The waste water heat recovery system at ABP Foods is delivered

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The front view of Waste Water Heat Recovery system

The back view of Waste Water Heat Recovery system

A collaboration between the Dŵr Uisce project and ABP Food has been established which has started in early 2018. In this context the industrial process at ABP demonstration site offers a unique opportunity to investigate the potential of waste water heat recovery technology in the food processing sector. This technology can help towards improving environmental, energetic and financial performance of the facilities. The system aims to subtract the heat from wastewater and can be set up at different locations in the wastewater stream. When the recovered heat is plugged back into the hot water provision, this leads to a potential energy saving of up to 80 MWh per year, when installed on the effluent of the wastewater treatment works, its current location. This results in a reduction of carbon emissions of up to 12 tons per year

The system consists of different types of heat recovery, including preheating of the incoming feed water, but also delivering hot water at 45°C using a wastewater source heat pump. The system is capable of switching between both operating modes, and of applying bot at the same time, depending on the local conditions. Now, the heat recovery system has been installed on the premises at ABP food group in Cahir. The technology can be employed to recover energy from wastewater generated in the meat processing.

Small-scale Hydropower Installation at Tŷ Mawr Wybrnant - Official Opening

We are delighted to announce that our small scale hydropower energy recovery demonstration site at Tŷ Mawr Wybrnant will hold an official opening on the 21st November 9 am - 1 pm. The opening event of the site will be hosted by Bangor University, in collaboration with our partners National Trust, and Trinity College Dublin.

For more information please click here.

Dŵr Uisce is shortlisted for the Engineers Ireland Excellence Awards

We are celebrating wonderful news that the Dwr Uisce project is shortlisted for the Engineers Ireland Excellence Awards under sustainability category. Researchers from both Trinity College Dublin (Ireland) and Bangor University (UK) have dedicated to create new technology which generates sustainable energy for our future generation.

A visit to the blackstairs Group Water Scheme intake location on 11/01/2018.

The Dŵr Uisce project is a joint interdisciplinary collaboration between Trinity College Dublin and Bangor University. The project developed and demonstrated the installation of a low-cost hydropower turbine in a water treatment works in rural Ireland in 2019, reducing the net energy consumption of the water treatment process by 25%. The project included the development of design software to enable the use of standard centrifugal pumps operating in reverse as hydropower turbines for water supply networks. Pumps-as-turbines are up to 15 times less expensive than conventional turbines, making the use of hydropower in water supply systems economically viable. The software removes a barrier to the design of pumps to operate as turbines in practice for Engineering design teams or installers.

 The potential for hydropower energy production in water pipe networks in Ireland has been estimated at over 2.2 MW, but the lack of low-cost turbine technology has been a barrier to its exploitation. This project has removed this barrier and will enable numerous sites in water networks to replicate the energy savings and CO2 emission reductions achieved here.

(From left) Prof. Paul Coughlan, Daniele Novara, Dr Katrin Dreyer-Gibney, Dr Aonghus McNabola and Dr Himanshu Nagpal at the demonstration site in Blackstairs GWS, Wexford, Ireland before the technology demonstration

Awarded €1.1m EU funding extension to further support our project

The Dŵr Uisce project has been awarded an additional €1.1 million in funding to extend its work on energy saving measures in the water sector. This project commenced in Sept 2016 aiming to improve the long-term sustainability of water supply in Ireland and Wales. The project has now been extended to February 2023.

 Led by Trinity College Dublin in partnership with Bangor University, the 6.5 year project has a total €4.5m in EU funds through the EU’s Ireland-Wales co-operation programme. The multidisciplinary project is led by Dr. Aonghus McNabola, Dr John Gallagher and Prof. Biswajit Basu in the School of Engineering, and Prof. Paul Coughlan in the Trinity Business School.

 To date the project has delivered the installation of two demonstrations of micro-hydropower energy recovery in Ireland and Wales, reducing the energy needs of local water treatment facilities by up to 20%

Micro-hydropower installations at Blackstair Group Water Scheme (Ireland)

Micro-hydropower installations at Tŷ Mawr Wybrnant (Wales)

The project has also delivered two demonstrations of heat recovery from wastewater in Ireland and Wales, reducing, for example, the kitchen hot water consumption at Penrhyn Castle by 25%.

Penrhyn Castle, National Trust Wales

kitchen wastewater heat recovery system in Penrhyn Castle, National Trust Wales

Phase II of the Dŵr Uisce project aims to build on achievements to date in the development of low-cost micro-hydropower technology and heat recovery systems for wastewater networks. The project will specifically develop:

·       Early detection systems for turbine failures and maintenance

·       Applications of micro-hydropower in mines 

·       Heat recovery systems for commercial kitchens with combined grease traps

·       Life cycle assessment of energy efficient wastewater treatment works and alternative sources of water heating

·       Adaption of hydropower turbine designs to cater for the impacts of climate change on their operation

·       Citizen science events focused on gathering data on the linkages between energy use and water use

 Dr Aonghus McNabola, from Trinity College Dublin, said: “This extension in funding for the Dŵr Uisce project allows us to maintain the expertise built up in our team of 10 PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, and enables us to build on the work completed to date by pursuing the new research opportunities that have arisen in the first 3 years of the project. The additional funding and time will help us to create new opportunities to save energy in different markets of the water industry.”

 Dr Prysor Williams, from Bangor University, said: “The work within the Dŵr Uisce project will help achieve those environmental and economic ‘win–wins’ that are so important for Wales to meet its ambitious targets in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Securing this EU funding extension is excellent news, and we are looking forward to bringing our expertise to a project that will have significant benefits for Welsh industries, consumers, and the wider environment.”

Inspiration from nexus thinking at the 1st International Conference on Water, Energy, Environment Nexus (WEEN-2019)

Aisha presented her research on water-energy demand management at the 1st International Conference on Water, Energy, Environment Nexus (WEEN-2019) where she also chaired a technical session on water and wastewater.

The conference was organised by the Global Network for Researchers (GNR) in Istanbul, Turkey from the 5th – 8th September 2019.  The objective of the conference was to provide a platform for interdisciplinary researchers, scientists, engineers, academics as well as industrial professionals from all over the world to present their research in Water, Energy, and Environment.

Aisha’s presentation was on the role of water-energy demand management in the built environment can play towards efficient and sustainable urban water systems of the future, particularly given expected challenges of population projections, declining water resources, and the UK water sector and the government’s (at both national and local levels) ambitions in achieving net zero emissions targets in the very near future.

Aisha being awarded a certificate for chairing a technical session on water and wastewater

Aisha was very pleased to see many different applications to nexus thinking, including with circular economy and process integration.

It was Aisha’s first time in Istanbul, and she made sure to have a ‘water’ tour, including visits to the famous Valens Aqueduct and Basilica Cistern.

Tŷ Mawr Wybrnant micro-hydropower demo site is now operational

The first Welsh micro-hydropower demonstration site was constructed next to a historical farmhouse of Ty Mawr Wybrnant in North Wales with supports from National Trust. On the 9th of September, 2019, the demonstration site has been successfully connected to the grid and is currently fully operational.

In comparison to conventional hydropower installations, the novelty of this installation lies in its simplicity, low capital cost and replicability. Pump-as-Turbine, which consists of a standard water pump working in reverse as a turbine, is used in this demonstration site. Now, the demonstration site is generating in parallel to the grid through a type-approved G98 solar inverter. The measured power output from the inverter was in line with the expectations, reaching up to 4 kW with respect to a design output of 3.6 kW.

The outside view of the powerhouse

The interior view of the powerhouse (electric equipment connected to Pump-as-Turbine)

Nilki presents her research into real-time optimization on water distribution networks

17th Computing and Control for the water industry conference took place from the 1st to 4th of September in the University of Exeter, UK. The conference was brought together the practitioners and researchers in the water industry to discuss the emerging ‘WATER 4.0’ agenda – water systems modelling, data and control. Nilki Aluthge Dona presented her work on a methodology to control a water network in real time using model predictive control at the poster session. Her poster, entitled as “Real-time optimization on water distribution networks using linear model predictive control” was a part of the two-day poster session held in the conference hall.

The conference featured variety of technical sessions in which “Hydraulic systems modelling” was an interesting topic for Nilki’s work. There were two keynote speakers who spoke about the water sector being “Digitalized” and particularly how 5G wireless networks can be used for the management of water systems. Her work was related to the water systems modelling and control in which she used linear model predictive control to real-time control a water network based in Ireland.

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