CEE Seminar: Process & Energy Audits of Water Resource Recovery Facilities - Theory to Practice

Abstract:  The relationship between water and energy is a pressing issue in several areas of the world. The question of water importation versus on-site reclamation or desalination has been dominating the field for years and has helped shift the paradigm in engineering design and process selection. Furthermore, the concerns about climate change effects and the corresponding regulations have brought more attention to the carbon-equivalent process emissions and the overall environmental impacts of processes for water reclamation, reuse and wastewater treatment. We will present investigations at the water-energy-carbon nexus, the effects of process dynamics on energy and carbon footprint, as well as the impact of climate change on the treatment processes.

Bios:

Daniel Nolasco has over 25 years of engineering experience in applying dynamic modeling techniques for design and optimization of wastewater treatment plants. He has published over 100 technical papers in journals and conference proceedings and has co-authored four books. His clarification/thickening model is used in most wastewater treatment simulators, and his paper about it has received over 500 citations and is considered by the International Water Association as one of the “10 most significant groundbreaking papers during the [past] 40 years” in water research. He is director of IWA and a UCI WEX Industrial Fellow.

Jose Jimenez is a vice president and senior process and technical specialist at Brown and Caldwell who has been involved with the functional design of numerous wastewater treatment plants across the U.S. Jimenez has worked as senior process design engineer; carried out onsite research; and is the author of over 100 technical papers in journals and conference proceedings. He currently serves as Brown and Caldwell’s director of water technology and innovation.