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- Study of the requirements of an autonomous system for surface water quality monitoringPublication . Barros, F.M.; Granchinho, Pedro; Ferreira, Carlos; Neves, Pedro; Magalhães, Hugo; Santos, Luis; Lopes, Brígida; Marques, João; Pinho, Henrique J. O.; Mourato, S.; Martins, A.In recent years, there has been increasing awareness of the preservation, protection and sustainable use of natural resources. Water resources, being one of the most important natural resources, face major threats due to contamination by pollutants of various types and origins. Maintaining the quality of water resources requires more robust, reliable and more frequent monitoring than traditional techniques of data collection based on sporadic, discontinuous and manual processes. The management of large geographical areas, the insufficient spatiotemporal discretization of the values of samples collected by traditional processes and the unpredictability of natural phenomena, require a new approach to data collection procedures. This article, which is the result of ongoing research, defines the technical requirements and technologies used in a continuous and regular monitoring of surface water quality in freshwater systems, whose data acquisition system helps to identify the sources of pollution and the contaminants flow along the waterways. The design of a versatile real-time water quality monitoring system, which, due to its environmental constraints should be based on renewable energies and wireless transfer of energy, will contribute to improve the management and effective protection of water resources.
- Remote Monitoring of Energy-autonomous Constructed WetlandsPublication . Lopes, Simão; Barros, F.M.; Ferreira, Carlos; Mateus, D. M. R.; Matos, Pedro; Neves, Pedro; Pinho, Henrique J. O.Constructed Wetlands systems (CW) are nature-based and sustainable technology for treating wastewater, contributing to the management and protection of freshwater resources. Moreover, CW can contribute to valorizing waste materials, producing reclaimed water for diverse applications, and producing plant biomass that can be material and energetically valorized. Because CW efficiency depends on several mechanisms such as physical, chemical, and biological, its real-time monitoring is essential to provide a better use of this technology. This work describes a smart framework for monitoring CW based on IoT devices and sensors, and data science tools providing real-time processing of gathered water quality parameters and environmental variables. Furthermore, the framework manages renewable energy sources to provide the required energy for CW operation and monitoring. Data collected from the sensor network show significant daily variations in water quality parameters. The future processing of these data can provide the development of models to improve the efficiency of the CW.
- Autonomous patrol of water resources in natural and artificial systemsPublication . Barros, F.M.; Pinho, Henrique J. O.; Magalhães, Hugo; Ferreira, Carlos; Matos, PedroWater resources, being one of the most important natural resources, face major threats due to contamination by pollutants of various types and origins. Consequently, preservation, protection and sustainable use of natural resources is increasingly important. The “DragonFly” project aims to develop a system that solves the need for monitoring the quality of surface water in natural and artificial systems of different types, on a continuous and regular basis. It is intended to acquire water quality data in order to identify sources of pollution or to estimate the discharge and dispersion of contaminants along water courses. The system was specified to allow the acquisition of a specific set of environmental data that characterize the aquatic environment and help to detect variations (deviation) in water quality, such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, redox, conductivity, salinity, and dissolved solids. The Castelo do Bode reservoir, was adopted in this work as a data acquisition area and for the development and testing of the system, due to its geographical proximity. It is the main national water reservoir for public supply, with a maximum extension of 60 km, it occupies an area of about 3 300 ha. The acquisition of real-time data is an essential condition in this type of application, as it will allow the immediate detection of pollution points and timely action on it. The available data continuity and regularity will allow the support of the aquatic environment studies and the forecasting systems modelling of future conditions, guiding the decision processes. To achieve this objective, a physical prototype was developed based on a floating electric vehicle (ASV ), to which several modules and/or satellite vehicles can be added, and which is already implemented at an advanced stage. In order to guarantee the continuity and regularity of the available data and to reduce system maintenance times and costs, it is necessary to ensure the autonomous operation of the supply system. Energy storage systems, autonomous refueling systems and independent energy conversion and storage systems are now being designed. The design of a versatile real-time water quality monitoring system contributes to the management and protection of water resources thus it can increase security in the water supply of populations and turn the resources management more efficient and sustainable.
- Towards a Practical and Cost-Effective Water Monitoring SystemPublication . Marques, João; Lopes, Brígida; Ferreira, Carlos; Pinho, Henrique J. O.; Barros, Manuel; Granchinho, Pedro; Neves, Pedro; Camarinha-Matos, L.; Almeida, R.; Oliveira, J.In recent years, there has been increasing awareness of the preservation, protection and sustainable use of natural resources. Water resources, being one of the most important, face major threats due to contamination by pollutants of various types and origins. Maintaining the quality of water resources requires more robust, reliable and more frequent monitoring than traditional data collection techniques based on manual sampling methods. This article, which is the result of ongoing research, proposes a practical and cost-effective solution for a surface water monitoring system, using a robotics platform and cloud services. The proposed solution allows for scalability and will accommodate a wide range of end-user specifications. To allow for continuous operation in longer activities, the design of a versatile real-time water quality monitoring system should also take into consideration the question of its energy requirements and self-sufficiency.
- O papel da inovação tecnológica e da ciência aberta no desenvolvimento sustentável das cidades e regiões – Um caso práticoPublication . Barros, F.M. Manuel; Pinho, Henrique J. O.; Frazão Correia, Pedro; Panda, Renato; Silva, Gonçalo
- Smart monitoring of constructed wetlands to improve efficiency and water qualityPublication . Pinho, Henrique J. O.; Barros, F.M.; Teixeira, André; Lopes De Oliveira, Luís Miguel; Matos, Pedro; Ferreira, Carlos; Mateus, D. M. R.The Smart monitoring of constructed wetlands to improve efficiency and water quality (SmarterCW) project aims to monitor biological wastewater treatment processes by gathering continuous data from remote water and environmental sensors. The acquired data can be processed and analysed through data science tools to better understand the complex and coupled phenomena underneath wastewater treatment, as well as, to monitor and optimize the system performance. The results will improve the efficiency and control of nature-based wastewater treatment technologies. The methodology comprises the following tasks and activities: Implementation of a set of electrochemical sensors in the input and output flow streams of pilot-scale constructed wetlands; Acquisition of water quality parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity, temperature, and ionic compounds; Acquisition of environmental parameters, such as temperature and humidity; Application of data analysis tools to design and optimize conceptual models to correlate pollutants removal with operative parameters in green technologies for wastewater treatment. This methodology was applied to a patent-protected pilot-scale modular constructed wetland in which filling media consists of a mixture of solid waste. The system is complemented by a high-level IoT communication layer structure to support remote real-time water and environmental monitoring, system performance, and data dissemination. The project contributes to: Water and Environment through the efficient management and use of water resources and waste reduction, management, treatment, and valorisation; Materials and raw-materials through efficient, secure, and sustainable use of resources; and Environmental Education promoting environmental awareness and best environmental practices through the dissemination of scientific data and results using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) tools and IoT platforms. The project also contributes to giving response to Societal Challenges, such as Environment protection, sustainable management of natural resources, water, biodiversity, and ecosystems; Enabling the transition to a green society and economy through eco-innovation.