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Wastewater Management
Drought and tourism
Part of the appeal of Mediterranean countries is their hot , dry climate . But this places them in a dilemma . Large parts of Sicily are so parched of water that they have been virtually reduced to desert . So farmers in this region are thinking of replacing their olive and wine production with more drought-resistant African-style foods . In Greece , prolonged drought has reduced the potato harvest to half that of previous years . The pressure from tourism merely adds to the number of people needing to slake their thirst during the hottest months of the year . But tourism is a major source of income . What to do ? The answer is probably to invest in desalination , as is occurring already on the Greek islands .
50 %. Waste heat recovery from nearby incinerators will replace fossil fuels . These are examples of Veolia ’ s 2024-7 “ Strategic Program ”, which aims for efficiency gains in its water management and energy consumption . Desalination is rapidly emerging as a means to ensure adequate supplies of drinking water , especially in dry regions such as the Arabian Gulf . A major problem is what to do with the salt once it has been extracted . Discharge back into the sea is scarcely an option given the threat to marine life , while disposal on land harms the soil and vegetation . Solutions have been proposed by MIT , which is studying a process of converting waste materials into useful chemicals , including ones that increase the efficiency of the desalination process itself . The process produces sodium hydroxide ( caustic soda ) that pretreats the seawater before desalination , making it less acid and so less corrosive . Another chemical that can be produced is hydrochloric acid , which can be used to clean parts of the desalination plant and is also a source of hydrogen . The increasing synergy between the desalination and chemical industries can be seen in the concentration in brine of not only salt but chemicals such as magnesium , potassium and bromine that can be nano-filtered out and recycled in chemical plants . Other important trends improving the efficiency of water treatment include portable desalination and air-to-water plants . Although desalination plants are getting bigger , remote locations , yachts and off-grid locations require micro-solutions ( similar to the current trend towards smaller nuclear plants ). MIT is working on a system to remove particles and salts through electricity , eliminating
Floating in the river Seine , the “ Annette K ” swimming pool was built for the Paris Olympics , using stainless steel sheets supplied by Schmidt Edelstahl . The architect is Seine Design . Photo : Sergio Grazia .
Frost-proof wastewater pipe on the Kitzsteinhorn , Austria . Two Eigerflex Longline pipes from Brugg Pipes were used at an altitude of up to 3,000 meters between June and October 2023 .
the need for filters and high-pressure pumps . Furthermore , it is now possible to produce water from moist air . France ’ s Eole Water is pioneering this by using a modified wind turbine design . Air is sucked into an electric cooling processor , where the moisture is extracted and condensed into water . The device works even in drier climates : Eole ’ s prototype in the Abu Dhabi desert produces 62 litres per hour . Recycling : Treated wastewater is widely used in irrigation and industry . This requires removal of sediment , bacteria and micropollutants . What is relatively new is recycling of water for drinking . This is still little known in the cooler regions of the north , but in the water-stressed tropical and southern regions it is catching on : examples include Namibia , Australia , California , Texas and Singapore . But France , Spain , Portugal and Greece are prone to drought as well , and it is only a matter of time before recycled drinking water , unappetizing though it may sound , will be introduced there . In an effort to overcome negative emotions over this issue , in 2018 Sweden ’ s IVL Swedish Environmental Institute , Nya Carnegie Brewery , and Carlsberg Sweden launched PU : REST , a beer made with recycled water . A year later in Germany , Reuse Beer , also made from recycled water , was launched but is no longer being produced . Automation : Information technology ( including AI ) is an integral part of the drive towards efficiency . When Shenzhen ( China ) modernized its water supply a few years ago , it installed a smart control system uniting the primary ( mains ) and secondary systems . The latter were equipped with meters and cameras to monitor flow rates and performance of valves and pumps . Veolia applies smart monitoring solutions to protect water networks . These speed up the information-gathering process , allowing instantaneous decision-making . The KAPTA™ 3000-AC4sensors collect physico-chemical data ( conductivity , pressure , temperature and chlorine content ) to warn of problems such as leaks , corrosion , clogging or contaminants .
Materials “ 304 or higher ” is standard in the specification of stainless steel in water projects . In practice this means that austenitics 304 ( L ) and 316 ( L ) are the most commonly applied grades in pipes , storage tanks , valves and pumps . This was not always the case : in the past , concrete , bamboo and wood were among the materials used . In China , secondary water systems were traditionally made with galvanized steel , ductile iron or plastic , which are all prone to leak . The ambitious Shenzhen modernization project used 304 and 316 , and although the older materials persist www . heat-exchanger-world . com Heat Exchanger World October 2024
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