Sultan Qaboos University
WATER RESEARCH CENTER
Department of Soils, Water & Agricultural Engineering
Ministry of Regional Municipalities & Water Resources
WORKSHOP
on
WATER and ENERGY
BOOK OF ABSTRACTS
The Water/Energy Nexus and its Relevance in Desert Environments
By:
Prof. Martin Joseph Pasqualetti
Professor, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning Senior
Sustainability Scientist, Global Institute of Sustainability Co-Director, Energy Policy
Innovation Council (EPIC)
Arizona State University
The water/energy nexus is an important consideration in many places in the world, but none
more than deserts. This paper will present a general overview of the nexus and then focus on
its special saliency in desert environments where an understanding is fundamental to future
economic stability and prosperity.
The Role of Computational Fluid Dynamics in the Development of
Predictive Models for Water Desalination and Energy Production
By:
Prof. Isam Mustafa Janajreh
Associate Mechanical and Materials Engineering Professor
Masdar Institute of Science and Technology
In this talk, the role of numerical simulation, in particular Computational Fluid Dynamics, in
the development of predictive models for water desalination and energy
conversion/production will be presented. Specifically, I will consider several case studies
including: Multi-stage flashing simulation and the flow within its porous media/demister in
one case and the low energy direct membrane desalination in another case; then I will
present the thermochemical conversion of waste feedstock into useful syngas, and finally I
will present the work on the trans-esterification of lipid and waste cooking oil into biodiesel.
These predictive models are based on basic conservative laws (i.e., continuity, momentum,
and energy) and comprises of multi-physics, enabling the user to carry out exhaustive
sensitivity study. Such studies will cover variation in inlet conditions (thermal and
kinematic) as well as conjugate heat transfer conditions, parameters of porous
media/demister, flow configuration as parallel vs counter flow and parameters of the
membrane. The goal is to deploy these models at the conceptual design level in attempt to
find the optimal conditions to achieve the best process metrics. In the energy conversion
models, and following the introduction to waste material characterization (proximate,
ultimate and assessment of heating value), the development of both equilibrium based and
none-equilibrium/kinetic rate reactive flow modeling will be presented with some sensitivity
studies to the feedstock variation and the inlet velocity to gain more insight to the
undelaying physics and in pursuit of optimal processes metrics.
Solar Power for a Sustainable Energy
By:
Eng. Ahmed Al-Busaidi
Oman Water Society
The solar energy contributes significantly and address the current challenges in energy and
climate change, aiming to reduce the emissions and achieve greater energy independence
while facing factors like increasing volatility in fossil fuel prices and significant increase in
energy demand and CO2 emissions.
There are a number of different uses that the solar energy can achieve, and this has been
implemented in a number of Projects around the world with a remarkable Operation and
Maintenance achievement.
Renewable Energy
By:
Dr. Ali Hamad Al Ghafri
Asst. Chairman for International Relations & Conferences, Public
Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW)
Potential of Small Scale Solar Distillation in the coastal areas of
Oman
By:
Mr. Hilal Al-Ismaily
Associate Researcher, Dept. of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University
Oman is situated in one of the driest regions of the world, with less than 100 mm of rainfall,
annually. Demand for water is annually increasing with high growth of population and
industry.
A novel solution is to desalinate the abundant shallow water available just below the ground
near the shores by using solar insolation (i.e. incident solar radiation). Water is pumped into
a shallow solar stills covered with transparent plastic or glass. Insolation is absorbed at the
inside bottom of insulated solar still, painted black to facilitate high absorption of radiation.
This thermal radiation heats the water and the evaporation occurs and the vapour is
condensed under the glass cover, which is tilted at optimal angle to facilitate the highest
amount of insolation admission to the still and the maximum collection of the condensed
vapour.
The most important parameters to insure highest yield of distilled water is the intensity of
solar insolation, optimal tilt angle of the still cover, quality insulation at the bottom of the
still to prevent heat loss to the ground, the amount of residuals salts and in the water and the
temperatures of brackish water and that of the ambient.
Usage of Treated Wastewater for Bio-fuel Production
By:
Dr. Ahmed Al-Busaidi
Associate Researcher, Dept. of Soils, Water & Agrilcutural Engineering,
Sultan Qaboos University
Conventional water resources of good quality are scarce, especially in arid and semiarid
regions and the salinization of soils and water is a substantial constraint to crop productivity.
Using treated wastewater to grow bio-fuel plants could release the pressure on using
freshwater and improve soil fertility. Therefore, the main objectives of the study were to: 1)
Improve the productivity of waste lands (unsuitable for agriculture); 2) Maximize the usage
of treated waste water; 3) Grow economical (bio-fuel) plants; 4) Reduce the usage of
chemical fertilizers and improve soil quality by natural resources; 5) Conduct preliminary
research to assess the possibilities of growing Jatropha and producing bio-fuel. In this study,
Jatropha plants were grown in a wasteland (rocky unfertile soil) at the Agricultural
Experiment Station, College of Agricultural & Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University.
The plants were irrigated either by fresh, saline (2 dS/m) or treated waste waters. Moreover,
chemical and organic fertilizers or a mix of both were applied to the plants, while some
plants which did not receive any fertilizer were used as a control.
It was found that plant growth was good with all treatments even under saline water
irrigation. Plants irrigated with treated wastewater gave the best growth in terms of plant
height and green yield. Addition of mixed fertilizers (organic and in organic) gave the best
results in which the plants were benefiting from the fast release of nutrients from the
inorganic fertilizer and the slow release of nutrients from organic fertilizer. Whereas, plants
treated without any addition of fertilizers were weak and showed symptoms of element
deficiency. However, physicochemical analysis showed an improvement in soil structure
and fertility.
Generally good growth of Jatropha was observed under all treatments with a good yield of
seeds that can be used for bio-fuel production.
Review of Small Solar Water Desalination Units and their
Productivity
By:
Dr. Hasan Abdellatif Hasan
Associate Professor, Dept. of Petroleum and Chemical Engineering
Sultan Qaboos University
Solar desalination is one of the methods used to desalinate water of high salinity such as
brackish water and sea water. The method is based on collecting the solar energy using a
dark surface and transfering that energy by convection to water. The water heats up and
evaporates. The vapor is condensed and withdrawn as a fresh source of drinking water. Such
units are also capable of producing hot water for either domestic or industrial use.
Small solar water desalination units are receiving lots of attention since a cheap source of
renewable energy is utilized. One of the major concerns regarding its use is the low
productivity of the unit/area-day. The productivity of the solar water desalination units is a
function of the solar irradiation intensity, the amount of the water in the unit, the feed water
temperature, the surface area, the glass cover tempertaure, the feed water salinity and the
ambient weather conditions such as wind speed and ambient temperature. Vast amount of
experimental and theoretical research has been conducted to study the effect of the above
parameters on the solar unit productivity and investigating various ways to improve it.
In this seminar a review of the solar units and their productivity will be presented. The
various attempts to improve the productivity will be also discussed.