Project for the automatic locating of water leaks and the management of water service plants with a consequent reduction in energy consumption and improved plant efficiency.

Automatic Leak Detection Project. This project has come about as the natural continuation of the project for remote reading of drinking water meters. It consists of studying innovative systems for automatically locating water leaks, to be used in tandem with the remote reading system. A test site was set up in 2007, and tests in different environmental conditions were carried out. The first experimental results were extremely interesting and led to application for a European patent. In 2008, investigative techniques were refined by creating the prototype device for automatic, unmanned screening in the field, the tool for statistical analysis was built on the MathLab® platform and a device to simulate water leaks was designed. The device was built in 2009 and installed at real user facilities together with the data acquisition tool created the previous year. The considerable mass of data made it possible to achieve a better characterisation of the physical phenomenon than in the past. In 2010, in collaboration with Rinnova and Cefriel, a new device to facilitate data collection in various operating conditions and with various types of connections was designed and built.

Characterisation and analysis of polyethylene pipes under normal operating conditions. PE (polyethylene) water pipes traditionally have a much higher rupture index than pipes made of other materials. This project was launched to conduct a critical analysis of ruptures, to better understand the reasons for such a situation and to increase knowledge about PE tubes, to provide simple criteria for classifying the various types of breaks, to identify the main causes and to draft improvement plans. LyondellBasell Industries, a worldwide leader in the production of polyolefins, and the Plastics Testing Laboratory Foundation in the Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano together collaborated on development of the project. In 2010 samples were collected from pipelines where ruptures occurred and they were analysed visually. At the same time statistical analysis of the ruptures and laboratory analyses of the samples were initiated.

Automatic Plant Management. This project, developed in collaboration with ENEA, aims at developing an automatic management system for the main operating parameters of water service systems. The system must maintain the process operating conditions of a given plant in optimal efficiency, depending on the composition of the effluent (purifiers) and raw water influent (potable treatment). The purpose is to guarantee the quality of the final product and to reduce energy consumption. In 2008 work began at the purifier plant in Calderara di Reno (province of Bologna), selected as the test site. In 2009, the instrumentation for analysis and control was installed at the site and on-site data collection began. The data collected during 2010 confirmed what was known of SBR (Sequencing Batch Reactors) and identified the existence of new characteristic points in the monitored quantity signals, offering the possibility of identifying characteristic or irregular functioning of the plant. In general, the theoretical applicability of automatic control in full-scale plants was demonstrated.

Water Cycle plant modelling. This purpose of this project is to develop mathematical models to simulate the hydraulics and processes of purification plants. The objective is to acquire the instruments and know-how required necessary for coordination of the mathematical modelling of integrated water cycle plants. The project is being conducted in collaboration with ENEA. In 2009 the preliminary activities to develop the model of the test site were carried out and the calculation software was selected from the those available on the market. In 2010, after the assessment activities were completed, the software licences were purchased. Modelling activity will begin inside the Group in 2011.

X-WATER. This project experiments the remote reading of water meters in a pilot district of the distribution network. The purpose is to provide indications about the applicability of remote reading to record physical losses in the network. By continuously monitoring the water balance of the district (synchronous recording of the input volume into the network and user offtake) it is possible to promptly identify water losses and launch search and repair missions, reducing the volumes lost. The project has produced very interesting results about the possibilities for automated accounting, the offer of post-metering services and early detection of leaks, even when hidden. The experimentation will now proceed with an evaluation of timely automated leak location systems.

Polluting Defence. The purpose of this project is to develop and apply new remote tools to monitor the quality of natural, drinking and effluent waters and gas emissions. The objective is to monitor many important water and air quality parameters in real time, so as to reduce the risk of pollution and the costs of laboratory analyses. After the positive experience in Val di Setta, in online monitoring of water to be treated for drinking, other instruments were installed at the treatment plants in Ravenna and Ferrara, to control the efficiency of the drinking water treatment processes.

Energy Efficiency Benchmarking Project. The aim of the project is to provide tools to improve the energy efficiency of integrated water service systems. Through benchmarking and appropriate schematization of the plant processes, it will be possible to measure and monitor the energy efficiency of each plant. The activity initially concerns purification plants. The project is coordinated by the Water Research Centre of Swindon (UK), with the participation of various European multi-utility companies. First launched in 2007, activity continued in 2008 with the characterisation of energy consumption at the purification plant in Cervia (Ravenna province) and definition of the meter points to verify real improvements of efficiency. During 2009 the activity focused on defining the energy model of the pilot plant. At the same time, the Group’s Energy Management unit studied the economic aspects, also taking into account the incentive systems of regulations in force. For more information, see the project page on the Water Research Centre website.

Technical Hydraulic Models Project: This project groups together various activities focusing on the creation of mathematical models simulating the functioning of an integrated water service system and gas network, with the initial objective of consolidating and launching use of models in all the territories managed by the Group mainly for: 1) the study of extensions and design of new networks, 2) optimisation of the operation of existing networks, and 3) analysis of hypothetical scenarios to prevent potential crises in the network.

Page updated 15 March 2011