Energy recovery strategies in water distribution networks: literature review and future directions in the net-zero transition

Giudicianni, Carlo; Mitrovic, Djordje; Wu, Wenyan; Ferrarese, Giacomo; García, I. Fernández; Campisano, Alberto; Paola, Francesco De; Malavasi, Stefano; Maier, Holger R.; Savić, Dragan; Creaco, Enrico

doi:10.1080/1573062x.2023.2212271

Cited by 13 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 130 publications

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“…Only recently, thanks to the advent of new technologies, researchers have suggested to combine water leakage reduction solutions and energy recovery. Some authors, also considered in this review, suggested replacing simple PRVs with small turbines (Ferrarese and Malavasi 2020;Giudicianni et al 2023), inverse pumps, cross flow turbines, and other alternative technologies able to recover energy and control the flow. It is evident that the deployment of sophisticated network management methodologies demands to rapidly develop hydraulic devices that meet new standards and requirements, such as remote control or increased frequency of variable monitoring (Ferrarese et al 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of Metaheuristic Methodologies for Leakage Reduction and Energy Saving in Water Distribution Networks

Ferrarese,

Medoukali,

Mirauda

et al. 2024

Water Resour Manage

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Metaheuristic methods have emerged as powerful tools for solving complex optimization problems in various domains, including the sustainability of water distribution systems. They provide efficient and effective solutions by mimicking natural processes and searching for the optimal option within a large solution space. Despite the existence of these methods in the water distribution field for several years, a direct comparison between the various proposed solutions often proves challenging, due to the different parameter definitions used by the authors. The present review presents the solutions proposed by a total of 36 research papers taken from the Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar databases focusing on the application of metaheuristic methods for leakage reduction and energy saving in water distribution networks. The review is intended to facilitate comparative analysis among the solutions proposed by authors concerning key aspects of the optimization process. These aspects include the definition of the algorithm, the specification of the objective function, and the strategies employed for reducing the search space. The characteristics of the networks used as case studies by the reviewed papers are also presented to allow the reader to evaluate the applicability of the solutions to specific networks.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of Metaheuristic Methodologies for Leakage Reduction and Energy Saving in Water Distribution Networks

Ferrarese,

Medoukali,

Mirauda

et al. 2024

Water Resour Manage

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“…In this context, the potential of water distribution networks as a source of renewable electrical energy is increasingly recognised [5,6]. A decentralised and small-scale hydropower unit (SHPU) is installed to utilise the surplus pressure and/or inflow between elevation tanks and lower-lying supply areas for electricity generation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimisation of Small Hydropower Units in Water Distribution Systems by Demand Forecasting

Oberascher,

Schartner,

Sitzenfrei

2023

Water

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The potential of water supply systems for renewable electrical energy production is frequently utilised by a small-scale hydropower unit (SHPU) that utilises the surplus water or pressure. However, fluctuating demand on an hourly and daily basis represents a significant challenge in operating such devices. To address this issue, a control strategy based on demand forecast is implemented, adjusting the SHPU’s inflow based on current demand conditions. Thus, individual days are categorised into control categories with similar flow conditions, and control is optimised for each category using a simplified evolutionary optimisation technique. Coupled with demand forecasts, the SHPU controller evaluates on a daily basis which set of water levels to utilise for the next day to optimise energy production. This approach is implemented in an alpine municipality, and its economic feasibility is evaluated through a long-term simulation over 10 years. This approach resulted in an annual profit increase compared to the reference status based on well-informed expert knowledge. However, it is worth noting that the approach has limited suitability for further improvements within the case study. Nonetheless, SHPUs also contribute to improving water quality and, if the electrical energy generated is directly used to operate the water supply, enhance resilience to grid failures.

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Energy Recovery Optimization by Means of a Turbine in a Pressure Regulation Node of a Real Water Network Through a Data-Driven Digital Twin

Sinagra

Creaco

Morreale³

et al. 2023

Water Resour Manage

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In recent years, various devices have been proposed for pressure regulation and energy recovery in water distribution and transport networks. To provide a real net benefit, they require a dedicated long-distance management system in order to carry on both hydraulic regulation and electricity production without direct human manual operations. This work presents a new proposal for the management of a pressure regulation system based on the PRS turbine. The proposal is applied to a real water distribution network, named Montescuro Ovest pipeline, at the San Giovannello station. The Real Time Control (RTC) logic currently applied at San Giovannello station is first presented and discussed. A new Advanced Real Time Control (ARTC) logic is then proposed, based on direct configuration of the turbine and the surrounding valves as computed by the solution of an optimization problem. In ARTC a digital twin, including the hydraulic model of the surrounding network, provides a one-to-one relationship between the configuration parameters and the state variables, i.e. flow rates and pressures. The digital twin model equations are continuously updated on the basis of the recorded measures. Besides providing almost identical performance to the current RTC logic in the current operational scenario, the improved ARTC is more robust, in that it guarantees better hydropower generation in modified operational scenarios, as shown in specific tests. The proposed methodology constitutes a new approach to regulating the valves in hydroelectric plants which are currently regulated with traditional automation algorithms.

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Energy recovery strategies in water distribution networks: literature review and future directions in the net-zero transition

Cited by 13 publications

References 130 publications

Review of Metaheuristic Methodologies for Leakage Reduction and Energy Saving in Water Distribution Networks

Review of Metaheuristic Methodologies for Leakage Reduction and Energy Saving in Water Distribution Networks

Optimisation of Small Hydropower Units in Water Distribution Systems by Demand Forecasting

Energy Recovery Optimization by Means of a Turbine in a Pressure Regulation Node of a Real Water Network Through a Data-Driven Digital Twin

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