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Projects Updates for key objective: No name

  1. Water Use and Cycles of Concentration (COC) in a cooling tower

    Associated Project(s): 
    Reduce Cooling Tower and Chiller Plant Water Use
    Land and Water iCAP Team

    Below is information provided by Jeremy Overmann, B.S. Ch. E., Water Treatment Specialist, on the water use and cycles of concentration (COC) in a cooling tower, as requested after a Land and Water SWAT meeting. 

    "

    Water SWAT members,

     

    Here is some more information regarding the cooling tower discussion at today’s meeting.

     

    This first graph shows how much water a typical 100 ton Cooling Tower uses per hour, and how this changes when the tower is operated at various Cycles of Concentration (COC)

    NOTE:  a 1 ton cooling tower can remove 15,000 BTU/hr of heat.

     

    2Q==

     

    Most standard chemically treated Cooling Towers use unsoftened water and operate between 4 – 6 COC, depending on the source water quality (also called Make-Up water) and the efficacy of the chemical treatment program.

    As COC increases, the potential for formation of calcium scale (and possibly other types of scale) increases.  Scale deposits reduce the energy efficiency of the chiller and the cooling tower, and result in the need for labor intensive cleaning to remove the scale.

     

     

    The following table shows the relationship between volume of Cooling Tower blowdown (bleed), blowdown rate (% bleed), COC, and total water usage.

    Cycles of Concentration is controlled by choosing the rate of blowdown.  This is done by controlling the blowdown (bleed) valve at the bottom of the tower.

     

    COC

    BLOWDOWN

    TOTAL USAGE (Makeup)
     

    Gallons

    Percent

    Gallons

    Percent

    1.5

    10,000

    100%

    15,000

    100%

    2

    5000

    50%

    10,000

    66%

    3

    2500

    25%

    7500

    50%

    4

    1667

    17%

    6667

    44%

    5

    1250

    13%

    6250

    42%

    6

    1000

    10%

    6000

    40%

    7

    833

    8%

    5833

    39%

    8

    714

    7%

    5714

    38%

    Note: Evaporation = 5000 Gallons

     

     

     

    In a “Zero” blowdown cooling tower, softened water is used, and cycles of concentration ranges from 20 – 100 or higher.  To achieve proper water chemistry to provide corrosion protection, usually need to operate at > 20 COC. 

    During the Champaign Regional Office Building study, the highest COC achieved was 51.  The blowdown valve is turned off, however some water is lost from leaks in the tower, and from droplets of water that escape with the air that is drawn through the tower.

     

    COC

    BLOWDOWN

    TOTAL USAGE (Makeup)
     

    Gallons

    Percent

    Gallons

    Percent

    1.5

    10,000

    100%

    15,000

    100%

    5

    1250

    13%

    6250

    42%

    10

    555

    6%

    5550

    37%

    25

    208

    2%

    5208

    35%

    50

    102

    1%

    5102

    34%

    75

    66

    0.7%

    5066

    34%

    100

    51

    0.5%

    5051

    34%

    200

    25

    0.3%

    5025

    34%

    Note: Evaporation = 5000 Gallons

     

    "

     

  2. Stormwater Utility Fee overview

    Associated Project(s): 
    Rainwater Management
    Identify funding for projects without payback
    Green Infrastructure
    Water and Stormwater SWATeam

    The University pays a stormwater utility fee to both the City of Urbana and the City of Champaign.  The fee is based on total impervious area that drains into city-owned storm sewers. If stormwater drains into university-owned sewers then directly discharges to a receiving stream, there is no fee assessed.

    • The current rate for the City of Champaign is $5.24/3,478 sq ft.
    • The current rate for the City of Urbana is $5.14/3,100 sq ft.

    There are credits and incentives that the university can apply toward the stormwater utility fee. By maintaining compliance with the university’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Systems (NPDES), the university receives a 5% credit from each city. Additionally, each city has their own Credit and Incentive Manual (attached) which provides an opportunity for the university to reduce their stormwater utility fee by reducing the impact of the runoff from their properties by methods such as installing sustainable storm water practices that allow stormwater to infiltrate into the ground. The manuals have specific guidelines on how to calculate the credits based on the particular stormwater practices that are employed.

    Attached Files: 

  4. PWR SWATeam Minutes 3/15

    Associated Project(s): 
    Use Landfills with Methane-capture Technology [ARCHIVED]
    Recycled-Content Paper Policy in CAM
    Establish a Net Zero Waste Plan and Policy
    Achieve Zero Waste

    At the PWR SWAT Team meeting on March 15th, the team debated over the message in the new Ethics Compliance Message concerning recycling standards and rules. The team decided that two videos should be created, one with base instructions for recycling, the other for explaining the commonly misunderstood paper policy. The team will look more into the paper policy draft and suggest a new paper policy for the campus. 

    Attached Files: 

  5. Sustainability interns continue work updating iCAP Portal project pages

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability iCAP Portal
    Topical iCAP Teams
    2015 Illinois Climate Action Plan (2015 iCAP) [ARCHIVED]

    CEE students Chenxi Jiang and Shuang Chen are working with Morgan Johnston to edit the iCAP Portal project pages for each iCAP objective.  Chapters 8-12 do not have SWATeams, and the background research on these chapters has been completed.  The edited project pages are scheduled to be online by the end of March.  The next step is editing the iCAP objectives for each SWATeam chapter in the iCAP.  Chenxi and Shaung will be meeting with SWATeam representatives over the next few weeks to gather information, and then the project pages will be edited to reflect the latest info.  We expect to be able to complete this before Earth Day on April 22, 2017.

  8. Provost Office approves funding for LED Exit Signs

    Associated Project(s): 
    LED Exit Signs
    Allocate Existing Resources

    The Office of the Provost approved $75,000 in one-time funding for the next step in the LED Exit Sign retrofit project.  The funding of $75,000 is for LED Exit Sign lighting replacement, additions, and new building surveys.  Material and labor of $70,000 would be used to replace 343 fixtures in 20 buildings at an average rate of $204/fixture.  An additional $5,000 is proposed to survey 50 campus buildings for exit light counts.  That will provide the input necessary for the next phase, once this phase is completed.

  9. EGEN SWATeam Meeting (3.10.17)

    Associated Project(s): 
    Biomass Boiler at the Energy Farm
    Geothermal on Campus
    Solar Power on Campus
    Energy Generation, Purchasing, & Distribution (eGen) SWATeam
    Sustainability iCAP Portal
    Clean Power Agreements Off-Campus

    The EGEN SWATeam held another bi-weekly meeting. Topics covered include:

    • Associate Director for Campus Sustainability Ximing Cai and his vision for iSEE
    • Biomass boiler at Energy Farm
    • Opportunities for Geothermal on campus
    Attached Files: 

  10. iWG Meeting Notes from Jan. 27, 2017

    Associated Project(s): 
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Reduce Cooling Tower and Chiller Plant Water Use
    Indoor Bike Parking
    Green Lab Program
    Formal Sustainability Procedures

    The iCAP Working Group met and discussed the following agenda items.  Meeting notes are attached.

    1. Brief iCAP Portal overview by Morgan
    2. Discuss any updates to Water002, Cooling Tower Increase COC
    3. Discuss Trans008, Bike Parking in Ramps
    4. Discuss updates to Econs004, Green Labs Coordinator
    5. Consider issues with recommendation process and view recommendation tracker

    Attached Files: 

  11. Sustainability staff discussed the outreach programs on the portal

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability iCAP Portal
    Certified Green Office Program (CGOP)
    Earth Week
    Student Sustainability Leadership Council (SSLC)

    Morgan Johnston, Catherine Yee, and Chenxi Jiang met today to discuss the outreach information listed on the iCAP Portal.  Catherine described the Student Sustainability Leadership Council (SSLC) and the Certified Green Office Program (CGOP).  We also discussed the Earth Week efforts and the overall purpose of the SSLC as a networking opportunity for students in sustainability groups.

  12. archived info - previous project description

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability Engagement and Outreach

    A main component of the 2010 iCAP is to engage the outside community in working to create a more sustainable campus. The University of  Illinois is working to enhance its engagement activities in the arena of sustainability. Champaign County Network (CCNet) is an effort to engage the campus and the surrounding community in a shared discourse on the critical sustainability and climate issues ahead. The University's Office of Corporate Relations is working to enhance collaborations with corporations in sustainability activities.

    The iCAP provides an opportunity to engage the outside community in a dialogue on the University’s role in helping to resolve community climate responses. For example, the Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (SEDAC) is designed to provide assistance to public and private interests in reducing and conserving their operational energy use in buildings. This type of information is an important step in developing meaningful solutions to climate change.

  13. Water & Stormwater SWAT Meeting Minutes 2/23/2017

    Associated Project(s): 
    BIF Greywater Pipe System
    Water Conservation [ARCHIVED]
    Reduce Potable Water Usage
    Energy Dashboard Project
    Water and Stormwater SWATeam
    Obtain and Publicize Water Data

    Updates on BIF Greywater Meter, Increase Cooling Tower COC, and Design Center Greywater Piping recommendations. Discussion on the development of water use dashboard. 

    Attached Files: 

  18. Carbon Credit funding approved for Virtual Storeroom

    Associated Project(s): 
    Virtual Storeroom for Carbon Offsets [ARCHIVED]
    Carbon Credit Purchasing Program (C2P2) with Second Nature
    Utilize Carbon Credits
    Reduce Emissions from Business Travel

    The estimated cost of $2-3/Carbon Credit has been approved by Director of iSEE Evan DeLucia and Interim Executive Director of F&S Helen Coleman for buying 10,000 additional carbon offsets, when purchasing the 103,000 replacement offsets from the carbon credits sold from 2015.  The additional carbon offsets will be used as the initial inventory for a new Virtual Storeroom for carbon offsets being developed by iSEE for on campus users.

    An email of approval is attached below.

    Attached Files: 

  19. Inaugural Stormwater Public Meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Water and Stormwater SWATeam
    Rainwater Management

    Keith Erickson, Morgan Johnston, Jason Jones, and Stephanie Cash attended the first annual Urbana Stormwater Public Meeting on February 15th, 2017. The City of Urbana Engineering Staff led a discussion with community members on the stormwater management practices required for the City’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The City of Urbana owns and operates a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) which is required by the US Environmental Protection Agency to implement minimum control measures to target and improve stormwater quality. The minimum control measures include public outreach and education, public participation and involvement, illicit discharge detection and elimination, construction site runoff control, post-construction runoff control, and pollution prevention and good housekeeping.

    For more information: http://www.urbanaillinois.us/departments/public-works/StormwaterManagement

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