Tag: water

The Hydro-Micro Grid!

omriklagLeave a comment

Sustainability issue – energy and renewables

Electricity is the backbone of development. Nevertheless, the current gird is firmly based on fossil fuels. additionally the grid’s design is decades old. If we wish to successfully transition to a cleaner and smarter grid and mitigate climate change we need innovative solutions…

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The solution – hydro-micro grid

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  • LucidEnergy is an American company based in Portland that creates hydro-turbines for municipal water pipes.
  • Many cities receive their water from remote and elevated locations. When gravity “powered” water flows towards a city, strong pressure (i.e., water speed) builds up in the pipes –  LucidEnergy harnesses this power by installing pipes with an intergrated micro-turbine.
  • The system is scalable and can generate between 18kw to 100kw based on the diameter of the pipe system and the flow rate.
  • The power generated can be sold to a 3rd party (e.g., a utility company via a P3). Anticipated return over the investment is 10 years.
  • The solution has been tested successfully in Portland, Oregon and Riverside, California.
  • The company is currently working on the 2nd generation of its LucidPipe turbine design, “which will significantly increase power output, operate across a wider range of pipe sizes and flows and significantly reduce capital cost”.

20130322 LucidPipe - bluehouse 08 EDIT reduced.jpeg

Stakeholders

  • Municipalities
  • Water utilities
  • Electric utilities
  • Army bases, universities and any entity that owns its own water (pipes) infrastructure

Implementation

Step 1 – The company should finish developing LucidPipe 2.0

Step 2 – The company should begin partnering with municipalities and key stakeholders – first as pilots then as contracts.

Step 3 – The company should expand its operations, ideally to countries that are undertaking a lot of infrastructure projects (e.g., China and India) and look into the possibility of opening manufacturing facilities there.

Company Website – Link

 

Link to comment – https://makeasmartcity.com/2017/11/30/desalination-2-0/comment-page-1/#comment-1519

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Water from thin (but humid) air!

omriklagLeave a comment

Sustainability problem

Water security (both quality and quantity)

The problem

Water is not only necessary to survive, but it is also a fundamental building block of a decent quality of life. Nevertheless, nearly 800 million people do not have water security (link).  Fresh water, which includes safe drinking water, account for less than 4% of all the water of the plant (link). Moreover, these water bodies are localized and accesses to them is limited. In short, there is an urgent need for potable water in many parts of the world. On the other hand, air is very abundant….

The solution – Water from air!

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  • Water-Gen is a Israeli company that produces a line of Atmospheric Water Generators (AWGs) and de-humidifing products.
  • The units only require electricity to operate. The company’s largest generator can  produce up to 6,000 liters per day. Standard operating conditions are 26.7°C and 60% Relative Humidity.
  • The company claims its solutions are ideal for cities in developing countries and has identified 12 cities (ranging from Jakarta, Indonesia to Salvador, Brazil) that can greatly benefit from the technology, which can be integrated into existing buildings,
  • One of the nice features about the water generators is that their optimal operating period (when humidity peaks) is at night (when electricity demand is low).

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Stakeholders

  • Individuals in developing countries with poor access to water
  • Individuals in developed countries who live in areas with contaminated water (e.g., Flint, Michigan)
  • Army and Science facilities that are “off the grid”.

Implementation

Step 1 – Partner with cities, organizations and countries that are in need for humanitarian aid  for pilot programs to increase public awareness.

Step 2 –  continue to improve the product and make it more “renewable energy friendly”, which will increase its attractiveness for communities with poor access to electricity.

Step 3- Expand operations and open additional factories that will allow the company to reach economies of scale, which will lower the product’s price.

Sources

Company website – Link

 

Comment on A Bay Area Startup Spins Lab-Grown Silk (JANEVAMORFAW):

Thats is a very cool idea with great potential. I hope that the company will be able to cheaply produce enough “silk” and have a global presence so that they will be able to bring about a real change.

Two things stand out to me in this technology: 1) Is the farming of the planets the company extracts sugar from sustainable and are these plants widely available?  2) Can the company bring the technology to a sufficient scale so that it can “move the needle” and meaningfully make the apparel industry more sustainable?

Smart meter for water use monitoring

abbigaelfosterLeave a comment

IT_2016_Calliope2-2000x1200

 

Sustainability problem: Water

Approximately 18% of water used in residential homes is lost as a result of leaks. This can result in an annual loss of 13,000 gallons of water per household.

Technology summary:

  • Calliope’s Bouy is whole-house water flow meter that is connected to a house’s water supply to monitor water use.
  • Bouy incorporates machine learning and predictive analytics to provide real-time water use insights about how much water is being used by which devices.
  • Bouy provides also provides real time data about when and where leaks occur and other waste via an app.

Stakeholders:

  • Homeowners and building owners
  • Water utilities
  • Individuals in drought stricken areas
  • Plumbers
  • Contractors installing the technology
  • Home improvement retailors

Implementation:

  • Educate consumers about benefits of the technology via marketing campaigns
  • Seek partnerships with water utilities in dought-stricken areas to promote adoption of the technology
  • Increase commercial availability by partnering with home improvement retailors

References:

Comment on You Can’t Spell ‘Carbon Nanotube Electricity’ Without ‘Yarn’

As an alternative to yarn made with carbon nanotubes, energy can be harvested from other fabrics via piezoelectric generators to harvest energy from stress and strains and triboelectric generators to harvest energy generated from friction. However, these generators are costly and have a low efficiency making carbon nanotube technology a superior option.

TaKaDu Integrated Event Management solutions for the water industry.

bolorerdenetmr1 Comment
  1. Sustainability Problem:

    According to UN World will face 40% gap in water supply and demand. World Bank estimates that world loses about 25-35% of water due to leaks and bursts(the annual value of this non-revenue water — water produced and lost by utilities — is $14 billion). Water scarcity will cause serious squeeze food and energy supply chains, and stall economic growth.

    2. Technological Solutions:

    Israeli start-up TaKaDu claims its cloud-based, a mathematical led software solution is integrating the water sector with “cloud computing.”

    -The solution works together with utilities’ current infrastructure. Information from flows and pressure meters, GIS and SCADA systems, for instance, is collated, “mathematically cooked” turned into “practical real-time picture and priorities.”

    -Utilities can use a web interface to efficiently find where leaks take place that efficiently locates repair teams.

    -Provide efficient 24/7 monitoring service with prioritized analyze

Takedu

Sources: Sarah Begley, “UN Report Warns of Serious Water Shortages in 15 years”, March 20, 2015 

Tom Freyberg, Water Leakage? Look to the Clouds

#waterleakage #smartwater #energy #foodsecurity #sustainability #health #BT2443

3. Key Stakeholders and their role in the implementation:

-City stakeholders- Include their plan
-Government agencies-Legislate and helping private sectors to participate

-Water Utility Companies-Use Technology for their service
-Civic society- Connect and partnership with the stakeholders
-Citizens of the city-Be aware of leakages and require utility companies be transparent about water bills
-Financial Institutions-Financing water-related projects

4. Steps Deploying Technology:

Public-Private People’s Partnership is the key to successful deployment of the project.
– Government or city stakeholders include the technology city’s water utility systems planning and involve existing infrastructure, decide financial aspects and solutions.

-Encourage through legislation or regulation build prosperous environment for the utility companies to use a technology and financial institutions finance utility companies
– Within Public Private People’s Partnership educate each stakeholder how water scarcity could negatively influence whole energy, food, and economy

Pictures and other sources:

https://www.metering.com/smart-water-management-global-demand/

http://www.takadu.com/company

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/01/prweb13984663.htm

https://www.israel21c.org/4-israeli-companies-named-in-2017-global-cleantech-100/

 

 

 

Green lawns for less: Smart Irrigation

hayleymoleLeave a comment

Problem: Water Management

  • Places like California are facing more frequent and longer lasting periods of drought.
  • Having an automatic springer system can be a huge waste of regional water supplies on something that is non-esstential.

Solution: Rachio (Website)

  • Rachio have developed an system of managing home owners water usage making it easier for them to save water.
  • The system comes in two varieties: an 8-zone unit ($200) and a 16-zone version ($250).
  • Physical installation is similar to a traditional sprinkler timer. Zone wires are inserted into clips inside the device, then the device is plugged into a standard wall jack.
  • The system is controlled through a mobile app, which guides you through a series of questions which determine how much water your plants need, based on type of vegetation, soil type, sun exposure, and the slope of the land.

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Stakeholders:

  • Middle and upper income families who wish to maintain the aesthetics of their property in dry areas.
  • Water utility companies.
  • Gardening services.

Article

Three steps to deploying:

  1. Install the main hardware at the source of your springer system.
  2. Connect it to you home wifi network.
  3. Download the control app.

 

 

 

Energy from Evaporating Water could rival Wind and Solar.

rycnbeans2 Comments

Ch2217 is my uni.

 

1: Energy, air, water

 

 

 

 

 

 

2: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2148623-energy-from-evaporating-water-could-rival-wind-and-solar/

 

This machine could harness the energy from water that evaporates from existing dams and lakes in the U.S. It could provide up to 2.8 billion megawatt hours per year or about 2/3 of the electrical production in the U.S in 2015.

 

3: Stakeholders are anyone currently using electricity generated by burning fossil fuels. Additional stakeholders would be less developed nations who would not have to spend billions upgrading their infrastructure to burn fossil fuel burning generating plants.

 

4: If this technology can be refined it would sell itself to countries, states and cities currently using fossil fuels to generate electricity or facing huge infrastructure upgrades to generate electricity using fossil fuels.

 

My comment: For the rapid electrical cell recharging technology article;

I particularly like the safety improvement offered by this technology. The removal of the membrane in the fuels cells which become clogged and cause overheating and fires makes this technology important for the future of transportation fuels cells being utilized on a larger scale

 

Fog Harvesting for Water Resources

Dominic Bell2 Comments

1) Water and Health: There are areas around the world with limited access to natural water resources but with considerable proximity to fog. This is where fog harvesting can come into play but capturing fog and producing useful water because without water, people cannot survive.

2) Technology: 

  • Dar Si Hamad has established a 600 square meter installation in Morocco, becoming the largest fog harvesting site
  • MIT was able to develop material that could produce 5 times more water with a mesh made from stainless steel filaments
  • The mesh is dip-coated, causing droplets to flow down to a water basin quickly rather than getting lost back to the environment

3) Stakeholders:

  • Inhabitants of arid regions
  • Manufacturing companies
  • Metals sourcing companies

4) Deployment: 

  • Raise financial support for R&D
  • Have research teams improve the technology further for greater efficiency
  • Work with manufacturer to scale up development

5) Comment for other post: 

https://makeasmartcity.com/2017/10/12/eco-friendly-toilets-for-refugee-camps/comment-page-1/#comment-1197

 

Source:

https://inhabitat.com/worlds-largest-fog-harvester-produces-water-from-thin-air-in-the-moroccan-desert/

https://inhabitat.com/mit-develops-advanced-fog-harvesting-material-that-pulls-5x-more-water-from-thin-air/

Image Source:

https://inhabitat.com/tag/fog-harvesting/

 

By: Dominic Bell (dlb2189)