SEA WATER
BERNARDO SIMÕES
UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO
MSRE 517 – SUSTAINABLE REAL ESTATE
SUMMARY
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Sea water in numbers
Sea water Toilet Flushing
Sea water Cooling System for Buildings
Sea water Greenhouses
Sustainable Building of the Future
Sea water in Numbers
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The ocean covers 71 percent of the Earth's surface
97 percent of the planet's water is salty water
Total of 320 000 000 cubic miles of Seawater
Enough water to fill about 352,670,000,000,000,000,000 gallon-sized milk
containers!
Sea water in Numbers
• 46.8 trillion gallons of water are
consumed in the United States
per year
• 180 billion gallons are consumed
in San Diego
• San Diego County imports 80%
of its water
Sea water in Numbers
• The marginal cost of
importing water is between
$875 and $975/acre
foot/year
• Total cost of importing
water varies from 48 to 54
million dollars per year
Sea water in Numbers
Freshwater use in California
Water use distribuition California's South Coast Hydrologic Region
Sea water in Numbers
Water Usage Breakdown for
Commercial Buildings
Water Usage Breakdown for
Government Office Buildings
Sea Water Toilet Flushing
• Simple system that needs only a
seawall, a pump station and a
service reservoir
• Saves 50% of the energy
consumption
• Usage seawater flushing generates
half of the CO2 per year
comparing with freshwater system
• Payback 7 to 10 years
Sea water Toilet Flushing
HONG KONG
• Only city using Sea Water for toilet flushing
• 80% of the buildings use water flushing
• Energy operation cost savings comparing with fresh water – $27 million/year
CALIFORNIA:
• Avalon, small municipality of 3,500 on the island of Catalina, off the coast
near Los Angeles
Sea water Cooling System
Process
• Transfer sea water from the deep Ocean
to the cooling station
• In the cooling station the sea water
reduces the heat exchanger temperature
• The fresh water temperature is reduced
and send to the AC system
• The electricity is only used for water
pumping
Sea water Cooling System
Benefits
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Maintenance and energy costs reduced up to 90%
Future costs independent from energy volatility
Eliminates the need for chillers or cooling towers
Saves space in the mechanical room
Equipment built to last 75 to 100 years is easy to
operate and maintain
• CO2 emissions reduced
• LEED status improvement
• Payback period from 5 to 10 years
Risks
• High initial investment
• Possibility to create disruption in
the sea environment
Key Characteristics for Success
• Large projects or district blocks
• Good access to deep water
• High cooling usage
Sea water Cooling System Examples
• Cornell University, New York (1999)
• Toronto, Canada (2001)
• Copenhagen (district cooling 2010) and Aarhus (under construction), Denmark.
• Honolulu, Hawaii (under development)
• UCSD - San Diego, California (under evaluation):
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Evaluating the possibility of tapping the deep, cold seawater in La Jolla Cove
Obtain cold seawater from about 1 mile offshore at a depth of 750 feet
36-inch-diameter pipe to large titanium plate heat exchangers by shore
Using a closed-loop system with the heat exchanger located at the deep water end of the pipe
Incorporating desalination into the process using an innovative process called DEMWAX
Cold freshwater would be distributed around Scripps Institute
Sea water Greenhouses
Seawater Greenhouses
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EUROPE: Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Cyprus, Crete,
France, Gibraltar, Greece Mainland & Islands, Italy, Malta,
Portugal, Sardinia, Spain.
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NORTH AMERICA: California, Cayman Islands, Mexico.
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MIDDLE EAST: Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan,
Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria,
UAE, Yemen.
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LATIN AMERICA: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia,
Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela.
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ASIA: China, The Galapagos and other Pacific Islands, India,
Pakistan, Turkey, Sri-Lanka.
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AFRICA: Algeria, Angola, Cape Verde Islands, Djibouti, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Mauritania,
Morocco & Western Sahara, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal,
Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia.
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AUSTRALIA: South Australia, Western Australia, Northern
Territory, Queensland.46.8 trillion gallons of water are consumed
in the United States per year
Sustainable Building of the Future
Transparent solar panels:
• Creates energy
Sea Water Toilet Flushing:
• Saves energy and fresh
water
Greenhouse:
• Reduce the temperature
• Creates freshwater
• Produce crops
Water curtain wall:
• Cooling system
Sea Water Air
Conditioning:
• Reduces energy
Kenetic Energy Panels:
• Creates energy
THANK YOU
QUESTIONS?
Sources
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NOAA - http://www.noaa.gov/ocean.html
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AWWA Journal, June 2006
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San Diego County Water Authority – Water uses and Imported Supplies
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San Diego’s Water Sources: Assessing the Options - Sponsored and published by the Equinox Center and researched and produced by the Fermanian Business & Economic Institute
July 2010
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California Department of Water Resources California Water Plan Update 2005, December 2005. http://www.waterplan.water.ca.gov
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Toward Wiser Water Strategies - July 2008 - Alex Wilson
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PUB – Singapore’s National Water Agency - Water Efficiency Measures
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Case Study - Hong Kong - Making Use of Seawater - The Case of Hong Kong International Airport & Future Developments - H.K. Chui ; M.C.M. van Loosdrecht ; G.H. Chen
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Environmental Building News - Sidebar: Using Seawater Directly for Flushing Toilets - May 1, 2008
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Hines- http://www.hines.com/property/detail.aspx?id=2398
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Makai Ocean Engeneering - Cold Seawater Air Conditioning
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Alfalaval - http://www.alfalaval.com/campaigns/insights/Documents/case/hvac-case/copenhagen/index.html
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USCD – Sustainable Solutions Institute - Smart Power Generation at UCSD - November 1, 2010
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Bahamas B2B - Baha Mar To Use Innovative Cooling Technology March 2012
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USD - MSRE – Sustainable Real Estate – Ben Murray and Will Bettencourt – Product Presentations
Sea Water Toilet Flushing
Sea Water Toilet Flushing