Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
28
Challenges and Opportunities for
Nanotechn ology in the Energy-Water Nexus
Shaurya Prakash and Karen Bellman
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
CONTENTS
28.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 563
28.2 Water Use in Power Generation ....................................................................................... 568
28.3 Water Use for Fuel Production ......................................................................................... 572
28.3.1 Water Use for Bio-Fuels ......................................................................................... 573
28.3.2 Shale Oil/Gas Mining and Extraction ................................................................ 574
28.3.3 Reining ................................................................................................................... 579
28.4 Energy Use in Wastewater Management ....................................................................... 580
28.5 Energy Recovery from Wastewater ................................................................................. 582
28.6 Energy Recovery from Water Puriication Processes ................................................... 582
28.7 Alternate Energy Sources ................................................................................................. 583
28.8 Summary ............................................................................................................................. 584
References ..................................................................................................................................... 584
28.1 Introduction
Water is an essential ingredient to life. As human civilizations have evolved, the use
and demands on water have grown. Modern societies are complex, interdependent net-
works driven by a plethora of industrial, agricultural, and residential activities involving
the consumption of energy and water. For example, we use water to mine, reine, and
convert energy resources while using energy to collect, treat, and distribute freshwater.
Consequently, in recent years, the interdependence between generation and use of energy,
and the need and use for clean water have been well documented. This interdependency
or connection is referred to as the energy-water nexus. The direct science and engineering
implication for the energy-water nexus is the need to solve a coupled problem rather than
a single problem.
Most water withdrawals for modern societal needs occur from natural source waters.
The energy and material input to treat the source water is directly related to the quality of
these source waters. Figure 28.1 [1] shows the migration of water throughout an ecosystem or
area as part of the natural water cycle. As human activities such as agriculture redirect pre-
cipitation to crops and away from rivers or aquifer recharge, the natural cycle is disrupted
or distressed [2], and projected to result in signiicant challenges for biodiversity, increased
rate of diseases in the ecosystems, and water shortages [3]. Therefore, to minimize higher
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