Evaluating the Feasibility of Photovoltaic-Based Plant for Potable Water Treatment
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Date
5-21-2017
Publisher
World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2017
Publisher Location
Sacramento, California
First page number:
256
Last page number:
263
Abstract
One of the pressing issues being faced by water industry today is incorporating sustainability considerations into design practices. Water treatment, an indispensable step for safeguarding public health, is an energy-intensive process. Changing climate, carbon emissions, and rising energy costs are some of the issues that warrant exploring alternate energy sources for achieving sustainability goals of water treatment systems. The goal of the current study was to determine the feasibility of using photovoltaics (PV) as a source of energy generation for an existing drinking water treatment plant (DWTP). The selected 10 MGD plant, located in the southwestern U.S., treated groundwater by primarily using filtration and chlorination processes. Based on the energy consumption, individually determined for each unit process of the DWTP, the DWTP was sized for distributed PV and the subsequent reduction in carbon emissions was computed. Results showed that the dependency on the traditional electric grid of a DWTP can be greatly reduced by the potential use of solar PV.
Disciplines
Civil and Environmental Engineering | Water Resource Management
Repository Citation
Bukhary, S.,
Batista, J.,
Ahmad, S.
(2017).
Evaluating the Feasibility of Photovoltaic-Based Plant for Potable Water Treatment.
256-263.
Sacramento, California: World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2017.
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