Meeting the challenge of water sustainability: The role of process systems engineering |
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| Authors: | Sirish L Shah Bhavik R Bakshi Jinfeng Liu Christos Georgakis Benoit Chachuat Richard D Braatz Brent R Young |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Chemical & Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada;2. Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA;3. Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, USA;4. Centre for Process Systems Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK;5. Department of Chemical Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA;6. Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand |
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| Abstract: | This white paper is the result of discussions during the FIPSE-4 conference ( http://fi-in-pse.org ) in June 2018. It aims to highlight open problems and provide directions for future research in the area of water with emphasis on its agricultural usages. Some of the open problems discussed are: (a) the use of ecosystems as unit operations to understand their role in providing freshwater and in cleaning polluted water; (b) consideration of interactions and independencies between flows of water and other resources, such as food, energy, materials, ecosystem services, and environmental emissions; (c) challenges in modeling, sensing, and closed-loop control in precision irrigation. In particular, the development of agro-hydrological models that balance computing speed versus solution details and accuracy: (d) The use of state and parameter estimation approaches, through field measurements, to obtain soil moisture levels accurately; and (e) decision support systems to administer water and nutrient needs for optimum yields of agricultural products. |
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| Keywords: | control estimation mathematical modeling water |
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