Search results for: small scale water resources

Authors: Jun Li, Wenze Wang, Zhanggui Hu, Yongwei Zhu, Dunwen Zuo

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Non-water based fixed abrasive polishing was adopted to manufacture LBO crystal for nano precision surface quality because of its deliquescent. Ethyl alcohol was selected as the non-water based slurry solvent and ethanediamine, lactic acid, hydrogen peroxide were add in the slurry as a chemical additive, respectively. Effect of different additives with non-water based slurry on material removal rate, surface topography, microscopic appearances and surface roughness were investigated in fixed abrasive polishing of LBO crystal. The results show the best surface quality of LBO crystal with surface roughness Sa 8.2 nm and small damages was obtained by non-water based slurry with lactic acid. Non-water based fixed abrasive polishing can achieve nano precision surface quality of LBO crystal with high material removal.

Keywords: non-water based slurry, LBO crystal, fixed abrasive polishing, surface roughness

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Authors: Hamideh Nouri, Sattar Chavoshi Borujeni

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Grey infrastructure is an unavoidable part of urbanisation that is threatening the local microclimates. Sustainable urbanisation requires more green infrastructure in cities such as green roofs to minimise urbanisation impacts. The environmental, social and economic benefits of green roofs are widely deliberated. However, there is still a lack of assessment of the water management for green roofs. This paper aimed to assess the irrigation management of green roofs in a semi-arid region where blue water scarcity is one of the primary challenges in urban water management. To determine the appropriate water source and growing media for green roofs, an experiment was established at the University of South Australia, Australia. This study compared the performance of two growing media and three water sources on the drainage quality, medium weight and survival rate of potted Tussock grass (Poa labillardieral), an endemic plant to Australia and recommended for green roofs. Three irrigation sources were tap water, mixed of wastewater-stormwater, and rainwater. The growing media were natural sandy loam soil and Scoria - one of the most used commercial growing media for green roofs. The drainage quality of these media was tested by analysing leachate samples. Medium weight was measured before and after watering, and all pots were monitored for their survival rates. Results showed that although plant growing development was significantly higher in Scoria, the survival rate was lower. For all three water sources, EC and pH of the leachate were significantly lower from Scoria than the sandy loam soil. However, the mixed of wastewater-stormwater had the highest EC, and rainwater had the lowest EC. Results did not present a significant difference between pH of different water resources in the same media. Our experimental results found the scoria and rainwater as the best sources of medium and water for green roofs.

Keywords: green smart cities, urban water, green roofs, green walls, wastewater, stormwater

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Authors: Aashee Garg, Anusha Agarwal

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India, as a country is very rich in terms of natural resources however as citizens, we have not respected this fact and have been continuously exploiting nature’s gift to mankind. Further as the population is ever increasing, the load on the consumption of resources is unprecedented. This has led to the depletion of natural resources such as coal, oil, gas etc., apart from the pollution it causes. It is time that we shift from use of these conventional resources to more effective new ways of energy generation. We should develop and encourage usage of renewable resources such as wind and solar in households to conserve energy in place of the above mentioned nonrenewable energy sources. This paper deals with the most effective ways in which the households in India can conserve energy thus reducing effect on environment and depletion of limited resources.

Keywords: energy consumption, resources, India, renewable resources and environment

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Authors: Julien G. Chenet, Mario A. Hernandez, U. Leonardo Rodriguez

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The tropical areas are places where there is scarcity of access to potable water and where renewable energies need further development. They also display high undernourishment levels, even though they are one of the resources-richest areas in the world. In these areas, it is common to count on great extension of soils, high solar radiation and raw water from rain, groundwater, surface water or even saltwater. Even though resources are available, access to them is limited, and the low-density habitat makes central solutions expensive and investments not worthy. In response to this lack of investment, rural inhabitants use fossil fuels and timber as an energy source and import agrochemical for soils fertilization, which increase GHG emissions. The OASIS project brings an answer to this situation. It supplies renewable energy, potable water and organic food. The first step is the determination of the needs of the communities in terms of energy, water quantity and quality, food requirements and soil characteristics. Second step is the determination of the available resources, such as solar energy, raw water and organic residues on site. The pilot OASIS project is located in the Vichada department, Colombia, and ensures the sustainable use of natural resources to meet the community needs. The department has roughly 70% of indigenous people. They live in a very scattered landscape, with no access to clean water and energy. They use polluted surface water for direct consumption and diesel for energy purposes. OASIS pilot will ensure basic needs for a 400-students education center. In this case, OASIS will provide 20 kW of solar energy potential and 40 liters per student per day. Water will be treated form groundwater, with two qualities. A conventional one with chlorine, and as the indigenous people are not used to chlorine for direct consumption, second train is with reverse osmosis to bring conservable safe water without taste. OASIS offers a solution to supply basic needs, shifting from fossil fuels, timber, to a no-GHG-emission solution. This solution is part of the mitigation strategy against Climate Change for the communities in low-density areas of the tropics. OASIS is a learning center to teach how to convert natural resources into utilizable ones. It is also a meeting point for the community with high pedagogic impact that promotes the efficient and sustainable use of resources. OASIS system is adaptable to any tropical area and competes technically and economically with any conventional solution, that needs transport of energy, treated water and food. It is a fully automatic, replicable and sustainable solution to sort out the issue of access to basic needs in rural areas. OASIS is also a solution to undernourishment, ensuring a responsible use of resources, to prevent long-term pollution of soils and groundwater. It promotes the closure of the nutrient cycle, and the optimal use of the land whilst ensuring food security in depressed low-density regions of the tropics. OASIS is under optimization to Vichada conditions, and will be available to any other tropical area in the following months.

Keywords: climate change adaptation and mitigation, rural development, sustainable access to clean and renewable resources, social inclusion

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Authors: Annika Freudenberger, Sin Sokhong

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In just a few years, the Face-to-Face Victory Gardens Project (F2F) in Cambodia has developed a high-impact project that has provided immediate and tangible benefits to local families. This has been accomplished with a relatively hands-off approach that relies on households’ own motivation and personal investments of time and resources -which is both unique and impressive in the landscape of NGO and government initiatives in the area. Households have been growing food both for their own consumption and to sell or exchange. Not all targeted beneficiaries are equally motivated and maximizing their involvement, but there is a clear subset of households -particularly those who serve as facilitators- whose circumstances have been transformed as a result of F2F. A number of household factors and contextual economic factors affect families’ income generation opportunities. All the households we spoke with became involved with F2F with the goal of selling some proportion of their produce (i.e., not exclusively for their own consumption). For some, this income is marginal and supplemental to their core household income; for others, it is substantial and transformative. Some engage directly with customers/buyers in their immediate community, while others sell in larger nearby markets, and others link up with intermediary vendors. All struggle, to a certain extent, to compete in a local economy flooded with cheap produce imported from large-scale growers in neighboring provinces, Thailand, and Vietnam, although households who grow and sell herbs and greens popular in Khmer cuisine have found a stronger local market. Some are content with the scale of their garden, the income they make, and the current level of effort required to maintain it; others would like to expand but are faced with land constraints and water management challenges. Households making a substantial income from selling their products have achieved success in different ways, making it difficult to pinpoint a clear “model” for replication. Within our small sample size of interviewees, it seems as though the families with a clear passion for their gardens and high motivation to work hard to bring their products to market have succeeded in doing so. Khmer greens and herbs have been the most successful; they are not high-value crops, but they are fairly easy to grow, and there is a constant demand. These crops are also not imported as much, so prices are more stable than those of crops such as long beans. Although we talked to a limited number of individuals, it also appears as though successful families either restricted their crops to those that would grow well in drought or flood conditions (depending on which they are affected by most); or benefit already from water management infrastructure such as water tanks which helps them diversify their crops and helps them build their resilience.

Keywords: food security, Victory Gardens, nutrition, Cambodia

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Authors: Parul Bhalla, Sarvesh Palria

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Wetlands are areas of land that are either temporarily or permanently covered by water. Wetlands exhibit enormous diversity according to their genesis, geographical location, water regime and chemistry, dominant plants and soil or sediment characteristics. The spatial and temporal characteristics of wetland in terms of turbidity and aquatic vegetation could serve as guiding tool, in conservation prioritization of wetlands. The aquatic vegetation in the wetland is an indicator of the trophic status of the wetland which has a bearing on the water quality, the turbidity level in any wetland is indicative of the quality of the water in it. To conserve and manage wetland resources, it is important to have inventory of wetland and its catchment. Fateh Sagar wetland in Udaipur city is the one of the important wetland for tourism industry and other economic activities in the region. Realizing the importance of the wetland, the present study has been taken up with the specific objective of delineation and characterization of Fateh Sagar wetland in terms of turbidity and aquatic vegetation, using high resolution satellite data such as Cartosat and LISS IV multi-temporal data, which will efficiently bring out the changes in water spread and quality parameters. The catchment of wetland has been also characterized for various features. The study leads in to takes necessary steps to conserve the wetland and its resources.

Keywords: aquatic vegetation, catchment, turbidity status, wetland

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Authors: Nathan Moran, Robert Hanser, Attapol Kuanliang

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The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between personal and social resources and burnout for police officers. Current conceptualizations of the condition of burnout are challenged as being too phenomenological and ambiguous, and consequently, not given to direct empirical testing. The conservation of resources model is based on the supposition that people strive to retain, protect, and build resources as a means to protect them from the impacts of burnout. The model proposes that the effects of stress (i.e. burnout) can be manifested in personal and professional attitudes and attributes, which can measure burnout using self-reports to provide strong support for the conservation of resources model, in that, personal and professional demands are related to the exhaustion component of burnout, whereas personal and professional resources can be compiled to counteract the negative impact of the burnout condition. Highly similar patterns of burnout resistance factors were witnessed in police officers in two department precincts (N:81). In addition, results confirmed the positive influence of key demographic variables in burnout resistance using the conservation of resources model. Participants in this study are all sheriff’s deputies with a populous county in a Pacific Northwestern state (N = 274). Four instruments will be used in this quantitative study for data collection (a) a series of demographic questions, (b) the Organizational Citizenship Behavior, (c) the PANAS-X Scale (OCB: Watson& Clark, 1994), and (d) The Maslach Burnout Inventory.

Keywords: behavioral, burnout, law enforcement, quantitative

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Authors: Hassan Jebreen

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These models of a conservative pollutant in groundwater do not include representation of processes in soils and in the unsaturated zone, or biogeochemical processes in groundwater, These demonstration models can be used as the basis for more detailed simulations of the impacts of pollution sources at a local scale, but such studies should address processes related to specific pollutant species, and should consider local hydrogeology in more detail, particularly in relation to possible impacts on shallow systems which are likely to respond more quickly to changes in pollutant inputs. The results have demonstrated the interaction between groundwater flow fields and pollution sources in abstraction areas, and help to emphasise that wadi development is one of the key elements of water resources planning. The quality of groundwater in the Hebron area indicates a gradual increase in chloride and nitrate with time. Since the aquifers in Hebron districts are highly vulnerable due to their karstic nature, continued disposal of untreated domestic and industrial wastewater into the wadi will lead to unacceptably poor water quality in drinking water, which may ultimately require expensive treatment if significant health problems are to be avoided. Improvements are required in wastewater treatment at the municipal and domestic levels, the latter requiring increased public awareness of the issues, as well as improved understanding of the hydrogeological behaviour of the aquifers.

Keywords: groundwater, models, pollutants, wadis, hebron

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Authors: Satya S. N. Narayana, P. Parthiban, T. Niranjan, N. Kannan

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Enterprises adopt methodologies to increase their business performance and to stay competent in the volatile global market. Lean manufacturing is one such manufacturing paradigm which focuses on reduction of cost by elimination of wastes or non-value added activities. With increased awareness about social responsibility and the necessary to meet the terms of the environmental policy, green manufacturing is becoming increasingly important for industries. Large plants have more resources, have started implementing lean and green practices and they are getting good results. Small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) are facing problems in implementing lean and green concept. This paper aims to identify the key issues for implementation of lean and green concept in Indian SMEs. The key factors identified based on literature review and expert opinions are grouped into different levels by Modified Interpretive Structural Modeling (MISM) to explore the importance among the factors to implement lean and green manufacturing. Finally, Fuzzy Analytic Network Process (FANP) method has been used to determine the extent to which the main principles of lean and green manufacturing have been carried out in the six Indian medium scale manufacturing industries.

Keywords: lean manufacturing, green manufacturing, MISM, FANP

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Authors: Morfaw Bernice Njinju

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The contribution of exporting and small businesses to an economy cannot be overemphasized. However, small firms in developing economies are characterized by resource deficiencies, which hinders their exporting abilities. As a result, export promotion programs are designed by the government as external resources that small firms can access to overcome export barriers and improve their exporting. Nevertheless, doubts still exist as to whether firms are aware of these programs and the extent to which they are utilizing it. To analyse the level of awareness and usage of these programs, the questionnaire was developed from the review of the literature. A pilot study was conducted to determine the ease of completing the questionnaire by respondent before incorporating feedback to produce the final questionnaire. Data were collected from 200 small businesses in Cameroon in the manufacturing and agricultural sector through random sampling and analysed using regression analysis. The results indicated that different programs had different levels of awareness than others. Programs to provide training to improve product quality was found to have the highest level of awareness while those providing findings had low levels of awareness. Despite these different levels of awareness, usage was very low, as firms do not want to open up to government scrutiny of their business. Implications to policy, practice, and direction for further research are also discussed.

Keywords: export promotion programs, exporting, small businesses, Cameroon

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Authors: Rajkumar Ghosh

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Water scarcity is a pressing issue in urban areas, even in smart cities where efficient resource management is a priority. This scarcity is mainly caused by factors such as lifestyle changes, excessive groundwater extraction, over-usage of water, rapid urbanization, and uncontrolled population growth. In the specific case of Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, the depletion of groundwater resources is particularly severe, leading to a water imbalance and posing a significant challenge for the region's sustainable development. The aim of this study is to address the water shortage in the Gomti Nagar region by focusing on the implementation of artificial groundwater recharge methods. Specifically, the research aims to investigate the effectiveness of rainwater collection through rooftop rainwater harvesting systems (RTRWHs) as a sustainable approach to reduce aquifer depletion and bridge the gap between groundwater recharge and extraction. The research methodology for this study involves the utilization of RTRWHs as the main method for collecting rainwater. This approach is considered effective in managing and conserving water resources in a sustainable manner. The focus is on implementing RTRWHs in residential and commercial buildings to maximize the collection of rainwater and its subsequent utilization for various purposes in the Gomti Nagar region. The study reveals that the installation of RTRWHs in the Gomti Nagar region has a positive impact on addressing the water scarcity issue. Currently, RTRWHs cover only a small percentage (0.04%) of the total rainfall collected in the region. However, when RTRWHs are installed in all buildings, their influence on increasing water availability and reducing aquifer depletion will be significantly greater. The study also highlights the significant water imbalance of 24519 ML/yr in the region, emphasizing the urgent need for sustainable water management practices. This research contributes to the theoretical understanding of sustainable water management systems in smart cities. By highlighting the effectiveness of RTRWHs in reducing aquifer depletion, it emphasizes the importance of implementing such systems in urban areas. The findings of this study can serve as a basis for policymakers, urban planners, and developers to prioritize and incentivize the installation of RTRWHs as a potential solution to the water shortage crisis. The data for this study were collected through various sources such as government reports, surveys, and existing groundwater abstraction patterns. The collected data were then analysed to assess the current water situation, groundwater depletion rate, and the potential impact of implementing RTRWHs. Statistical analysis and modelling techniques were employed to quantify the water imbalance and evaluate the effectiveness of RTRWHs. The findings of this study demonstrate that the implementation of RTRWHs can effectively mitigate the water scarcity crisis in Gomti Nagar. By reducing aquifer depletion and bridging the gap between groundwater recharge and extraction, RTRWHs offer a sustainable solution to the region's water scarcity challenges. The study highlights the need for widespread adoption of RTRWHs in all buildings and emphasizes the importance of integrating such systems into the urban planning and development process. By doing so, smart cities like Gomti Nagar can achieve efficient water management, ensuring a better future with improved water availability for its residents.

Keywords: rooftop rainwater harvesting, rainwater, water management, aquifer

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Authors: Benhammadi Hocine, Fehdi Chemseddine, Chaffai Hicham

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The study site is the plateau Cheria, a city in south eastern Algeria (Tebessa) thanks to its structure perched syncline is the region of Tebessa a real water tower. Special rates provided by some boreholes and wells around the city Cheria have long been led to believe that the reserves were virtually limitless. The investigations carried out in this region have located karstified limestone areas at depth of 100 meters of the carbonate formation. During the last two decades a rainfall deficit has increased the effect of drought has caused an increase in flow from this aquifer. The effect on water resources is a significant and progressive reduction of the static level of the karst aquifer. The qualitative aspect has also been marked by degradation. This climate variability marked by the decade of drought (1990/2000) has had the effect on the local population, a forced change of their activity primarily agricultural. Abandoning agro pastoral mode due to prolonged drought, populations chose agriculture maraichère consumer a lot of water, this increasing the depletion of water resources. This change in activity was accompanied by a rural exodus to urban areas. The result has led to an increase in population in the urban areas, this has resulted in an increase in water demand and an increase in emissions (waste water). Uncontrolled discharges contribute to pollute a little more groundwater. The second consequence is type Geotechnical, it is the appearance of sinkholes, results of the alternating periods of drought and violent floods. Sinkholes are a real concern for the management and urban development. An interdisciplinary contribution (geology, hydrology, climatology and management) is essential to reduce or avoid impacts in different sectors.

Keywords: aquifer, carbonate formation, drought, exodus, resources, chéria, Algéria

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Authors: Kazi Ashief Mahmood

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Geographically Bangladesh is located in a natural hazard prone area. Compared to the rest of the areas, the coastal sub-districts are more vulnerable to climate variability and change. However, the hydro-geophysical reality of the sub-districts predominantly determines their contexts of vulnerability and its nature differs accordingly. Intriguingly enough, the poorest of the areas appear to be the most cornered among the different vulnerable sectors. Among of these deprived segments; however, the women, the persons with disability and the minorities are generally more vulnerable and they face a high risk of marginalized. The most threatening hydro-geophysical climate vulnerability have been created by prolonged dry season as observed at Koyra Upazilla in Khulna districts and Shyamnagar in Satkhira districts. The prolonged dry season creates severe surface salinity by which farmers cannot produce or use their to cultivate. The absence of land-based production and employment in the area has led to severe food insecurity. As a result, farmers tend to change their livelihood option and many of them are forced to migrate to the other areas of the country in search of livelihood. Besides salinity intrusion, water logging, drought and different climate change induced hazards are endangering safe drinking water sources and putting small-holders out of agriculture-based livelihoods in the Koyra and Shyamnagar Upazilla. A sizeable fraction of small-holders are still trying to hold on to their small scale shrimp production, despite being under pressure to sell off their cultivating lands to their influential shrimp merchants. While their desperate effort to take advantage of the increasing salinity is somewhat successful, their families still face a greater risk of health hazards owing to the lack of safe drinking water. Unless the issues of salinity in drinking water cannot be redressed, the state of the affected people will be in great jeopardy. Most of the inhabitants of oKyra and Shyamnagar Upazilla are living under the poverty line. Thus, poverty is a major factor that intensifies the vulnerability caused by hydro-geophysical climatic conditions. The government and different NGOs are trying to improve the present scenario by implementing different disaster risk reduction projects along with poverty reduction for community empowerment.

Keywords: assessment, climate change, climate induced hazards, coastal zone

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Authors: S. M. T. Mustafa, D. Raes, M. Huysmans

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Proper utilization of water resource is very important in agro-based Bangladesh. Irrigation schedule based on local environmental conditions, soil type and water availability will allow a sustainable use of water resources in agriculture. In this study, the FAO crop water model (AquaCrop) was used to simulate the different water and fertilizer management strategies in different location of Bangladesh to obtain a management guideline for the farmer. Model was calibrated and validated for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The statistical indices between the observed and simulated grain yields obtained were very good with R2, RMSE, and EF values of 0.92, 0.33, and 0.83, respectively for model calibration and 0.92, 0.68 and 0.77, respectively for model validations. Stem elongation (jointing) to booting and flowering stage were identified as most water sensitive for wheat. Deficit irrigation on water sensitive stage could increase the grain yield for increasing soil fertility levels both for loamy and sandy type soils. Deficit irrigation strategies provides higher water productivity than full irrigation strategies and increase the yield stability (reduce the standard deviation). The practical deficit irrigation schedule for wheat for four different stations and two different soils were designed. Farmer can produce more crops by using deficit irrigation schedule under water stress condition. Practical application and validation of proposed strategies will make them more credible.

Keywords: crop-water model, deficit irrigation, irrigation scheduling, wheat

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Authors: Pier Andrea Marras, Daniela Lima, Pedro Matos Soares, Rita Maria Cardoso, Daniela Medas, Elisabetta Dore, Giovanni De Giudici

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Climate change effects on the hydrologic cycle are the main concern for the evaluation of water management strategies. Climate models project scenarios of precipitation changes in the future, considering greenhouse emissions. In this study, the EURO-CORDEX (European Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment) climate models were first evaluated in a Mediterranean island (Sardinia) against observed precipitation for a historical reference period (1976-2005). A weighted multi-model ensemble (ENS) was built, weighting the single models based on their ability to reproduce observed rainfall. Future projections (2071-2100) were carried out using the 8.5 RCP emissions scenario to evaluate changes in precipitations. ENS was then used as climate forcing for the SWAT model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool), with the aim to assess the consequences of such projected changes on streamflow and runoff of two small catchments located in the South-West Sardinia. Results showed that a decrease of mean rainfall values, up to -25 % at yearly scale, is expected for the future, along with an increase of extreme precipitation events. Particularly in the eastern and southern areas, extreme events are projected to increase by 30%. Such changes reflect on the hydrologic cycle with a decrease of mean streamflow and runoff, except in spring, when runoff is projected to increase by 20-30%. These results stress that the Mediterranean is a hotspot for climate change, and the use of model tools can provide very useful information to adopt water and land management strategies to deal with such changes.

Keywords: EURO-CORDEX, climate change, hydrology, SWAT model, Sardinia, multi-model ensemble

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Authors: Cuiyang Feng, Xu Tang, Yi Jin

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Coal is the most important primary energy source in China, which exerts a significant influence on the rapid economic growth. However, it makes the water resources to be a constraint on coal industry development, on account of the reverse geographical distribution between coal and water. To ease the pressure on water shortage, the ‘3 Red Lines’ water policies were announced by the Chinese government, and then ‘water for coal’ plan was added to that policies in 2013. This study utilized a structural path analysis (SPA) based on the multi-regional input-output table to quantify the virtual water flows caused by coal consumption in different stages. Results showed that the direct water input (the first stage) was the highest amount in all stages of coal consumption, accounting for approximately 30% of total virtual water content. Regional analysis demonstrated that virtual water trade alleviated the pressure on water use for coal consumption in water shortage areas, but the import of virtual water was not from the areas which are rich in water. Sectoral analysis indicated that the direct inputs from the sectors of ‘production and distribution of electric power and heat power’ and ‘Smelting and pressing of metals’ took up the major virtual water flows, while the sectors of ‘chemical industry’ and ‘manufacture of non-metallic mineral products’ importantly but indirectly consumed the water. With the population and economic growth in China, the water demand-and-supply gap in coal consumption would be more remarkable. In additional to water efficiency improvement measures, the central government should adjust the strategies of the virtual water trade to address local water scarcity issues. Water resource as the main constraints should be highly considered in coal policy to promote the sustainable development of the coal industry.

Keywords: coal consumption, multi-regional input-output model, structural path analysis, virtual water

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Authors: Enze Zhang

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One of the most challenging steps in implementing virtual water content (VWC) analysis of crops is to get properly the total volume of consumptive water use (CWU) and, therefore, the choice of a reliable crop CWU estimation method. In practice, lots of previous researches obtaining CWU of crops follow a classical procedure for calculating crop evapotranspiration which is determined by multiplying reference evapotranspiration by appropriate coefficient, such as crop coefficient and water stress coefficients. However, this manner of calculation requires lots of field experimental data at point scale and more seriously, when current growing conditions differ from the standard conditions, may easily produce deviation between the calculated CWU and the actual CWU. Since evapotranspiration caused by crop planting always plays a vital role in surface water-energy balance in an agricultural region, this study decided to alternatively estimates crop evapotranspiration by Budyko framework. After brief introduce the development process of Budyko framework. We choose a modified Budyko framework under unsteady-state to better evaluated the actual CWU and apply it in an agricultural irrigation area in North China Plain which rely on underground water for irrigation. With the agricultural statistic data, this calculated CWU was further converted into VWC and its subdivision of crops at the annual scale. Results show that all the average values of VWC, VWC_blue and VWC_green show a downward trend with increased agricultural production and improved acreage. By comparison with the previous research, VWC calculated by Budyko framework agree well with part of the previous research and for some other research the value is greater. Our research also suggests that this methodology and findings may be reliable and convenient for investigation of virtual water throughout various agriculture regions of the world.

Keywords: virtual water content, Budyko framework, consumptive water use, crop evapotranspiration

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Authors: Vilas Warudkar, Dinkar Janghel, Siraj Ahmed

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Rapid development experienced by India requires huge amount of energy. Actual supply capacity additions have been consistently lower than the targets set by the government. According to World Bank 40% of residences are without electricity. In 12th five year plan 30 GW grid interactive renewable capacity is planned in which 17 GW is Wind, 10 GW is from solar and 2.1 GW from small hydro project, and rest is compensated by bio gas. Renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) meet not only the environmental and energy security objectives, but also can play a crucial role in reducing chronic power shortages. In remote areas or areas with a weak grid, wind energy can be used for charging batteries or can be combined with a diesel engine to save fuel whenever wind is available. India according to IEC 61400-1 belongs to class IV Wind Condition; it is not possible to set up wind turbine in large scale at every place. So, the best choice is to go for small scale wind turbine at lower height which will have good annual energy production (AEP). Based on the wind characteristic available at MANIT Bhopal, rotor for small scale wind turbine is designed. Various Aero foil data is reviewed for selection of airfoil in the Blade Profile. Airfoil suited of Low wind conditions i.e. at low Reynold’s number is selected based on Coefficient of Lift, Drag and angle of attack. For designing of the rotor blade, standard Blade Element Momentum (BEM) Theory is implanted. Performance of the Blade is estimated using BEM theory in which axial induction factor and angular induction factor is optimized using iterative technique. Rotor performance is estimated for particular designed blade specifically for low wind Conditions. Power production of rotor is determined at different wind speeds for particular pitch angle of the blade. At pitch 15o and velocity 5 m/sec gives good cut in speed of 2 m/sec and power produced is around 350 Watts. Tip speed of the Blade is considered as 6.5 for which Coefficient of Performance of the rotor is calculated 0.35, which is good acceptable value for Small scale Wind turbine. Simple Load Model (SLM, IEC 61400-2) is also discussed to improve the structural strength of the rotor. In SLM, Edge wise Moment and Flap Wise moment is considered which cause bending stress at the root of the blade. Various Load case mentioned in the IEC 61400-2 is calculated and checked for the partial safety factor of the wind turbine blade.

Keywords: annual energy production, Blade Element Momentum Theory, low wind Conditions, selection of airfoil

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Authors: Habtamu Abdisa

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In nature, water may not be free from contaminants due to its polar nature. But, more than this, the environmental water is highly polluted by manmade activities from industrial, agricultural, recreation, shipping, and domestic sites, thereby increasing the shortage of freshwater for designated purposes. Therefore, in the face of water scarcity, human beings are enforced to look at all the existing opportunities to get an adequate amount of freshwater resources. The most probable water resource is wastewater, from which the water can be recovered to serve designated purposes (for industrial, agricultural, drinking, and other domestic uses). Present-day, the most preferable method for recovering water from different wastewater streams for re-use is membrane technology. This paper looks at the progressive development of membrane technology in wastewater treatment. The applications of pressure-driven membrane separation technology (microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nano-filtration, reverse osmosis, and tissue purification) and no pressure membrane separation technology (semipermeable membrane, liquefiedfilm, and electro-dialysis) and also ion-exchange were reviewed. More than all, the technology for converting environmental water pollutants into energy is of considerable attention. Finally, recommendations for future research relating to the application of membrane technology in wastewater treatment were made. Also, further research recommendation about membrane fouling and cleaning was made.

Keywords: environmental pollution, membrane technology, water quality, wastewater

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Authors: Vasilii V. Ananev

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Oil-and-gas potential of Cuba is found through the discoveries among which there are the most large-scale deposits, such as the Boca de Jaruco and Varadero fields of heavy oils. Currently, the petroleum and petroleum products needs of the island state are satisfied by own sources by less than a half. The prospects of the hydrocarbon resource base development are connected with the adjacent water area of the Gulf of Mexico where foreign companies had been granted license blocks for geological study and further development since 2001. Two Russian companies - JSC Gazprom Neft and OJSC Zarubezhneft, among others, took part in the development of the Cuban part of the Gulf of Mexico. Since 2004, five oil wells have been drilled by various companies in the deep waters of the exclusive economic zone of Cuba. Commercial oil-and-gas bearing prospects have been established in neither of them for both geological and technological reasons. However, only a small part of the water area has been covered by drilling and the productivity of the drill core has been tested at the depth of Cretaceous sediments only. In our opinion, oil-and-gas bearing prospects of the exclusive economic zone of the Republic of Cuba in the Gulf of Mexico remain undervalued and the mentioned water area needs additional geological exploration. The planning of exploration work in this poorly explored region shall be carried out systematically and it shall be based on the results of the regional scientific research.

Keywords: Cuba, catoche, geology, exploration

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Authors: I. Nazari, B. Shaabani, P. Abaasifar

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In small quantities certain heavy metals are nutritionally essential for a healthy life. The heavy metals linked most often to human poisoning are lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium. Other heavy metals including copper, zinc and chromium are actually required by the body in small quantity but can also be toxic in large doses. Nowadays, we have contamination to this heavy metals in some untreated industrial waste waters and even in several populated cities drinking waters around the world. The contamination of ground and underground water sources to heavy metals can be concentrated and travel up to food chain by drinking water and agricultural products. In recent years, the need for safe and economical methods for removal of heavy metals from contaminated water has necessitated research interest towards the finding low-cost alternatives. Bio-adsorbents have emerged as low-cost and efficient materials for the removal of heavy metals from waste and ground waters. The bio-adsorbents have an affinity for heavy metals ions to form metal complexes or chelates due to having functional groups including carboxyl, hydroxyl, imidazole, and etc. The objective of this study is to review researches in less expensive adsorbents and their utilization possibilities for various low-cost bio-adsorbents such as coffee beans, rice husk, and saw dust for the removal of heavy metals from contaminated waters.

Keywords: heavy metals, water pollution, bio-adsorbents, low cost adsorbents

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Authors: Sinan Alsaadi, Mustafa Merdan

Abstract:

Communication and access systems can be made with many methods in today’s world. These systems are such standards as Wifi, Wimax, Bluetooth, GPS and GPRS. Devices which use these standards also use system resources excessively in direct proportion to their transmission speed. However, large-scale data communication is not always needed. In such cases, a technology which will use system resources as little as possible and support smart network topologies has been needed in order to enable the transmissions of such small packet data and provide the control for this kind of devices. IEEE issued 802.15.4 standard upon this necessity and enabled the production of Zigbee protocol which takes these standards as its basis and devices which support this protocol. In our project, this communication protocol was preferred. The aim of this study is to provide the immediate data transmission of our robot from the field within the scope of the project. In addition, making the communication with the robot through Zigbee Protocol has also been aimed. While sitting on the computer, obtaining the desired data from the region where the robot is located has been taken as the basis. Arduino Uno R3 microcontroller which provides the control mechanism, 1298 shield as the motor driver.

Keywords: ZigBee, wireless network, remote monitoring, smart home, agricultural industry

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Authors: Mohamed Ahmed M. Azab

Abstract:

The shortage of fresh water is a major problem in several areas of the world such as arid regions and coastal zones in several countries of Arabian Gulf. Fortunately, arid regions are exposed to high levels of solar irradiation most the year, which makes the utilization of solar energy a promising solution to such problem with zero harmful emission (Green System). The main objective of this work is to conduct a feasibility study of utilizing small autonomous water desalination units powered by photovoltaic modules as a green renewable energy resource to be employed in different isolated zones as a source of drinking water for some scattered societies where the installation of huge desalination stations are discarded owing to the unavailability of electric grid. Yanbu City is chosen as a case study where the Renewable Energy Center exists and equipped with all sensors to assess the availability of solar energy all over the year. The study included two types of available water: the first type is brackish well water and the second type is seawater of coastal regions. In the case of well water, two versions of desalination units are involved in the study: the first version is based on day operation only. While the second version takes into consideration night operation also, which requires energy storage system as batteries to provide the necessary electric power at night. According to the feasibility study results, it is found that utilization of small autonomous desalinations unit is applicable and economically accepted in the case of brackish well water. While in the case of seawater the capital costs are extremely high and the cost of desalinated water will not be economically feasible unless governmental subsidies are provided. In addition, the study indicated that, for the same water production, the utilization of energy storage version (day-night) adds additional capital cost for batteries, and extra running cost for their replacement, which makes the unit price not only incompetent with day-only unit but also with conventional units powered by diesel generator (fossil fuel) owing to the low prices of fuel in the kingdom. However, the cost analysis shows that the price of the produced water per cubic meter of day-night unit is similar to that produced from the day-only unit provided that the day-night unit operates theoretically for a longer period of 50%.

Keywords: solar energy, water desalination, reverse osmosis, arid regions

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Authors: Jamila Mohammed Makarfi, Yontem Sonmez

Abstract:

Developing countries like Nigeria have recently been affected by conflicts characterized by violence, high levels of risk and insecurity, resulting in loss of lives, livelihoods, displacement of communities, degradation of health, educational and social infrastructure as well as economic underdevelopment. The Nigerian government’s response to most of these conflicts has mainly been reactionary in the form of military deployments, as against precautionary to prevent or address the root causes of the conflicts. Several studies have shown that at various points of a conflict, conflict regions can benefit from the resources and expertise available outside the government, mainly from the private sector through mechanisms such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) by businesses. The main aim of this study is to examine the role of businesses in peacebuilding in Northern Nigeria through CSR in the last decade. The expected contributions from this will answer research questions, such as the key business motivations to engage in peacebuilding, as well as the degree of influence exerted from various stakeholder groups on the business decision to engage. The methodology of the study adopts a multiple case study of over 120 businesses of various sizes, ranging from small, medium and large-scale. A mixed method enabled the collection of quantitative and qualitative primary data to augment the secondary data. The results indicated that the most important business motivations to engage in peacebuilding were the negative effects of the conflict on economic stability, as well as stakeholder-driven motives. On the other hand, out of the 12 identified stakeholders, micro-, small- and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) considered the chief executive officer’s interest to be the most important factor, while large companies rated the government and community pressure as the highest. Overall, the foreign stakeholders scored low on the influence chart for all business types.

Keywords: conflict, corporate social responsibility, peacebuilding, stakeholder

Procedia PDF Downloads 194

Authors: Thales Maluf, Nazem Nascimento

Abstract:

The development of society relies heavily on the total amount of energy obtained and its consumption. Over the years, there has been an advancement on energy attainment, which is directly related to some natural resources and developing systems. Some of these resources should be highlighted for its remarkable presence in world´s energy grid, such as water, petroleum, and gas, while others deserve attention for representing an alternative to diversify the energy grid, like geothermal sources. Therefore, because all these resources can be extracted from the underground, drilling wells is a mandatory activity in terms of exploration, and it involves a previous geological study and an adequate preparation. It also involves a cleaning process and an extraction process that can be executed by different procedures. For that reason, this research aims the enhancement of exploration processes through a comparative analysis of drilling costs and techniques used to produce them. The analysis itself is based on a bibliographical review based on books, scientific papers, schoolwork and mainly explore drilling methods and technologies, equipment used, well measurements, extraction methods, and production costs. Besides techniques and costs regarding the drilling processes, some properties and general characteristics of these sources are also compared. Preliminary studies show that there are some major differences regarding the exploration processes, mostly because these resources are naturally distinct. Water wells, for instance, have hundreds of meters of length because water is stored close to the surface, while oil, gas, and geothermal production wells can reach thousands of meters, which make them more expensive to be drilled. The drilling methods present some general similarities especially regarding the main mechanism of perforation, but since water is a resource stored closer to the surface than the other ones, there is a wider variety of methods. Water wells can be drilled by rotary mechanisms, percussion mechanisms, rotary-percussion mechanisms, and some other simpler methods. Oil and gas production wells, on the other hand, require rotary or rotary-percussion drilling with a proper structure called drill rig and resistant materials for the drill bits and the other components, mostly because they´re stored in sedimentary basins that can be located thousands of meters under the ground. Geothermal production wells also require rotary or rotary-percussion drilling and require the existence of an injection well and an extraction well. The exploration efficiency also depends on the permeability of the soil, and that is why it has been developed the Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS). Throughout this review study, it can be verified that the analysis of the extraction processes of energy resources is essential since these resources are responsible for society development. Furthermore, the comparative analysis of costs and well drilling techniques for water, geothermal energy, oil, and gas production, which is the main goal of this research, can enable the growth of energy generation field through the emergence of ideas that improve the efficiency of energy generation processes.

Keywords: drilling, water, oil, Gas, geothermal energy

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Authors: Mourad Bédir, Sami Khomsi, Hakim Gabtni, Hajer Azaiez, Ramzi Gharsalli, Riadh Chebbi

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Eastern Tunisia is a semi-arid area; located in the northern Africa plate; southern Mediterranean side. It is facing water scarcity, overexploitation, and decreasing of water quality of phreatic water table. Water supply and storage will not respond to the demographic and economic growth and demand. In addition, only 5 109 m3 of rainwater from 35 109 m3 per year renewable rain water supply can be retained and remobilized. To remediate this water deficiency, researches had been focused to near new subsurface deep aquifers resources. Among them, Upper Miocene sandstone deposits of Béglia, Saouaf, and Somaa Formations. These sandstones are known for their proven Hydrogeologic and hydrocarbon reservoir characteristics in the Tunisian margin. They represent semi-confined to confined aquifers. This work is based on new integrated approaches of seismic stratigraphy, seismic tectonics, and hydrogeology, to highlight and characterize these reservoirs levels for aquifer exploitation in semi-arid area. As a result, five to six third order sequence deposits had been highlighted. They are composed of multi-layered extended sandstones reservoirs; separated by shales packages. These reservoir deposits represent lowstand and highstand system tracts of these sequences, which represent lowstand and highstand system tracts of these sequences. They constitute important strategic water resources volumes for the region.

Keywords: Tunisia, Hydrogeology, sandstones, basin, seismic, aquifers, modeling

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Authors: Serin Darwish, Hakim Saibi, Amir Gabr

Abstract:

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is situated within an arid zone where the climate is arid and the recharge of the groundwater is very low. Groundwater is the primary source of water in the United Arab Emirates. However, rapid expansion, population growth, agriculture, and industrial activities have negatively affected these limited water resources. The shortage of water resources has become a serious concern due to the over-pumping of groundwater to meet demand. In addition to the deficit of groundwater, the UAE has one of the highest per capita water consumption rates in the world. In this study, a combination of time-lapse measurements of microgravity and depth to groundwater level in selected wells in Al Ain city was used to estimate the variations in groundwater storage. Al-Ain is the second largest city in Abu Dhabi Emirates and the third largest city in the UAE. The groundwater in this region has been overexploited. Relative gravity measurements were acquired using the Scintrex CG-6 Autograv. This latest generation gravimeter from Scintrex Ltd provides fast, precise gravity measurements and automated corrections for temperature, tide, instrument tilt and rejection of data noise. The CG-6 gravimeter has a resolution of 0.1μGal. The purpose of this study is to measure the groundwater storage changes in the shallow aquifers based on the application of microgravity method. The gravity method is a nondestructive technique that allows collection of data at almost any location over the aquifer. Preliminary results indicate a possible relationship between microgravity and water levels, but more work needs to be done to confirm this. The results will help to develop the relationship between monthly microgravity changes with hydrological and hydrogeological changes of shallow phreatic. The study will be useful in water management considerations and additional future investigations.

Keywords: Al-Ain, arid region, groundwater, microgravity

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Authors: Madara Apsalone

Abstract:

Knowledge management and innovation is key to competitive advantage and sustainable business development in advanced economies. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have lower capacity and more constrained resources for long-term and high-uncertainty research and development investments. At the same time, SMEs can implement organizational innovation to improve their performance and further foster other types of innovation. The purpose of this study is to analyze, how socio-cultural factors such as shared values, organizational behaviors, work organization and decision making processes can influence knowledge management and help to develop organizational innovation via an empirical study. Surveying 600 SMEs in Latvia, the author explores the contribution of different socio-cultural factors to organizational innovation and the role of knowledge management and organizational learning in this process. A conceptual model, explaining the impact of organizational team, development, result-orientation and structure is created. The study also proposes insights that contribute to theoretical and practical discussions on fostering innovation of small businesses in small economies.

Keywords: knowledge management, organizational innovation, small and medium-sized enterprises, socio-cultural factors

Procedia PDF Downloads 364

Authors: Emery A. Coppola Jr., Suna Cinar, Ferenc Szidarovszky

Abstract:

Over-pumping of groundwater resources is a serious problem world-wide. In addition to depleting this valuable resource, hydraulically connected sensitive ecological resources like wetlands and surface water bodies are often impacted and even destroyed by over-pumping. Effectively managing groundwater in a way that satisfy human demand while preserving natural resources is a daunting challenge that will only worsen with growing human populations and climate change. As presented in this paper, a numerical flow model developed for a hypothetical but realistic groundwater/surface water system was combined with formal optimization. Response coefficients were used in an optimization management model to maximize groundwater pumping in a complex, multi-layered aquifer system while protecting against groundwater over-draft, streamflow depletion, and wetland impacts. Pumping optimization was performed for different constraint sets that reflect different resource protection preferences, yielding significantly different optimal pumping solutions. A sensitivity analysis on the optimal solutions was performed on select response coefficients to identify differences between wet and dry periods. Stochastic optimization was also performed, where uncertainty associated with changing irrigation demand due to changing weather conditions are accounted for. One of the strengths of this optimization approach is that it can efficiently and accurately identify superior management strategies that minimize risk and adverse environmental impacts associated with groundwater pumping under different hydrologic conditions.

Keywords: numerical groundwater flow modeling, water management optimization, groundwater overdraft, streamflow depletion

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Authors: Poojan Kothari, Yash Madhani, Chayan Jani, Bharti Saini

Abstract:

The requirements for quality drinking and industrial water are increasing and water resources are depleting. Moreover large amount of wastewater is being generated and dumped into water bodies without treatment. These have made improvement in water treatment efficiency and its reuse, an important agenda. Membrane technology for wastewater treatment is an advanced process and has become increasingly popular in past few decades. There are many traditional methods for tertiary treatment such as chemical coagulation, adsorption, etc. However recent developments in membrane technology field have led to manufacturing of better quality membranes at reduced costs. This along with the high costs of conventional treatment processes, high separation efficiency and relative simplicity of the membrane treatment process has made it an economically viable option for municipal and industrial purposes. Ultrafiltration polymeric membranes can be used for wastewater treatment and drinking water applications. The proposed work focuses on preparation of one such UF membrane - Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) doped with LiBr for wastewater treatment. Majorly all polymeric membranes are hydrophobic in nature. This property leads to repulsion of water and hence solute particles occupy the pores, decreasing the lifetime of a membrane. Thus modification of membrane through addition of small amount of salt such as LiBr helped us attain certain characteristics of membrane, which can then be used for wastewater treatment. The membrane characteristics are investigated through measuring its various properties such as porosity, contact angle and wettability to find out the hydrophilic nature of the membrane and morphology (surface as well as structure). Pure water flux, solute rejection and permeability of membrane is determined by permeation experiments. A study of membrane characteristics with various concentration of LiBr helped us to compare its effectivity.

Keywords: Lithium bromide (LiBr), morphology, permeability, Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), solute rejection, wastewater treatment

Procedia PDF Downloads 128