Archive for the 'water technology' Category

Eole Uses Wind Power to Make Water From Desert Air

Published on 04/20/2012 in tap water and water technology. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.greenprophet.com

“A  revolutionary way to condense water from the desert air, powered by – and housed within – a wind turbine has been tested in the UAE  since October of 2011, by French innovation startup Eole Water.

The ground-mounted version has proven that it can condense up to 800 litres a day from air with just the 15-20% humidity typical of the region, and the company believes that a tower top turbine will produce levels well over 1,000 litres (264 gallons) a day.

Water marketing director Thibault Janin told ReCharge News: “The prototype is not yet on a mast because we wanted to check that it could operate in difficult desert conditions first — and so far the results have been very good. And would be even better, of course, if it was placed in coastal or offshore areas where there is higher humidity and more wind.”

Now that the ground test worked, the next step will be to erect the wind turbine-cum-air-condensation system.

Since the test suggests that in desert conditions, the turbine on a tower can produce 1,000 litres of drinking water, the company believes that in coastal regions or islands, with typically higher humidity, it could produce twice that amount.

The turbine needs at least seven-metre-per-second winds to generate 30 kW of electricity to move the water to the storage tanks and to power its purification system.”

Read more: Green Prophet

 

lily victoria

Water meters to cost €40 a year for 20 years

Published on 04/16/2012 in management and water technology. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Retrieved from: Independent

“Homeowners face an annual €40 standing charge for 20 years just to cover the cost of water meters. That is before they hand over a cent for the water they use.

“The Irish  Independent has learned of fresh details about the standing charge which will be levied on 1.35 million homeowners.

“Environment Minister Phil Hogan intends the €40 annual bill to cover the cost of the water meter as well as installing and maintaining the new system.

“But a government spokesman tried to defuse the looming row over the charges pointing out that there will be no upfront bills.

“As the Opposition branded the contradictory statements over costs householders will face, ‘a communications fiasco’, the spokesman said that the political hare was off and running since the weekend confirmation that householders would have to pay several hundred euro for water meters.

“The prospect of paying a yearly charge for two decades will shock homeowners already forking out a range of fees.

“The National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) is providing a loan of €450m for the water metering programme.”

Read more: Independent

sammykayed

Earthquake Outbreak in Central U.S. Tied to Drilling Wastewater

Published on 04/12/2012 in management, natural gas drilling, oil, uncategorized, wastewater and water technology. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Earthquake Outbreak in Central U.S. Tied to Drilling Wastewater “A spate of earthquakes across the middle of the U.S. is “almost certainly” manmade, and may coincide with wastewater from oil or gas drilling injected into the ground, U.S. government scientists said in a new study.

“Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey said that for the three decades until 2000, seismic events averaged 21 a year in a central U.S. region. They jumped to 50 in 2009, 87 in 2010 and 134 in 2011.

” ‘Our scientists cite a series of examples for which an uptick in seismic activity is observed in areas where the disposal of wastewater through deep-well injection increased significantly,’ David Hayes, the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior, said in a blog post yesterday, describing research by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey.

“In hydraulic fracturing — or fracking — water, sand and chemicals are injected into deep shale formations to break apart underground rock and free natural gas trapped deep underground. Much of that water comes back up to the surface and must then be disposed of.

“The Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to release rules on air pollution from gas wells and on the treatment of wastewater. Other state and federal rules could force more disclosure of the chemicals used by the drilling companies.”

Read More: Bloomberg

Chippie Kislik

11 Rivers Forced Underground

Published on 04/01/2012 in contaminated water, dams, rivers, wastewater, water diversions, water technology and world water supply. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

Photo retrieved from: www.nationalgeographic.com

“Rivers are the lifeblood of many plant, animal, and human communities. Yet many of the world’s rivers have been dammed, degraded, polluted, and overdrawn at alarming rates.

Some of the world’s great rivers, from the Colorado to the Indus, don’t always reach their ends because people have diverted so much water for agriculture, industry, and municipal uses. Other rivers have been completely covered over by development, as people attempted to “tame” nature by ending flooding and maximizing usable land area.

But what happens to once-thriving freshwater ecosystems when the rivers they depend on are entombed in sewer pipes beneath layers of concrete and soil? Few species can make the transition to subterranean living. Ironically, it was often rivers and streams that attracted people in the first place, but those very sources of life can fall victim to the expanding concrete jungle.”

Read more: National Geographic

 

lily victoria

What Modern Society Can Learn From a 2,800 Year Old Earthen Water Well

Published on 03/27/2012 in aquatic ecosystems, groundwater, hydrology and water technology. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.greenprophet.com

“At the third Conference on Water and Wastewater Technologies in Ancient Civilizations (WWTAC) held last week in Turkey, attendees from Libya to Australia and Israel revealed technologies used by their respective ancestors that were in many cases far more sustainable than our modern interventions. Case in point: a 56 km 2,800 year old earthen water well from Eastern Anatolia that still works today!

Ancient water works

Today’s Zaman explained that throughout the three day event held at the Barcelo Eresin Hotel in Istanbul, leading academics discussed an enormous variety of water technologies employed by ancient civilizations, including the Hittite Ponds of Hattusa, the Nomad Cisterns in Antalya, to the Ancient Greek method of water conservation.

Professor Unal Oziş told attendees of his “Water Works of Four Millennia in Turkey” discussion that water systems built three millennia ago, such as the Şamran Canal basically made out of clay, continue to be used today. By contrast, modern people replace their technologies every few years and we have built our programs with obsolescence in mind.

Cradle to Cradle and other design philosophies – and conferences such as WWTAC – will hopefully compel us to revisit more sustainable approaches to water management such as those practiced by theBerbers in Morocco, but another key concern for water specialists is the rate at which modern society depletes water supplies.

“To think that an earthen canal is still in use after 2,800 years is a miracle,” Oziş told the paper, adding that “our ancestors could live with very little water, whereas we are of course monsters in this regards.”

Read more: Green Prophet

 

lily victoria

Water Sector Options for India in a Changing Climate

Published on 03/21/2012 in agriculture, climate change, dams, hydrology, management, peak water, policy, rainwater harvesting, rivers, solutions and outreach, tap water, water conservation, water shortage and water technology. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.washfinance.com

“On the eve of the World Water Day 2012, the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People (SANDRP) is happy to publish its new report: Water Sector Options for India in a Changing Climate. The report highlights that for the poorest sections, also most vulnerable in the climate change context, the water, food, livelihood and energy security, closely linked with the environment security, is already getting severely affected in the changing climate. It is well known that water is the medium through which climate change impacts are most dominant. South Asia is considered possibly the most vulnerable region in terms of number of people that would be affected by climate change impacts, and within South Asia, India has the largest vulnerable population. The importance of understanding the Water Sector Options in such a situation cannot be underestimated. The report highlights the options for coping and mitigating climate change challenges in water sector in India.”

Read more: www.sandrp.in

lily victoria

World Rivers Review: Dam Greenwashing Flows at World Water Forum

Published on 03/06/2012 in aquatic ecosystems, climate change, contaminated water, dams, displacement of people, drought, greenwashing, hydrology, hydropower, lakes, management, peak water, policy, privatization, rivers, solutions and outreach, tap water, water conservation, water diversions, water technology, water wars and world water supply. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Photo retrieved from: www.wash-united.org

“The stated goal of this year’s World Water Forum- the world’s largest meeting devoted to water- is to create solutions to the water, energy, and food challenges presented by climate change and economic growth. However some of the “solutions” being presented will do more to protect business-as-usual interests rather than spark innovative approaches to pressing water-related problems.

The sixth World Water Forum (this year in Marseille, France from March 12-17) is, like its predecessors, heavily weighted with corporate players, including many from the large dam industry, making pitches for large-scale projects and private-sector approaches.

One corporate “solution” on the agenda this year, the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (HSAP), proposes to replace the “best practice” recommendations of the World Commission on Dams with a voluntary, non-binding scorecard that allows dam builders to assess the social and environmental performance of each other’s projects.”

Read more: International Rivers

 

lily victoria

US Researchers Clean Waste Water & Create Energy in One Generator

Published on 03/04/2012 in products, wastewater and water technology. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.greenprophet.com

“Researchers from Pennsylvania State University have developed technology that treats waste water and generates energy at the same time – two priorities for Middle Eastern municipalities. Combining Reverse Electrodialysis (RED) technology developed in the Netherlands and Norway, which harvests energy where fresh water and sea water meet, with Microbial Fuel Cells (MFC) that use organic matter to create an electric current, Professor Bruce Logan and his team have found the ultimate solution for developing countries that have limited access to water and power.

Where fresh water and salt water meet

RED technology involves placing fresh water and salt water in intermittent chambers of a fuel cell which are separated by membranes and then create an electrochemical charge, but Penn State researchers told the BBC that this technology has limitations.”

Read more: Green Prophet

lily victoria

Desal Opponents Vow To Press On With Ballot Measure: Coalition Worried City Could Overturn Citizen Right To Vote On Plant

Published on 03/02/2012 in desalination, drought, policy, tap water, wastewater and water technology. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.karpel.org

“SANTA CRUZ – Despite a move by the city to let voters decide the fate of a proposed seawater desalination plant, opponents pledged Thursday to charge “full-speed ahead” on gathering signatures for a November ballot measure also designed to give voters a say.

Paul Gratz, a spokesman for the Right to Vote on Desal Coalition, said the group is concerned city officials will reverse an ordinance approved Tuesday by the City Council to allow a vote as early as 2014. He said the charter change amendment sought by his group to give voters the right to vote on desal at some point in the future would guarantee that no future council could take away that right.

Four of the council’s seven seats are up for election in November. At least two prominent candidates who strongly favor the city’s pursuit of a desalination plant have said that are likely to run again: Mayor Don Lane and former Mayor Cynthia Mathews.”

Read more: Santa Cruz Sentinel
lily victoria

New Technology Turns Air Into Drinking Water For Troops

Published on 02/29/2012 in products, solutions and outreach and water technology. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Retrieved from: Triplepundit

“Military leaders’ greatest concerns are often to ensure water sources are always available, even in the most arid of places.

“One Israeli company took up the challenge to ensure water can be readily available, anywhere and at any time, by extracting it from the most common of things: air.

“Water-Gen, based in Rishon LeZion, Israel, specializes in water generation and water treatment technologies integrated with tactical military vehicles and ground units. Their technology extracts water from the ambient air humidity, and turns it into drinking water.

“First, the system filters the air so that water can be extracted and accommodated in containers. Then, it is cooled and purified into drinking water. This water can be served from a tap within the system or inside the cabin.

“Chairmen and co-CEO, Arye Kohavi, says that “water transportation is one of the most common reasons for the departure of convoys across Afghanistan. These convoys are attacked and have casualties.” He adds that “if we can produce the water to the exact point where it is consumed, we spare the need to transport water and reduce the risk and expenses.”

“According to the Water-Gen, the device, which can be fitted onto vehicles, produces 10-20 gallons (40-80 liters) of pure drinking water a day, even in harsh weather and field conditions. The system, which is operated by solar or electric energy, is designed to meet military needs and standards, the company adds.”

Read more: Triplepundit

sammykayed