yet, exact differences and relationships between water- and net-collected phytoplankton communities remain poorly understood. Here, annual phytoplankton surveys in the southern Yellow Sea were conducted using these two sampling methods. Compared with water collection, net collection resulted in the loss of numerous noncolonial small-celled species, particularly cryptophytes and coccolithophores, and reduced phytoplankton depth-averaged abundance (DAA) by 1–2 orders of magnitude. However, through net collection, some scarce, large, or colonial species with low abundances were obtained, and the net-collected DAA distribution was highly consistent with the water-collected DAA distribution in each season. Moreover, DAAs of planktonic large-celled or long-chained dominant species, belonging to diatom, dinoflagellate, and cyanobacteria, were comparable in net- and water-collected samples. Regression analysis showed highly significant regression coefficients between net- and water-collected DAAs of phytoplankton, diatom, and diatom plus dinoflagellate, suggesting that net-collected data could be roughly derived from water-collected results. Non-metric multidimensional scaling and analysis of similarity indicated that phytoplankton community composition significantly differed between net- and water-collected samples. Similarity percentages confirmed that this difference was largely attributed to small-sized benthic and meroplanktonic diatoms, unidentified cryptophytes and coccolithophores, and single-celled dinoflagellates. Our results suggest that the sampling method profoundly influences phytoplankton analysis in terms of species information, abundance, dominant species, and community composition.

Bioinspired water collection methods to supplement water supply.

Fresh water sustains human life and is vital for human health. Water scarcity affects more than 40% of the global population and is projected to rise. For some of the poorest countries, 1 in 10 people do not have access to safe and easily accessible water sources. Water consumption by man continues to grow with increasing population. Furthermore, population growth and unsafe industrial practices, as well as climate change, have put strain on 'clean' water supply in many parts of the world, including the Americas. Current supply of fresh water needs to be supplemented to meet future needs. Living nature provides many lessons for water source. It has evolved species, which can survive in the most arid regions of the world by water collection from fog and condensation in the night. Before the collected water evaporates, species have mechanisms to transport water for storage or consumption. These species possess unique chemistry and structures on or within the body for collection and transport of water. In this paper, an overview of arid desert conditions and water collection from fog, and lessons from living nature for water collection are provided. Data on various bioinspired surfaces for water collection are also presented. Some bioinspired water purification approaches are presented. Next, consumer to military and emergency applications are discussed and water collection projections are presented. This article is part of the theme issue 'Bioinspired materials and surfaces for green science and technology (part 2)'.

Comparative evaluation of water collection methods using multicriteria decision making analysis

The necessity for the improvement and change of the way to collect water is of great need, especially nowadays that water tends to become a limited natural resource. The aim of this project is to study and evaluate an alternative water collection method, the artificial recharge, and compare it with the conventional established method of dam construction. The evaluation tool is a Multi-Criteria Decision Making Analysis. Multi-Criteria Analysis evaluates these two methods based on certain common criteria. More precisely, each method is examined multi-dimensionally, so that all aspects and possible problems of the application of these methods are studied.

Hydraulic Strategy of Cactus Trichome for Absorption and Storage of Water under Arid Environment.

Being an essential component in various metabolic activities, water is important for the survival of plants and animals. Cacti grown in arid areas have developed intrinsic water management systems, such as water collection through spines, water absorption through trichome, and water storage using mucilage. The water collection method of cactus is well-documented, but its water absorption and storage strategies remain to be elucidated. Thus, this study analyzed the morphology and wettability of cactus trichomes by using advanced bio-imaging techniques and by performing in vitro experiments on an artificial system mimicking these structures, respectively. In addition, the in situ water absorption process through the trichome cluster was quantitatively visualized. This paper proposes a new bio-inspired technique for dew collection based on information about the water management strategies of cactus. This study discusses the underlying water absorption and storage strategies of cactus and provides the experimental database required to develop a biomimetic water management device.

Direction and Management of Water Movement in Solid-State Alkaline Fuel Cells

In a solid-state alkaline fuel cell (SAFC), water reacts at the cathode and is generated at the anode, in contrast to proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Water behavior in the SAFC membrane electrode assembly is particularly important: without water movement, the relative humidity at the cathode, which affects the membrane resistance, cannot be enhanced, and flooding at the anode cannot be suppressed. Thus, optimization is required to establish design methodology for SAFCs. In this study, water movement in a SAFC system has been observed accurately using a water collection method. We confirm for the first time the movement of water from the anode to the cathode during an actual fuel cell performance test. Compared with a PEMFC, water movement occurs in the opposite direction leading to difficult water management in the SAFC. With the knowledge obtained, water management has been achieved in the SAFC by careful control of humidity.

Groundwater Iron Assessment and Consumption by Women in Rural Northwestern Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, approximately 97 % of the rural population uses groundwater as a drinking source. In many areas of the country this water is known to have elevated levels of iron. The contribution to iron intake that this exposure provides, and the impact on health, are unknown. In the pre- and post-monsoon seasons of 2008, we measured iron content of household tube well water, explored local water collection methods, and estimated iron intake through consumption of groundwater for 276 women of reproductive age in a rural setting in northwestern Bangladesh. Groundwater samples were analyzed for total iron (mg/L), arsenic (category of µg/L), pH, temperature (°C), and oxidation-reduction potential (Eh). Participants drank [mean (SD); 2.7 (0.8) L] of water per day, all of which was collected from domestic tube wells. Total iron concentration in groundwater was high, [median (IQR) 16.3 (6.9, 28.2) mg/L], and variable throughout the area. Using this value, estimated daily iron intake [median (IQR)] was 41.1 (16.0, 71.0) mg from drinking water alone. The amount of water consumed was unrelated to its iron concentration (r = - 0.06; p = 0.33) despite potentially unpleasant organoleptic qualities of high iron content in water. Groundwater contributes substantially to daily iron intake of rural Bangladeshi women and currently represents an under-assessed potential source of dietary iron.

降水の高時間分解能自動サンプリングのための装置開発

To develop a suitable water collection method for short-term hydrological process observation, the new water sampler, using automatic water sampler and modified plastic bucket with clock timer and electro magnetic valve, was developed. The actual application of this sampler in a study area shows that this system is applicable for the rainwater sampling for the throughfall intensity over 0.7 mm⁄h.The comparison result between isotopic content of hourly samples collected by this sampler and that of conventional bulk samples for selected four representative rainfall events shows that the weighted mean value of hydrogen and oxygen isotopic content in throughfall samples by this method showed almost same content as that in bulk throughfall samples. In addition, the isotopic content of the bulk throughfall samples in the δ-diagram was plotted on the regression line given by isotopic content of hourly throughfall samples of the specific rainfall event. This means that the precise time resolution samples collected by this new method represent time variation of isotopic content in the throughfall of the study area.

Blood lead levels and risk factors for lead poisoning among children in Jakarta, Indonesia

The phase-out of leaded gasoline began in Jakarta, Indonesia on July 1, 2001. We evaluated mean blood lead levels (BLLs) and the prevalence of elevated BLLs of Jakarta school children and assessed risk factors for lead exposure in these children before the beginning of the phase-out activities. The study involved a population-based, cross-sectional blood lead survey that included capillary blood lead sampling and a brief questionnaire on risk factors for lead poisoning. A cluster survey design was used. Forty clusters, defined as primary schools in Jakarta, and 15 2nd- and 3rd-grade children in each cluster were randomly selected for participation in the study. The average age of children in this study was 8.6 years (range 6–12) and the geometric mean BLL of the children was 8.6 μg/dl (median: 8.6 μg/dl; range: 2.6–24.1 μg/dl) ( n=397). Thirty-five percent of children had BLLs ≥10 μg/dl and 2.4% had BLLs ≥20 μg/dl. Approximately one-fourth of children had BLLs 10–14.9 μg/dl. In multivariate models, level of education of the child's primary caregiver, water collection method, home varnishing and occupational recycling of metals, other than lead, by a family member were predictors of log BLLs after adjustment for age and sex. BLLs of children who lived near a highway or major intersection were significantly higher than those of children who lived near a street with little or no traffic when level of education was not included in the model. Water collection method was a significant predictor of BLLs ≥10 μg/dl after adjustment for age and sex. BLLs in children in this study were moderately high and consistent with BLLs of children in other countries where leaded gasoline is used. With the phase-out of leaded gasoline, BLLs of children in Jakarta are expected to rapidly decline as they have in other countries that have phased lead out of gasoline.

Rainfall harvesting using sand ditches in Jordan

Rainfall harvesting in rain-fed agricultural areas increases water availability for plants during the growing season, thus increasing crop production. Rainfall can be stored directly in the soil for crop production using terraces, rippers, contour ridges, and other types of water collection methods. However, the efficiency of these methods is limited by the infiltration characteristics of soil and climatic conditions. In the rain-fed agricultural areas of Northern Jordan soils are predominantly clay having very low infiltration rates. In such cases the depth of water infiltration is very small and water may remain in the upper layer of the soil profile. With high evaporation rates, collected water is lost to the atmosphere very rapidly and is therefore, unavailable for plants. Field experiments were initiated in Northern Jordan in 1996 to harvest rainfall and store it deeper in the soil profile thereby reducing the effect of evaporation. The experiment consisted of digging experimental trenches 80 cm deep, 5 m long and 1 m wide across the land slope between two rows of olive trees. The trenches were filled up to the original soil level using local deposits of fractured rock and river sand with large infiltration rate. These filled trenches, called sand ditches, were expected to collect rainfall, intercept runoff, and store water in the surrounding soil at greater depths to be used by plants for longer periods of time. It can be a very efficient method since it increases water infiltration and prevents evaporation during the growing season. The efficiency of sand ditches in storing water was assessed by monitoring soil moisture conditions and depth of infiltration in the sand ditch area, a 35 m 2 area located between four olive trees, and at a control area without a sand ditch, using an auger hole. The amount of water stored in the soil was calculated at each time interval and compared with total rainfall. Experimental results indicated that sand ditches increased both the percentage of rainfall stored in the soil matrix and the infiltration depth of water during the two winter seasons from 1996 to 1998. At one of the experimental areas on April 19, 1998 the infiltration depth and water content in the sand ditch area were 100 cm and 28%, respectively compared to only 68 m and 19% in the control area. During the same period, the calculated ratio of depth of water stored in the sand ditch area to rainfall was 73% compared to only 45% in the control area.