Saline water evaporation from porous media with the associated salt precipitation patterns is frequently observed in a number of industrial and environmental applications and it is important in a variety of topics including, but not limited to, water balance and land-atmosphere interaction, terrestrial ecosystem functioning, geological carbon storage, and preservation of historical monuments. The excess accumulation of salt in soil is a global problem and is one of the most widespread soil degradation processes. Thus, it is important to understand the dominant mechanisms controlling saline water evaporation from porous media. This process is controlled by the transport properties of the porous medium, the external conditions, and the properties of the evaporating fluid. During saline water evaporation from porous media, the capillary induced liquid flow transports the solute towards the evaporation surface while diffusive transport tends to spread the salt homogeneously thorough the porous medium. Therefore, the solute distribution is influenced by the competition between the diffusive and convective transport. As water evaporates, salt concentration in the pore space increases continually until it precipitates. The formation of precipitated salt adds to the complexity of the description of saline water evaporation from porous media. In this dissertation, the effects of salt concentration, type of salt, and the presence of precipitated salt, on the evaporation dynamics have been investigated. The obtained results show that the precipitated salt has a porous structure and it evolves as the drying progresses. The presence of porous precipitated salt at the surface causes top-supplied creeping of the evaporating solution, feeding the growth of subsequent crystals. This could be visualized by thermal imaging in the form of appearance and disappearance of cold-spots on the surface of the porous medium, brought about by preferential water evaporation through the salt crust. My results show that such a phenomenon influences the dynamics of saline water evaporation from porous media. Moreover, a simple but effective tool was developed in this dissertation capable of describing the effects of ambient temperature, relative humidity, type of salt and its concentration, on the evaporative fluxes. Additionally, pore-scale data obtained by synchrotron x-ray tomography was used to study ion transport during saline water evaporation from porous media in 4D (3D space + time). Using iodine K-edge dual energy imaging, the ion concentration at pore scale with a high temporal and spatial resolution could be quantified. This enabled us to reveal the mechanisms controlling solute transport during saline water evaporation from porous media and extend the corresponding physical understanding of this process. Within this context, the effects of particle size distribution on the dispersion coefficient were investigated together with the evolution of the dispersion coefficient as the evaporation process progresses. The results reported in this dissertation shed new insight on the physics of saline water evaporation from porous media and its complex dynamics. The results of this dissertation have been published in 3 peer-reviewed journal papers together with one additional manuscript which is currently under review.

Proper disposal of industrial brine has been a critical environmental challenge. Driven by the even-tightening environment protection regulations, the Zero-Liquid-Discharge (ZLD) has gradually become mandatory option for brine disposal, but its application is limited by the intensive energy consumption. The recent development of solar crystallizer provides a new strategy to achieve ZLD brine disposal. However, the research on solar crystallizer, employing photothermal material to convert solar energy to heat for interfacial brine evaporation and crystallization, is still at the early stage. This dissertation thoroughly investigated the solar crystallizer-based ZLD technology in a broad scientific and application context. The scaling formation while treating real brine, which has been the major barrier to the application of solar crystallizer, was confirmed first with a solar crystallizer device. With a rational designed anti-scaling mechanism, the scaling-free crystallization behavior and stable high water evaporation rate of 2.42 kg m-2 h-1 was achieved when treating real seawater brine. After verifying the feasibility of solar crystallizer towards real brine treatment, its performance was further improved by integrating convective airflow, which provided considerable environmental energy for water evaporation. Both experiment results and COMSOL simulation results confirmed that the maximum environmental energy harvesting can be achieved with the proper size of solar crystallizer. At last, this dissertation pioneered a novel concept of integrating adsorption process into solar crystallizer for simultaneously ZLD brine treatment and potassium extraction. Owing to the special ion concentration behavior of solar crystallizer, the adsorption capacity and selectivity coefficient of absorbent was enhanced by 19.5% and 48.8%, respectively, comparing with traditional bulk adsorption. This dissertation potentially unlocks a new generation of ZLD technology with low carbon footprint and source recovery. More research efforts will be inspired on its applications in real scenarios.

An ancient technology of solar-driven water evaporation and distillation has recently been revived due to the concept of interfacial solar evaporation and the development of photothermal materials. There have been many research interests in improving solar light harvesting and solar-to-water evaporation efficiency within these systems, including new photothermal materials search, structural engineering, and thermal management. The application horizon of both solar-driven water evaporation and distillation has been broadly expanded beyond their conventional domain, including now wastewater treatment, seawater desalination, steam sterilization, electric generation, and chemicals/fuels productions. This dissertation focused on designing of photothermal materials and their applications to clean water production. More specifically: (1) a bi-layered porous rGO membrane with a polystyrene (PS) foam as the heat insulator was designed and proved to be effective for reducing heat conduction to the bulk water and to improve the solar-to-water evaporation efficiency, (2) a tandem-structured SiC-C ceramic monolith was prepared and demonstrated to be mechanically and chemically stable to withstand physical or chemical cleaning during long-term use in real seawater and wastewater, (3) in order to simultaneously treat the contaminated water and get clean distillate water, multi-functional SiC foam modified with mesoporous Au/TiO2 nanocomposites has been prepared, which was demonstrated to possess both photocatalytic reduction and oxidation abilities for complex wastewater treatment, and (4) when the water source was contaminated by VOCs, another efficient multi-functional photothermal material was designed with a honeycomb ceramic plate as the matrix material, and a CuFeMnO4 nanocomposite coating layer acting as both photothermal material and Fenton agent for VOCs removal. Therefore, the light absorption property of photothermal material could be improved by using a porous structure, tandem-structure, porous foam or 3D structure. The solar-to-water evaporation efficiency was improved by including a heat insulator and the reduction of the water channels’ dimension. The ceramic-based material showed potential for long-term use with high mechanical strength to endure physical cleaning. Multi-functional photothermal materials were successfully developed for complex wastewater treatment and clean water generation.

The diploma thesis is focused on the description of the properties of humid air, its evaporation and its chemical composition. Calculation of the amount of evaporated water from the water surface or condensate evaporation during the drying process using domestic appliances, for rooms with permanent humidity and wet operation. In the theoretical part I will deal specifically with the methods of calculation of the evaporation and the properties of the inner microclimate depending on the external conditions with its influence on the building structures and the persons who will be present in such a microclimate. A solution of the air-conditioning unit is taken from the bachelor's thesis and three other variants of air-conditioning units are designed, which are compared in the framework of the optimal and economical solution for operation in the pool environment. The experimental part is focused on specific examples of calculation and measurement. The measurement deals with year-round moisture measurements in damp rooms in family buildings, specifically in bathrooms. Another part of the experimental measurement will be the determination of the amount of evaporated water from a domestic appliance designed to dry the laundry in a condensing manner. And the main, fundamental measurement is the amount of evaporated water on a particular model of the pool hall.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Statistics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Water is a precious natural resource and one of the most vital substance for sustainability of life . The increase in water evaporation is a major prob lem where factors such as high temperature and minimum rainfall are the contributing factors. The aim of the study was to perform time series mod elling of water evaporation from the selected dams in the Limpopo province South Africa. A daily evaporation time series data was used in the study with variables such as temperature and rainfall. Daily water evaporation rate time series data was differenced to make the data series stationary and Dickey-Fuller test was used to test the stationarity of the data series. The Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskasticity (ARCH) and Generalized Au toregressive Conditional Heteroskasticity (GARCH) model was performed on the water evaporation time series data from the selected dams. Vec tor Autoregression (VAR) was used to determine the relationship between the variables evaporation, rainfall and temperature. Identification of time series models was done using the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA). The best ARIMA models were selected based on the autocor relation function (ACF) and partial autocorrelation function (PACF), and the smallest value of Bayseian Information (BIC). The best models selected for each dam are: Mokolo dam, ARIMA (1, 1, 2) model; Ga-Rantho dam, ARIMA (1, 1, 2) model; Leeukraal DeHoop dam, ARIMA (1, 1, 1) model and Luphephe dam, ARIMA (2, 1, 3) model. The correlation coefficient, coefficient of determinant (R2 ) and root mean square (RMSE) were used to determine the performance of the model. The water evaporation time series data from the selected dams was forecasted using the best selected ARIMA models from the selected dams and then predicted for the next 3 years, where the results showed a positive constant water evaporation rate.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Worldwide, the agricultural sector is the largest consumer of water, reaching about 69% of total water derived from rivers, lakes and underground aquifers. Because of this huge consumption of water by agriculture and the scarcity of water in various parts of the world there is a social and environmental pressure very big, mainly on irrigated agriculture in order to improve the efficiency of the use of water. This study aimed to quantify the loss of water from the soil by evaporation, in the early stages of development of the corn crop sown in cultivation from no-tillage system and conventional tillage. The work was developed in Experimental Area of the Department of Rural Engineering of the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), RS. The experiment was conducted in the period from October 28, 2006 to December 10, 2006 and consisted of four treatments: (i) direct maize sowing in bare soil (PD0), (ii) direct sowing of corn with 3,0 Mg ha-1 of straw on the soil surface (PD3), (iii) direct sowing of corn with 6,0 Mg ha-1 of straw on the soil surface (PD6), and (iv) conventional tillage of the soil without coverage of straw on the surface (PC). The loss of water from the soil were determined in four cycles of dry soil during the first 38 days after the emergence of culture, holding up the water balance in soil layers from 0 to 10 cm and 10 to 30 cm, from data of volumetric soil moisture determined with a TDR at intervals of 15 minutes. It was also determined, for the first cycle of drying soil coefficients of evaporation(K) and reducing of water evaporation from the soil (Kr), as the methodology of Kc Dual. For the short duration of the cycles of drying of the soil, growth and development of plants were not affected by the system of cultivation of the soil in the early stages of development of the corn crop. In layer from 0 to 10 cm depth for the first cycle of drying of the soil, 3,0 Mg ha-1 of straw on the surface provided a reduction in the loss of water by evaporation of 24,6% and 19,9% in relation to the PC and PD0, respectively. With 6.0 Mg ha-1 of straw, the reduction was 50,7% and 47,6%, respectively. In the first 30 cm of the soil profile, the reduction in losses of water was 18.2% and 23% respectively to 3.0 Mg ha-1 of straw. Increasing to 6.0 Mg ha-1 reduction was 38,3% and 42,0% respectively. With the growth of culture, the increase in the loss of water in the soil was due to the bigger development of plants with increasing participation of transpiration in water consumption by culture, by shading the surface at the higher leaf area index of the plants. Treatments with PC and PD0 show Ke higher, reaching 1,32 and 1,17, respectively. With the presence of straw, the maximum value of K was reduced to approximately 50% compared with the treatments without straw on the surface reaching values of 0,70 and 0,44, respectively, when EToac was 10,0 mm. The treatments of PC and PD0 showed a fast reduction in the coefficient of reduction of water evaporation from soil, after 6,5 mm of EToac. The lowest value of Kr at the end of the cycle of drying, 0,47, was observed for the treatment PD0. The PD6 has remained longer in the first stage of evaporation, reducing the Kr when EToac exceeded 20,0 mm. / Mundialmente, o setor agrícola é o maior consumidor de água, alcançando cerca de 69% do total de água derivada de rios, lagos e aqüíferos subterrâneos. Em função deste grande consumo de água pela agricultura e pela escassez de água em várias partes do mundo, há uma pressão social e ambiental muito grande, principalmente sobre a agricultura irrigada, a fim de melhorar a eficiência do uso da água. Este estudo teve como objetivo quantificar as perdas de água do solo por evaporação, nos estádios iniciais de desenvolvimento da cultura do milho semeada em sistema de cultivo direto e preparo convencional. O trabalho foi desenvolvido em Área Experimental do Departamento de Engenharia Rural da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), RS. O experimento foi conduzido no período de 28 de outubro de 2006 a 10 de dezembro de 2006 e constituiu-se de quatro tratamentos: (i) semeadura direta do milho em solo desnudo (PD0); (ii) semeadura direta do milho com 3,0 Mg ha-1 de palha na superfície do solo (PD3); (iii) semeadura direta do milho com 6,0 Mg ha-1 de palha na superfície do solo (PD6) e, (iv) preparo convencional do solo, sem cobertura de palha na superfície (PC). As perdas de água do solo foram determinadas em quatro ciclos de secagem do solo durante os primeiros 38 dias após a emergência da cultura, realizando-se o balanço hídrico do solo nas camadas de 0 a 10 cm e de 10 a 30 cm, a partir dos dados de umidade volumétrica do solo determinada com um TDR em intervalos de 15 minutos. Determinou-se também, para o primeiro ciclo de secagem do solo os coeficientes de evaporação (Ke) e de redução da evaporação da água do solo (Kr), conforme a metodologia do Kc Dual de cultivo. Pela curta duração dos ciclos de secagem do solo, o crescimento e o desenvolvimento das plantas não foram influenciados pelo sistema de cultivo do solo nas fases iniciais de desenvolvimento da cultura do milho. Na camada de 0 a 10 cm de profundidade, para o primeiro ciclo de secagem do solo, 3,0 Mg ha-1 de palha na superfície proporcionou uma redução nas perdas de água por evaporação de 24,6% e 19,9% em relação ao PC e PD0, respectivamente. Com 6,0 Mg ha-1 de palha, a redução foi de 50,7% e 47,6%,respectivamente. Nos primeiros 30 cm do perfil do solo, a redução nas perdas de água foi de 18,2% e 23%, respectivamente com 3,0 Mg ha-1 de palha. Aumentando para 6,0 Mg ha-1 a redução foi de 38,3% e 42% respectivamente. Com o crescimento da cultura, o aumento nas perdas de água do solo foi devido ao maior desenvolvimento das plantas com aumento da participação da transpiração no consumo de água pela cultura, pelo sombreamento da superfície pelo maior índice de área foliar das plantas. Os tratamentos com PC e PD0 apresentam Ke mais elevado, chegando a 1,32 e 1,17, respectivamente. Com a presença de palha, o máximo valor de Ke foi reduzido para aproximadamente 50% comparados com os tratamentos sem palha na superfície atingindo valores de 0,70 e 0,44, respectivamente, quando EToac era de 10,0 mm. Os tratamentos de PC e PD0 apresentaram uma rápida redução no coeficiente de redução da evaporação da água do solo, após 6,5 mm de EToac. O menor valor de Kr no final do ciclo de secagem, 0,47, foi observado para o tratamento PD0. O PD6 manteve-se por mais tempo no primeiro estagio da evaporação, reduzindo o Kr quando a EToac superou 20,0 mm.

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