Welcome visitors from France!

(From left) Prof. Paul Coughlan, Mr Erik Zilliox (GIP Campus E.S.P.R.I.T. Industries), Prof. Philippe Mandin (GIP Campus E.S.P.R.I.T. Industries) and Dr Aonghus McNabola at our laboratory.

Early this week, we welcomed two visitors from GIP Campus E.S.P.R.I.T. Industries (France) – Prof. Philippe Mandin and Mr Erik Zilliox. Following a number of email conversation over the summer, we arranged a laboratory tour to introduce our Micro-hydropower energy recovery technology using Pump-as-Turbine. The team and the visitors had a productive discussion on future collaboration on our shared research interest in Pump-as-Turbine.

Dŵr Uisce - A finalist for the SEAI Sustainable Energy Awards

Dŵr Uisce is shortlisted for the SEAI Sustainable Energy Awards

We are celebrating wonderful news that the Dŵr Uisce project is shortlisted as a finalist for the SEAI Sustainable Energy Awards. Our researchers have dedicated to create new technology which generates sustainable energy for our future generation.

Micro-hydropower energy recovery technology presents a simple and low cost method of reducing the energy consumption in the water supply system. It does so with pumps which are already ubiquitous in water pipe networks, and so are a reliable and easy to maintain solution. It is research based and has been demonstrated in practice. It is a winning entry as there are thousands of small scale potential sites in water networks in Ireland, and even more overseas. In Ireland the energy saving is estimated to exceed 2.1 MW. In Scotland, there are over 5000 such sites. This technology opens up these opportunities and creates a means for improved sustainability in an energy intensive process. Finally the device is remarkably effective, reducing the energy requirements of Blackstairs GWS by a quarter.

It is our honor to be shortlisted as a finalist for the SEAI Sustainable Energy Awards. If successful we would use the €10,000 as a grant to help install similar systems in other group water network sites in Ireland. We have engaged in hydropower feasibility assessments with >20 group water schemes to date and a further 20 have expressed interest in similar assessments. We would like to lead in the installation of a second pilot demonstration, perhaps in the west of Ireland where the rural water sector is more concentrated and outside of the Ireland-Wales Region. This bursary and second demonstrator would hopefully be a catalyst to the public water sector to start installing in-pipe hydropower in the public network, as by far the highest potential for energy saving exists there.

Dr. Katrin Dreyer-Gibney shared our learning from innovation in the Dŵr Uisce project.

Dr. Katrin Dreyer-Gibney, a Research Fellow from the Trinity Business School, attended the 26th IPDM Conference , in the University of Leicester, UK.

The 26th IPDM Conference  took place in the University of Leicester, in June 2019. Hundreds of delegates attended from all over the world.

Dr. Katrin Dreyer-Gibney, a Research Fellow from the Trinity Business School, Dublin. Katrin presented a research paper, co-authored with Dr Ana de Almeida Kumlien, Prof. Paul Coughlan and Dr Aonghus McNabola, covering the latest findings from the collaboration and dissemination part of the Dŵr Uisce project: “Learning to innovate through action learning, collaborative prototyping and demonstration”. 

The presentation generated much interest amongst conference delegates. Not only did her presentation cover a project addressing water-energy challenges, one of the top sustainability priorities globally, it was also one of the few research projects presented that had action learning research as an overall research methodology.

With this research methodology, practical knowledge is generated in collaboration with many stakeholders over an extended time-period, finding a workable solution to a real-life problem. 

Katrin’s talk was well received. Some attendees invited her to collaborate in follow-up activities and provided much constructive feedback. Overall, it was a success, as delegates understood the overall message of the presentation: The global water crises can be addressed when researchers step out of the lab and work side-by-side with industry, local communities, decision-makers and legislators, so their new technology can be adopted.

Innovation in collaboration

Jan presents at the EICTUS conference in Strasbourg

The European International Conference on Transforming Urban Systems (EICTUS) took place from June 26th to June 28th in Strasbourg. The conference brought together a multi-disciplinary field of researchers, and focused on topics ranging from Urban Water Management, over Air Pollution to new Mobility systems. Jan presented his work on a methodology to include Spatial and Temporal aspects into feasibility studies for heat recovery from the effluent of wastewater treatment plants. His presentation, entitled ‘Spatial and temporal variations in the performance of indirect drain water heat recovery systems in wastewater treatment plants’ was part of the Urban Water session of the conference.

The study was performed in collaboration with the Institute of sanitary Engineering and Water Pollution Control of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), where Jan stayed for 3 months as a visiting researcher. A more detailed description of the methodology, and an application on a case study was submitted for publication under the title: ‘Spatial and temporal considerations in the performance of wastewater heat recovery systems’.

Everything you can make from reused water – for example beer!

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Isabel Schestak (Bangor University) presented her work on the sustainability of heat recovery from commercial kitchen wastewater at the IWA Water Reuse conference.

Our PhD student Isabel Schestak (Bangor University) presented her work on the sustainability of heat recovery from commercial kitchen wastewater at the IWA Water Reuse conference with a poster and pitch. It informed about the results from the study with our demo site at Penrhyn Castle and the environmental benefits for the application of heat recovery across the whole UK. At the end of the conference, Isabel took part in the technical tours, where participants were shown real-world examples of heat recovery in an industrial laundry and a production site for instant coffee.

Water reuse experts from all over the world had come to Berlin to present their research on water reuse and reclamation. Water reuse was discussed for different sectors and countries: potable water reuse, industrial and agricultural reuse. Case study examples were given on how to integrate water reuse in existing systems, how to monitor water quality and how to manage associated risks. State of the art technology was presented for the removal of emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals. Also, how can public perception be influenced and how can we make direct water reuse, especially as drinking water, acceptable by consumers? The Berliner Wasserbetriebe  – the water supplier for Berlin – undertook one step to test public acceptance. They have brewed a batch of 1000 liter beer from recycled water. The conference attendees had the first try! It is not the first beer of its kind, but the first in Germany.

The conference attendees were having a beer brewed from recycled water!

Richard presents his Dŵr Uisce PhD research at two international conferences

Richard with his poster at the International Union of Geodesy & Geophysics General Assembly 2019, Montreal.

Our Bangor PhD researcher, Richard Dallison has attended two international conferences in the last month in order to disseminate his Dŵr Uisce work and gain new insight in to the most recent developments in the field.

Firstly Richard attended one of the premier gatherings of Earth and space researchers, the 27th General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) in Montréal, Canada between the 9th and 13th of July. This year’s Assembly, with over 4,000 participants from 103 countries, marked 100 years of the IUGG and had a theme of ‘Beyond 100: The next century in Earth and Space Science’. This theme fitted well with Richard’s research, with him having been researching how climate change will impact on water resources in Wales in the coming decades, and the knock-on implications for future water supply security. Richard presented his results for changes in water quality & quantity in the Dyfi catchment, mid-Wales, under a high future emissions scenario. The poster session in which Richard presented allowed him to not only disseminate his work to a broad audience, but also gain valuable feedback, from both other hydrologists, as well as researchers from other fields, with different perspectives.

Shortly after returning from Montréal, Richard attended the International SWAT Conference at the University of Natural Resources & Life Sciences (BOKU) in Vienna, Austria. The three day conference, held between the 17th and 19th of July, covered a variety of topics relating to the development and use of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). SWAT is a hydrological model which is being implemented by Richard to assess climate change impacts on future water supply. The model is used internationally for a variety of purposes, with climate change impact assessment being a key use. This conference was therefore a valuable learning opportunity for Richard, allowing him to talk to and question some of the leading global users of SWAT, as well as the model developers. Once again, the opportunity to present at the conference, this time in the form of a 20 minute oral presentation, was invaluable in obtaining feedback, questions & comments, as well as to make connections in the SWAT modelling community.

Thanks must go to the organisers of both of these extremely valuable conferences for the important insight that has been gained. Furthermore thanks goes to our Dŵr Uisce funders, the European Regional Development Fund, Interreg Ireland-Wales Programme 2014-2020 for enabling the opportunity to attend.

Blackstairs GWS Hydropower PAT achieves 3kW power generation.

We are delighted to announce that the our micro-hydropower generation plant at Blackstairs GWS site is successfully tested and now operational. Currently, it is able to generate 3 kW of power and is expected to produce up to 4 kW after some fine tuning.

The official opening of the demonstration site is planned for the 2nd of May (Thursday).

Blackstairs GWS Hydropower Demonstration - Official Opening

We are delighted to announce that our micro-hydropower energy recovery demonstration site Blackstrairs GWS will hold an official opening on the 2nd May 10-2pm. The opening event of the site will be hosted by Trinity College Dublin, in collaboration with our partners Blackstairs Group Water Scheme, EPS, the National Federation of Group Water Schemes, and Bangor University.

For more information please click here.

Nathan & Isabel present at the IWA Efficient 2019 Conference in Manila

Four days of water topics hopping around the globe: Nathan and Isabel attended the 2019 IWA Efficient conference in Manila, Philippines, end of January.

Stuart White, Chair of the IWA Efficient Urban Water Management Specialist Group, opened the conference, highlighting the importance of safe water supply for a global sustainable development: If we can’t achieve the UN development goal on water, we can’t reach the others sustainable development goals either.

The topics of the talks were as diverse as the conference’ participants. There was a speaker from India calling for a regulatory authority for water utilities in his home country; a water professional from the Philippines presenting the design for a waste water treatment plant with minimum spatial requirements for a densely populated city like Manila; and a speaker from the US introducing a technical assistance program for water loss applied in California, to name just a few. Nathan’s and Isabel’s presentations were included in the session “Case studies from around the world”. Nathan discussed his recent work on how analyse the performance of water companies and the determinants of efficiency more accurately, whilst Isabel presented her estimate of GHG emissions through water use by companies in the manufacturing sector in the UK.

A special Filipino touch was added to the event by several dance shows with colourful costumes, plenty of exotic fruits with all meals and a gala dinner where even the Filipino conference president didn’t hesitate to go on stage and accompany the band.

Isabel: “There is no better way of getting to know the facets of challenges within the water sector around the world than attending an international conference. Water supply is a big issue for the majority of the world’s population and we often forget how lucky we are having drinking water 24/7.”

Nathan: “Seeing passion and perspectives on water issues from people all over the globe was the ultimate boost to let me know I am researching in a meaningful area. With connections made here, I am positive future meaningful research will be conducted.”

Progress with the Welsh Dŵr Uisce hydro demo site

Good progress has been made during February at the Dŵr Uisce hydro demo site in Wales, powered by a low-cost 4 kW Pump As Turbine (PAT). The turbine has been chosen among thousands of off-the-shelf available pumps according to the site specifications thanks to the selection software developed by the team.

More details on the demo site can be found here.

Water intake already built and soon to be connected to the rest of the pipeline.

Construction of the powerhouse.

Delivery of the last section of 6” pipeline.

Laying of the pipeline from the intake to the powerhouse.