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Computational design and optimization of infrastructure policy in water and agriculture

Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Computation for Design and Optimization Program, 2017. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 87-90). / Investments in infrastructure tend to be associated with high capital costs, creating a necessity for tools to prioritize and evaluate different infrastructure investment options. This thesis provides a survey of computational tools, and their applicability in fine-tuning infrastructure policy levers, prioritizing among different infrastructure investment options and finding optimal sizing parameters to achieve a certain objective. First, we explore the usability of Monti Carlo simulations to project future water demand in Saudi Arabia and then, we use the outcome as an input to a Mixed Integer Linear Program (MILP) that investigates the feasibility of seawater desalination for agricultural irrigation under different water costing schemes. Further, we use numerical simulations of partial differential equations to study the conflicting interests between agricultural and municipal water demands in groundwater aquifer withdrawals and lastly we evaluate the use of Photo Voltaic powered Electro Dialysis Reversal (PV-EDR) as a potential technology to desalinate brackish groundwater through a multidisciplinary system design and optimization approach. / by Abdulaziz Alhassan. / S.M.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:MIT/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/111500
Date January 2017
CreatorsAlhassan, Abdulaziz (Abdulaziz Abdulrahman)
ContributorsOlivier L. de Weck and Kenneth Strzepek., Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Computation for Design and Optimization Program., Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Computation for Design and Optimization Program.
PublisherMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Source SetsM.I.T. Theses and Dissertation
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
Format90 pages, application/pdf
RightsMIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission., http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

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