Emergy Evaluation of Water

Emergy Evaluation of Water

EMERGY EVALUATION OF WATER By ANDRES A. BUENFIL A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2001 I dedicate this work to my grandparents Joan and Abe Friedman, as well as to Jacinto, David, Alberto and Ciltalli; but most especially to my mother, Roberta D. Friedman, my first teacher. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am very grateful to M.T. Brown and H.T. Odum for their support, advice, and mentoring. Both have inspired me to try to understand and experience this fascinating world. I thank C.L. Montague, D.P. Spangler, P.A. Chadik and C.F. Kiker for their supervision and participation in this dissertation. I also thank the staff and faculty of the Environmental Engineering Sciences Department as well as all the students and staff of the Center for Wetlands for their help during my graduate studies. Financial support for my doctorate research was provided by the U.S. Department of Education and the Environmental Engineering Sciences Department through their Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) Fellowship program. I thank the University of Florida GAANN program directors, J.M.M. Anderson and J.M. Andino, for their encouragement and assistance through the Fellowship. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..................................................................................................iii LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................viii LIST OF FIGURES...........................................................................................................xii ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................... xv INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem ................................................................................................ 1 Review of the Literature.................................................................................................. 2 Emergy Values of Water............................................................................................. 2 Chemical potential energy of water. ....................................................................... 2 Geopotential energy of water. ................................................................................. 4 Nutrients and dissolved solids in water................................................................... 5 Waste assimilation capacity of water...................................................................... 6 Economic Values of Water ......................................................................................... 7 Potable water supply. .............................................................................................. 7 Treated wastewater.................................................................................................. 9 Agricultural water. ................................................................................................ 11 Waste assimilation values. .................................................................................... 12 Water used for recreation and aesthetic purposes. ................................................ 13 Summary of Water Values ........................................................................................ 13 Plan of Study................................................................................................................. 16 METHODS........................................................................................................................ 18 Emergy Synthesis Methodology ................................................................................... 18 Energy Systems Diagrams ........................................................................................ 18 Emergy Tables........................................................................................................... 21 Emergy Indices.......................................................................................................... 22 Emergy investment ratio (EIR). ............................................................................ 23 Emergy yield ratio (EYR). .................................................................................... 24 Percent renewable emergy (%R)........................................................................... 24 Emergy benefit to the purchaser (EBP)................................................................. 25 Em-dollars per volume (Em$/m3). ........................................................................ 25 Emergy-per-unit and transformity......................................................................... 26 iv Emergy Evaluation of Global Water Storages and Flows............................................. 26 Emergy Evaluation of Regional Waters Using Florida as a Case Study ...................... 27 Surface Water............................................................................................................ 27 Groundwater.............................................................................................................. 28 Emergy Evaluation of Potable Water Supply Alternatives........................................... 31 Surface (Lake) Water Source: West Palm Beach's Water Treatment Plant.............. 34 Surface Water Source: Hillsborough River Water Treatment Plant, Tampa. ........... 34 Groundwater Source: Murphree Water Treatment Plant, Gainesville. ..................... 35 Water Conservation as a Source: Tampa Bay........................................................... 39 Brackish Water Source: City of Dunedin Reverse Osmosis Treatment Facility. ..... 39 Seawater Source: Reverse Osmosis Desalination, Tampa Bay................................. 40 Surficial Groundwater Source: Transported Via Aqueduct, Florida Keys. .............. 43 Seawater Source: Reverse Osmosis Desalination, Stock Island ............................... 43 Water Distribution System: Gainesville Regional Utility ........................................47 Emergy Evaluation of Small Scale Water Purification Alternatives ............................ 47 Groundwater Source: Home Filtration...................................................................... 48 Groundwater Source: Boiling Water......................................................................... 50 Salty Water Source: Advanced Solar Distillation (Humidification-Dehumidification Cycle)............................................................. 50 Salty Water Source: Traditional Solar Distillation. ..................................................53 Tap Water Source: Purified Bottled Water. .............................................................. 53 Computer Simulation of Water Allocation ................................................................... 56 Analysis and Diagramming....................................................................................... 56 Structure of the Model............................................................................................... 56 Computer Simulation ................................................................................................59 Sensitivity Analysis...................................................................................................59 RESULTS.......................................................................................................................... 61 Global Water Resources................................................................................................ 61 Emergy Evaluation of Regional Water Flows and Storages......................................... 66 Potable Water Supply Alternatives Evaluated .............................................................. 78 Surface (Lake) Water Source: West Palm Beach's Water Treatment Plant.............. 78 Surface Water Source: Hillsborough River Water Treatment Plant, Tampa. ........... 81 Groundwater Source: Murphree Water Treatment Plant, Gainesville. ..................... 81 Water Conservation as a Source: Tampa Bay........................................................... 82 Brackish water source: City of Dunedin Reverse Osmosis Treatment Facility........ 89 Seawater Source: Reverse Osmosis Desalination, Tampa Bay................................. 89 Surficial Groundwater Source: Transported Via Aqueduct, Florida Keys. .............. 90 Seawater Source: Reverse Osmosis Desalination, Stock Island. .............................. 97 Water Supply Distribution System: Gainesville Regional Utility. ...........................97 Summary of Potable Water Supply values.............................................................. 102 Small Scale Water Purification Alternatives Evaluated.............................................. 108 Groundwater Source: Home Filtration.................................................................... 108 Groundwater Source: Boiling Water....................................................................... 111 Salty Water Source: Advanced Solar Distillation (Humidification-Dehumidification Cycle)........................................................... 111 v Salty Water Source: Traditional Solar Distillation. ................................................116 Tap

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