Analysis and Modelling of Desalination Brines

Seawater desalination constitutes an important water supply to the population bordering the Arabian Gulf, the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. The three regions represent about 11.8% of the world land area and the countrieshosted approximately 9% of the world population in 1950 and 2008 and are also projected to do so in 2050. The results obtained for desalination capacity in the study area were 62%, 58% and 60% of the world capacity for 1996, 2008, and 2050, respectively. The increase in the recovery ratio is considered an important factor in this study. In 1996 this ratio was about 30 to 35%, and in 2008 it was 40 to 45%, although in some plants it reached up to 50%. The gulf desalination capacities were obtained as 50, 40 and 45% of total world capacity at the end of 1996, 2008 and 2050 (prognosis) respectively.All Middle Eastern countries suffer from a shortage of water along with increasing demand due to high population growth. Desalination can be a cost-effective way to produce fresh water and possibly electricity. A suggested solution for Sinai and the Gaza Strip involves the building of a joint power and desalination plant, located in Egypt close to the border with Gaza. This joint Egypt-Palestine project would increase the water supply by 500,000 m3/d and the power supply by 500MW. The result emerged from field work and the two experiments can also be applied to the design of this project. Water and salt mass balances for the Dead Sea were modelled by including and excluding the water from the proposed Red Sea Dead Sea Canal project, RSDSC. Precipitation, evaporation, river discharges, ground water flows, input/output from potash companies and salt production in addition to brine discharge were included in the models. The mixing time in the Dead Sea was modelled using a single-layer (well-mixed) and a two-layer (stratified) system.An efficient method for increasing the dilution rate of brine water discharged into the sea is an inclined negatively buoyant jet of a single port or multi-diffuser. Two small-scale experimental studies were conducted to investigate the behaviour of a dense jet discharged into lighter ambient water. The first lab-scale experiment concerned the benefit of the initial angle of inclined dense jets, where the slope increased for the maximum levels as a function of this angle. An angle of 60 deg. led to a better result than 30 or 45 deg. An empirical prediction was found based on five geometric quantities to be considered in the future plan.Field work measurements have been conducted in Cyprus, where the brine from a desalination plant and the Mediterranean Sea coastline have been investigated at the Eastern Mediterranean University. The result from the measured data demonstrates the need for more than one outfall (a series of outfalls) to the sea to avoid or minimize environmental impact on the coastline. The result also agreed well with simple, two dimensional mathematical models assuming Gaussian distribution. The calculated bottom slope is about 7.4%, which can explain the pollution that appears at the coast close to the discharge point. Thus small slope could be one reason.The second lab-scale experiment studied the near and intermediate fields of negatively buoyant jets. The dilution along the flow was increased by about 10% and 40% with bottom slope and bottom slope together with a 30 degree jetinclination, respectively. This method can be applied in brine discharge outlets to recipients to minimize concentration and facilitate faster and greater dilution. Over 16% bottom slope and more field work is needed for comparison with this result. It was found that an inclination of 30 degrees with 16 % bottom slope was more sustainable in designing brine discharge outfall. A Matlab code can be used to describe the lateral spreading and centerline dilution of buoyant jets and plumes in near and intermediate fields

Integrated Water Resources Management Karlsruhe 2010 : IWRM, International Conference, 24 - 25 November 2010 conference proceedings

In dieser Arbeit werden dual-orthogonal, linear polarisierte Antennen für die UWB-Technik konzipiert. Das Prinzip zur Realisierung der Strahler wird vorgestellt, theoretisch und simulativ untersucht, sowie messtechnisch verifiziert. Danach werden Konzepte zur Miniaturisierung der Strahler dargelegt, die anschließend zum Aufbau von Antennengruppen verwendet werden. Die Vorteile der entwickelten Antennen werden praktisch anhand des bildgebenden Radars und des Monopuls-Radars gezeigt

On the scope and assessment of pesticides in groundwater in Skåne, Sweden

Pesticides are known to occur in groundwater worldwide. However, long-term pollution concerns and cause-effect relationships for specific regions remain limited. This thesis explores the occurrence of pesticides in south-Swedish groundwater, with the aims of providing a better knowledge basis for assessment and management of present-day and future pollution risks. The investigations are restricted to Skåne, which is a relatively populous, intensively cultivated and geologically diverse region located at the tip of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The research shows that pesticides are present in very different types of groundwater systems around Skåne, suggesting a wide-ranging, multi-faceted and potentially long-lasting pollution concern. Seemingly, it is only the groundwater environments devoid of influence of waters having recharged since the onset of widespread pesticide use that may be regarded as completely safe and unaffected. Many of the pesticides detected stem from past, less restricted use, primarily for weed control outside of agriculture. Yet, current and future pollution concerns should not be regarded only as a matter of “old sins” as residues from currently used substances manifestly continue to leach towards and into the groundwater system. Through various analyses of comprehensive data sets both at the regional and the catchment scale, a number of particularly important aspects of regional pesticide occurrence in groundwater and future prediction thereof are inferred and investigated. In addition to application intensities and fundamental physicochemical pesticide properties, these include precipitation and recharge patterns in relation to pesticide application events, (mainly superficial) sorption and degradation processes efficiencies, multiple-scale subsurface physical heterogeneity directing water and solute flow (particularly the presence of preferential flow pathways), and groundwater turnover rates. Environmental tracers show great potential as tools for simple but effective calibration of transport models and for deciphering pollution trends and patterns. However, there are certain tracer-specific complications in need of further attention for future application in Skåne. For the future, regional as well as nationwide monitoring of pesticides in groundwater needs to be expanded and regulated for sound groundwater and pollution risk management and in order to be able to comply with environmental directives and the EU Water Framework Directive

XXXV Congress of the International Association of Hydrogeologists, Groundwater and Ecosystems – Abstract Book

Resumos das comunicações do XXXV Congresso da Associação Internacional de Hidrogeólogos (IAH

Drinking Water Quality and Human Health

The quality of drinking water is paramount for public health. Despite important improvements in the last decades, access to safe drinking water is not universal. The World Health Organization estimates that almost 10% of the population in the world do not have access to improved drinking water sources. Among other diseases, waterborne infections cause diarrhea, which kills nearly one million people every year, mostly children under 5 years of age. On the other hand, chemical pollution is a concern in high-income countries and an increasing problem in low- and middle-income countries. Exposure to chemicals in drinking water may lead to a range of chronic non-communicable diseases (e.g., cancer, cardiovascular disease), adverse reproductive outcomes, and effects on children’s health (e.g., neurodevelopment), among other health effects. Although drinking water quality is regulated and monitored in many countries, increasing knowledge leads to the need for reviewing standards and guidelines on a nearly permanent basis, both for regulated and newly identified contaminants. Drinking water standards are mostly based on animal toxicity data, and more robust epidemiologic studies with accurate exposure assessment are needed. The current risk assessment paradigm dealing mostly with one-by-one chemicals dismisses the potential synergisms or interactions from exposures to mixtures of contaminants, particularly at the low-exposure range. Thus, evidence is needed on exposure and health effects of mixtures of contaminants in drinking water. Finally, water stress and water quality problems are expected to increase in the coming years due to climate change and increasing water demand by population growth, and new evidence is needed to design appropriate adaptation policies.This Special Issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) focuses on the current state of knowledge on the links between drinking water quality and human health

Water Security in the Middle East

Water Security in the Middle East argues that, while conflicts over transboundary water systems in the Middle East do occur, they tend not to be violent nor are they the primary cause of a war in this region. The contributors in this collection of essays place water disputes in larger political, historical and scientific contexts and discuss how the humanities and social sciences contribute towards this understanding. The authors contend that international sharing of scientific and technological advances can significantly increase access to water and improve water quality. While scientific advances can and should increase adaptability to changing environmental conditions, especially climate change, national institutional reform and the strengthening of joint commissions are vital. The contributors indicate ways in which cooperation can move from simple coordination to sophisticated, adaptive and equitable modes of water management

River Ecological Restoration and Groundwater Artificial Recharge

Three of the eleven papers focused on groundwater recharge and its impacts on the groundwater regime, in which recharge was caused by riverbed leakage from river ecological restoration (artificial water replenishment). The issues of the hydrogeological parameters involved (such as the influence radius) were also reconsidered. Six papers focused on the impact of river ecological replenishment and other human activities on river and watershed ecology, and on groundwater quality and use function. The issues of ecological security at the watershed scale and deterioration of groundwater quality were of particular concern. Two papers focused on water resources carrying capacity and water resources reallocation at the regional scale, in the context of the fact that ecological water demand has been a significant topic of concern. The use of unconventional water resources such as brackish water has been emphasized in the research in this issue