Energy Production by Means of Pumps As Turbines in Water Distribution Networks

Mauro Venturini, Stefano Alvisi, Silvio Simani and Lucrezia Manservigi
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Mauro Venturini: Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, 44122 Ferrara, Italy
Stefano Alvisi: Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, 44122 Ferrara, Italy
Silvio Simani: Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, 44122 Ferrara, Italy
Lucrezia Manservigi: Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, 44122 Ferrara, Italy

Energies, 2017, vol. 10, issue 10, 1-13

Abstract: This paper deals with the estimation of the energy production by means of pumps used as turbines to exploit residual hydraulic energy, as in the case of available head and flow rate in water distribution networks. To this aim, four pumps with different characteristics are investigated to estimate the producible yearly electric energy. The performance curves of Pumps As Turbines (PATs), which relate head, power, and efficiency to the volume flow rate over the entire PAT operation range, were derived by using published experimental data. The four considered water distribution networks, for which experimental data taken during one year were available, are characterized by significantly different hydraulic features (average flow rate in the range 10–116 L/s; average pressure reduction in the range 12–53 m). Therefore, energy production accounts for actual flow rate and head variability over the year. The conversion efficiency is also estimated, for both the whole water distribution network and the PAT alone.

Keywords: pump as turbine; pump; water distribution network; hydraulic energy; efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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