Jadwiga R. Ziolkowska

Is Desalination Affordable?—Regional Cost and Price Analysis

Desalination has proven to be a reliable and efficient water supply option in many countries, especially in times of water scarcity. However, high desalination costs and high prices for desalinated water (twice or three times higher than those from traditional water sources) have been hindering an uptake and the development of desalination in many countries. Applied desalination technology, capital and operational costs, production capacity, water salinity are just a few factors determining the final cost of desalinated water that varies considerably between

Prospective technologies, feedstocks and market innovations for ethanol and biodiesel production in the US

1.7–9.5/kgal (

Evaluation of Agri-environmental Measures: Analytic Hierarchy Process and Cost-effectiveness Analysis for Political Decision-making Support

0.45–2.51/m3). The final prices for desalinated water and the related costs for local municipalities are among the most crucial determinants of the overall short- and long-term effectiveness of desalination processes. This paper provides an in-depth analysis on economics of desalination with country specific examples. It depicts a comprehensive picture of cost variability of desalinated water and points out challenges for cost-effective desalination in the future.

Impact of socio-economic growth on desalination in the US

In recent years, production and consumption of biofuels has become controversial, mainly due to the competitive use of natural resources for food/feed and fuel production. Second generation biofuels (with cellulosic ethanol being on top of developments nowadays) have a great potential to provide an economically feasible solution. However, high processing costs related to breaking down cellulosic plant material and converting it to sugar (and fuel), missing infrastructure and environmental impacts can be detrimental. This paper discusses various biofuels technologies and feedstocks that have a potential to emerge as prospective feedstocks for second generation biofuels production in the future on the US market. It also emphasizes existing challenges that could hinder the development of these technologies and their commercialization in the long-term.

Geological and hydrological visualization models for Digital Earth representation

In this article, we discuss the implementation of two evaluation approaches—the Analytic Hierarchy Process and the cost-effectiveness analysis for political decision-making support in agri-environmental policy. The approaches represent two different ways of evaluation: hierarchical weighting for estimation of immeasurable environmental benefits and effectiveness analysis focused on economic aspects. These methods can be used separately; however, the combination of the approaches in one evaluation system can help to consider different economic and ecological aspects of environmental protection to a wider extent. The main objective of the article is to investigate which agri-environmental measures would be recommended for political strategies to maximize environmental benefits or else to minimize the realization costs of the measures. The investigation is based on results of a case study conducted in voivodship Subcarpathia in Poland including interviews with agricultural experts, agri-environmental advisors and farmers. The results show that the measures ‘Extensive meadow farming’ and ‘Organic farming’ denote the highest environmental benefits with regard to the envisaged environmental objectives defined in the National Agri-environmental Programme 2004–2006. The cost-effectiveness of agri-environmental measures is differentiated depending on the stakeholder group. The results can be helpful to support political decision-making processes considering simultaneously regional priorities of the environmental protection in rural areas.

Benefits and Beneficiaries of the Oklahoma Mesonet: A Multisectoral Ripple Effect Analysis

In 2013, around 1336 desalination plants in the United States (US) provided purified water mainly to municipalities, the industry sector and for power generation. In 2013 alone, ∼200 million m(3) of water were desalinated; the amount that could satisfy annual municipal water consumption of more than 1.5 million people in the US. Desalination has proven to be a reliable water supply source in many countries around the world, with the total global desalination capacity of ∼60 million m(3)/day in 2013. Desalination has been used to mitigate water scarcity and lessen the pressure on water resources. Currently, data and information about desalination are still limited, while extensive socio-economic analyses are missing. This paper presents an econometric model to fill this gap. It evaluates the impact of selected socio-economic variables on desalination development in the US in the time span 1970-2013. The results show that the GDP and population growth have significantly impacted the desalination sector over the analyzed time period. The insights into the economics of desalination provided with this paper can be used to further evaluate cost-effectiveness of desalination both in the US and in other countries around the world.

Introduction to Biofuels and Potentials of Nanotechnology

This paper presents techniques and interactive models for multi-dimensional analyses and geospatial visualization in virtual globes based on three application examples: (1) earthquakes around the world, (2) groundwater well levels in Texas, and (3) geothermal subsurface heat indexes in Texas.While studies are known that represent multi-dimensional geospatial data points, we develop and suggest multi-dimensional models for virtual globes using KML and KMZ (compressed KML files) with a complete and static time series data set. The benefit of this approach for the user is the ability to view and analyze time-based correlations interactively over the entire time span in one instance, which is not possible with animated (dynamic) models.The methods embedded in our models include: (a) depth layered cueing within subsurface Earth visualization for a better orientation when maneuvering below the ground, (b) a technique with Ternary Visual Shape Logic (TVSL) as a quick indicator of change over time, and (c) different visual representations of multiple dimensions for the addressed case study examples. The models can be applied to a variety of problems in different disciplines, especially to support decision-making processes. Display Omitted Earthquakes, groundwater wells, and geothermal energy are examined.Integration of multiple visualization techniques into KML.Efficient memory use of KML data structures.The models are interactive and open access.The models can be used on any modern computer system and smartphone devices.

Profitability of irrigation and value of water in Oklahoma and Texas agriculture

AbstractSince the Oklahoma Mesonet (the state’s automated mesoscale weather station network) was established in 1994, it has served a number of diverse groups and provided public services to foster weather preparedness, education, and public safety, while also supporting decision-making in agricultural production and wildland fire management.With 121 monitoring stations across the state, the Oklahoma Mesonet has developed an array of technologies to observe a variety of atmospheric and soil variables in 5- to 30-min intervals. These consistent observations have been especially critical for predicting and preparing for extreme weather events like droughts, floods, ice storms, and severe convective storms as well as for development of value-added tools. The tools, outreach programs, and mesoscale data have been widely utilized by the general public, state decision-makers, public safety officials, K–12 community, agricultural sector, and researchers, thus generating wide societal and economic benefits to man...

Product, Process, and Organizational Innovations in Water Management

In recent decades, the development trends of biofuel technology worldwide have been staggering. In the US, the transition from conventional biofuels (derived from food crops) to advanced biofuels (cellulosic and algae-based fuels) occurred in less than a decade. Advanced biofuel technologies involve breaking down cellulose in plant biomass or extracting lipids from algae biomass, both of which are expensive processes driving up production costs. As of today, advanced biofuels are still cost-prohibitive, especially as they compete with low crude oil prices or even conventional biofuel prices. Despite unfavorable economics, both cellulosic ethanol and algae-based fuels help reduce GHG emissions, while also counteract the tradeoff between food and fuel production, as given with conventional biofuels/feedstocks. Nanotechnology has been implemented in the biofuel production process as a potential solution to economic infeasibility of advanced biofuels either by altering the feedstock or by increasing the biomass content. Although nanotechnology bears potential opportunities for biofuels production, full implementation of this technology is still challenging, while some studies report potential risks as well. This chapter presents an overview of different conventional and advanced biofuels and feedstocks, their developments and production trends at the global and US level. It also points out current challenges for advanced biofuels and discusses potentials and risks related to nanotechnology application in biofuels production.

A fuzzy multi-criteria approach for evaluating biofuels feedstocks

ABSTRACT This article evaluates profitability of irrigated versus non-irrigated agricultural production of major crops (corn, cotton, wheat, soybeans, sorghum) in 2010 (a wet year) and 2011 (an exceptional drought year) in Oklahoma and Texas. It also estimates the economic value of water for agricultural production in both states to answer the question of added value generated with irrigation. Answering those questions is critical in the face of exceptional and severe droughts affecting Oklahoma and Texas in the past decade, in addition to steeply declining groundwater resources in the Ogalalla Aquifer. The results can help with designing mitigation and adaptation measures to water scarcity.