Category: News

  • Which water supply will take over Foggaras Heritage ?

    Which water supply will take over Foggaras Heritage ?

    Algerian Sahara has one of the oldest sources of irrigation and water supply, named El-Foggara

    The disappearance of Foggaras not only translates to the disappearance of an important part of the environmental ecosystem of the region, it also undermines social and economic ecosystems that have been the norm for many generations.

    The Algerian Sahara has one of the oldest sources of irrigation and water supply, named El-Foggara, which is now threatened with extinction, so many palms are going to dry up, and so many oases are prone to desertification.

    According to an academic consensus, Foggaras date back to the 11th century, and were first used in Iran. It is a method based on digging a group of wells connected to an underground aquifer in an area of higher altitude. The underground water is then transported to the areas of lower altitude, where people settle, cultivate the land, and exploit water for irrigation, drinking and various other uses.

    In the face of ever-continuing changing of the climate, indigenous populations have also reflected the slow-moving change of their terrain. The inhabitants of Adrar, southwestern Algeria, still depend on “Foggaras”, the traditional method of supplying drinking water.

    Source and more : Daraj.com

    https://daraj.com/en/85512/

  • 6 Charts Show How the World is Improving

    6 Charts Show How the World is Improving

    Good News Happens Slowly

    https://www.visualcapitalist.com/6-charts-show-world-improving/

    t only takes a few minutes of cable news to get the feeling that the world is heading into a tailspin.

    Endless images of homicide investigations, natural disasters, car crashes, and drug busts fill the airwaves on a daily basis. It’s upsetting – but also certainly captivating for the average viewer.

    In fact, the news cycle thrives on fear and violence, so mainstream networks find a way to fill up 99% of programming with these singular events. It’s addicting and sometimes anger-inducing, but is it representative of what’s really going on in the world?

    Good News Happens Slowly …..more …..

    Source: Visualcapitalist.com

  • Synergistic effects of hybrid advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) based on hydrodynamic cavitation phenomenon – A review

    Synergistic effects of hybrid advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) based on hydrodynamic cavitation phenomenon – A review

    Recently, hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) based hybrid processes have shown a great potential in indusial scale water treatment

    Authors:
    Kirill Fedorov at Gdansk University of Technology
    Kirill Fedorov
    Kumaravel Dinesh at National University of Ireland, Galway
    Kumaravel Dinesh
    Xun Sun 孙逊 at Shandong University
    Xun Sun 孙逊
    Reza Darvishi Cheshmeh Soltani
    Reza Darvishi Cheshmeh Soltani
    Zhaohui Wang at East China Normal University
    Zhaohui Wang
    Shirish H. Sonawane at National Institute of Technology, Warangal
    Shirish H. Sonawane
    Grzegorz Boczkaj at Gdansk University of Technology
    Grzegorz Boczkaj

    Abstract

    High-performance water treatment systems based on cavitational processes have received an increasing interest of scientific community in the past few decades. Numerous studies indicated the advantageous application of hydrodynamic cavitation as an alternative, reagent-free treatment method of various pollutants in water.

    Both approaches were proved as an effective method to achieve mineralization of many organic contaminants as well as a disinfection method, which is able to eliminate pathogenic microorganisms. This makes cavitation-based methods a promising candidate implemented in a post-treatment stage of water treatment facilities.

    Nowadays, hybrid methods based on combination of cavitation with advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), possessing enhanced oxidation capacity were proposed. Compared to the individual utilization of cavitation and AOPs (e.g., O3, H2O2, Fenton’s process), hybrid processes are capable to degrade even highly persistent contaminants and shorten the operation time reducing the overall consumption of energy and oxidants. The improved performance of hybrid methods is attributed to the synergistic effect occurring between integrated technologies, which is expressed by the synergistic index.

    In this paper, recent reports focusing on coupling of cavitation and AOPs were reviewed to reveal major principles and mechanisms governing the synergistic effect. The review discusses the effect of process parameters (oxidant type, pH, hydraulic and ultrasonic properties, Kow) on the oxidation effectiveness. Comparative analysis was provided in order to highlight the advantages and limits laying behind the discussed methods. The analysis of the economic feasibility was performed to assess the potential applicability of hybrid techniques in large-scale wastewater treatment.

    Highlights

    •Superiority of the combined treatment scheme established.
    •Guidelines for optimum operating conditions for the combined processes.
    •Reactor designs for large scale operations have been discussed.
    •Economic analysis has been presented for the combined approach.

    Source : Researchgate.net/publication/357103398

    Graphic from ScienceDirect

    hybride scale water treatement by dynamic cavitation
    hybride scale water treatement by hydrodynamic cavitation. Example from ScienceDirect

     

  • Outside the Safe Operating Space of a New Planetary Boundary for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)

    Outside the Safe Operating Space of a New Planetary Boundary for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)

    Rainwater & TapWater abstract

    It is hypothesized that environmental contamination by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) defines a separate planetary boundary and that this boundary has been exceeded. This hypothesis is tested by comparing the levels of four selected perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) (i.e., perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)) in various global environmental media (i.e., rainwater, soils, and surface waters) with recently proposed guideline levels.

    On the basis of the four PFAAs considered, it is concluded that (1) levels of PFOA and PFOS in rainwater often greatly exceed US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Lifetime Drinking Water Health Advisory levels and the sum of the aforementioned four PFAAs (Σ4 PFAS) in rainwater is often above Danish drinking water limit values also based on Σ4 PFAS; (2) levels of PFOS in rainwater are often above Environmental Quality Standard for Inland European Union Surface Water; and (3) atmospheric deposition also leads to global soils being ubiquitously contaminated and to be often above proposed Dutch guideline values.

    It is, therefore, concluded that the global spread of these four PFAAs in the atmosphere has led to the planetary boundary for chemical pollution being exceeded. Levels of PFAAs in atmospheric deposition are especially poorly reversible because of the high persistence of PFAAs and their ability to continuously cycle in the hydrosphere, including on sea spray aerosols emitted from the oceans. Because of the poor reversibility of environmental exposure to PFAS and their associated effects, it is vitally important that PFAS uses and emissions are rapidly restricted.

    KEYWORDS:

    SUBJECTS:

    By

      • Ian T. Cousins*
      • Jana H. Johansson
      • Matthew E. Salter
      • Bo Sha
      • Martin Scheringer

    (more…)

  • Microfluidic Salinity Gradient-Induced All-Day Electricity Production in Solar Steam Generation

    Energy, Environmental and Catalysis Applications
    ACS Publications

      • Tawseef Ahmad Wani

        Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Jammu, Jammu, J & K 181221, India
        More by Tawseef Ahmad Wani

      • Priya Kaith

      • Parul Garg

      • Ashok Bera*

    ABSTRACT

    Abstract Image

    Synergistic generation of freshwater and electricity using solar light would be an ideal solution for global freshwater challenges and energy demands. Recently, interface solar steam generation has been considered one of the promising cost-effective alternatives for freshwater generation. Here, we have systematically maintained the salinity gradient within two-legged paper-based microfluidic channels to transport wastewater from the reservoir to the evaporator surface and generate electricity all-day-long.

    Flowing seawater (3.5 wt % NaCl) on one leg and tap water on the other of the water-conducting channels connected to a conical evaporator, we achieved an average open-circuit voltage (VOC) of 150 mV and a short-circuit current of 6.5 μA across each channel along with a water evaporation efficiency of 88%. As the VOC depends only on the ion concentration gradient within the channel in the direction perpendicular to the water flow, the electricity generation persists throughout the day and can be tuned by varying the salinity. Increasing the salt concentration of the seawater to 20 wt %, the VOC increased to 250 mV in a single channel.

    In an evaporator connected with four such channels, we achieved a maximum output power density of 9.9 mW m–2 in a series combination without sacrificing the evaporation rate. Furthermore, removing agglomerated salt from the evaporator surface, we harvested salt at a rate of 0.33 kg m–2 h–1. Therefore, our approach provides an alternative way of freshwater generation, salt harvesting, and all-day-long electricity production simultaneously.

    KEYWORDS:

     

    Source and more : https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsami.2c09352

  • How Israel used innovation to beat its water crisis

    How Israel used innovation to beat its water crisis

    What can the world learn from Israel’s experience?

    Source and more : israel21c.org
    Photo : water-technology.net

    Israel was a desert (with some people but dry weather), and water resources are scarce, but today it produces 20% more water than it needs.

    How did Israel, a country that is more than half desert, frequently hit with drought, and historically cursed by chronic water shortages, become a nation that now produces 20 percent more water than it needs?

    Water demand from Israel’s rapidly growing population outpaced the supply and natural replenishment of potable water so much that by 2015, the gap between demand and available natural water supplies reached 1 billion cubic meters (BCM).

    Recovering from such a scenario seems highly unlikely, yet Israel managed it by pioneering an unprecedented wealth of technological innovation and infrastructure to prevent the country from drying up.

    …. to be continued

  • More water: 8 unconventional resources to tap

    More water: 8 unconventional resources to tap

    Unconventional Water Resources

    Source and more : The Conversation

    One in four people on Earth face shortages of water for drinking, sanitation, agriculture and economic development. Water scarcity is expected to intensify in regions like the Middle East and North Africa region, which has 6% of the global population but only 1% of the world’s freshwater resources.

    Conventional water sources – which rely on snowfall, rainfall and rivers – are not enough to meet growing freshwater demand in water-scarce areas.

    Fortunately Earth has other sources of water: millions of cubic kilometres of water in aquifers, in fog and icebergs, in the ballast holds of thousands of ships, and elsewhere.

    Our book, Unconventional Water Resources, based on the most up to date information, identifies eight broad categories of unconventional water sources.

    Source and more : The Conversation

  • Secondary cities are vital for Africa’s future

    Secondary cities are vital for Africa’s future

    and their citizens know best how to improve them

    What’s the World Economic Forum doing to accelerate action on Cities and Urbanization?
    • The resilience of many African countries is threatened by the concentration of resources in their capitals.
    • Secondary cities often suffer from a financing gap that hinders their development.
    • Residents should be consulted in urbanization plans that deliver sustainable development in secondary cities.

    Source : WE Forum 2022
    (more…)

  • Could nuclear desalination plants beat water scarcity?

    Could nuclear desalination plants beat water scarcity?

    Source : BBC News Climate Change

    There are communities on every continent running short of water, according to the United Nations.

    Unfortunately, although our planet is swathed by oceans and seas, only a tiny fraction of Earth’s water – about 2.5% – is fresh, and demand for drinking water is projected to exceed supply by trillions of cubic metres by 2030.

    Desalination plants, which remove the salt from seawater, could help supply the fresh water needed.

    However, these plants are considered among the most expensive ways of creating drinking water- as they pump large volumes across membranes at high pressure, which is an extremely energy intensive process.

    One radical solution could be using floating vessels equipped with desalination systems.

    Powered by nuclear reactors, these vessels could travel to islands, or coastlines, struck by drought, bringing with them both clean drinking water and power.

     

    (more…)

  • Finance must tackle the growing water crisis – World Economic Forum

    Finance must tackle the growing water crisis – World Economic Forum

    Water risk is a systemic, material risk

    • Water risk is a systemic, material risk that is causing significant economic and social costs right now, from supply chain disruptions unleashed by climate-fueled flooding and droughts, to water and food insecurity caused by dwindling water supply.
    • The cost of water risks to business could be more than five times greater than the cost of acting now to address those risks.
    • There are practical steps that financial institutions can take right now to protect themselves from the risks created by the water crisis and to have a positive impact on water security.
      Kirsten James

      Senior Program Director of Water, Ceres

      Cate Lamb

      Head of Water, CDP

      Xavier Lefaive

      Principal Administrator, OECD

      Source and more : World Economic Forum and Strategic Intelligence
      #water economic risk

       

  • Webinar “Basics of the crisis management”

    Webinar “Basics of the crisis management”

    In the continuation of the webinars organized in 2020 during the different containments, the Chair organized a webinar on

    “The basics of crisis management” presented by Vincent Veauclin – International Safety and Crisis Management Coordinator – SUEZ

    The topics discussed were the following:

    • How to manage a crisis well?
    • General organization of a crisis unit
    • Crisis management tools

    The basics of crisis management

  • Webinar "Basics of the crisis management"

    Webinar "Basics of the crisis management"

    In the continuation of the webinars organized in 2020 during the different containments, the Chair organized a webinar on

    “The basics of crisis management” presented by Vincent Veauclin – International Safety and Crisis Management Coordinator – SUEZ

    The topics discussed were the following:

    • How to manage a crisis well?
    • General organization of a crisis unit
    • Crisis management tools

    The basics of crisis management