Publication: Assessment of renewable energy potential using hec-ras river flow modelling for basra river bank development
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Date
2024-01-01
Authors
Ali Dhafer, Abed Yaha
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Abstract
Hydroelectric power from hydro turbines is one of the most widely used
renewable energy sources because it contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions and environmental pollution. For a hydro turbine to generate power it needs
to convert the kinetic energy of the water into electricity using rotors placed along the
free-flowing paths of the river, that is, a continual flow of water or pressure is needed
to rotate the turbine, and this pressure can be generated through what is known as blue
energy. Therefore, this research focused on predicting the renewable energy produced
by the six main rivers branching from the Shatt al-Arab within Basra city. The main
problem of these rivers was they turned into stagnant swamps in which the flow and
continuous renewal of water do not occur with the tidal phenomenon as a result of the
adverse effects of the neighboring land uses. The aim was to simulate the water in this
system according to remote sensing data to reveal the flow characteristics and land uses
that affect its properties as well as develop planning and design treatments to restore
these rivers' flow, treat their pollution, and predict the osmosis and hydro turbine power
values. The study reached to derive an equation that calculates the power generated
from the turbine based on the osmosis power, which is used after proposing a set of
treatments for the river path and its banks and testing it with a simulation model. The
study found that the highest and lowest power density per unit membrane area can be
generated in November and March in the systems of Saraji-Khora, Ashar-Khandaq, and
Rubat-Jubaila, with values that ranged between 38.99-1.68, 30.75-1.99, 30.29-1.31
W/m2
respectively. As for the turbine power that can be generated per unit area at the
downstream of the same rivers, depending on the osmosis power, it ranged between its highest and lowest values of 0.21-6.86, 0.2-4.75, 0.14-4.69 W/m2
. The highest turbine
power that can be produced along the stations of the three systems, depending on the
tidal flow, peaked in March at the downstream of the three systems with 0.403, 0.701,
and 0.529 MW, respectively. The lowest power of the tidal turbine was recorded in
November at the upstream of the systems with 0.001 MW. The study recommends the
necessity of preserving the tidal velocity and discharges that ensure the renewal and
continuous flow of unpolluted water inside the rivers. It also recommends installing
plants to produce osmosis power using PRO (Pressure Retarded Osmosis) technology
at the downstream of the Shatt al-Arab systems, in order to increase the osmotic pressure
difference and water flux, which doubles and increases the amount of power that the
turbine will produce.