Author(s)

F. Patania, A. Gagliano, F. Nocera & I. Pellegrino

Abstract

Saving energy not only reduces the use of combustible fossil fuels but certainly contributes to reducing environmental pollution due to traditional energy production by combustion. One of the less investigated energy saving sectors is hydroelectricity. Hydroelectricity production has always involved huge dams regulating enormous quantities of water supplied by natural or artificial reservoirs to generate high levels of electricity. If this was gone into detail with an accurate analysis of how much potential hydroelectric power is continuously lost through the adduction and distribution systems of the drinking water for average large cities, one would discover countless ways nationwide of generating power by hydro-micro turbines in situ without losses through the grid. Regarding this matter the authors have been carried out some applied research to utilize potential energy, otherwise wasted due to dissipative phenomena along the system of distribution and in final reservoirs, of a public water company in Catania The potential energy otherwise wasted has been recovered using some hydro micro-turbines able to convert wasted energy into 6 MWh per annum of electric power. On this ground, the authors want to show results of new applied research, carried out on a system of distribution of a water private company operating in Catania province, that confirms how such energy saving could be intensively exploited. Consequently, this study would like to illustrate: the layout of water resource distribution; the choice of insertion points for the hydro-micro turbines; the most suitable calculation methodology for evaluating potential power production; the annual electrical power obtainable, or the potential energy savings; and the reduction of environmental pollution coming from the degrease of combustion of ETP necessary to produce the same amount of electric power obtained by hydro-micro turbines. Keywords: air pollution, hydro micro turbines, saving energy.

Keywords

air pollution, hydro micro turbines, saving energy.