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Sitra, a company specializing in industrial water management, always supports its clients with new technologies. computational simulation of fluids To ensure proper design and implementation of the facilities and avoid any impact on the receiving environment, this becomes even more relevant, if possible, when the treated water must be discharged into an environment as sensitive as the Public Water Domain.
In this context, Sitra has conducted a study to assess the impact of the conductivity of an industrial wastewater treatment plant's discharge on the receiving watercourse, as well as its effect on meeting the established environmental objectives. This initiative was undertaken at the request of the River Basin Authority as a prerequisite for granting a favorable resolution for the renewal of the current discharge permit, due to the nature of the discharge and the variability of historically recorded conductivity values.
As is well known, salinity is one of the serious problems threatening our rivers, worsening their quality, impacting river ecosystems, and jeopardizing the various uses to which this water can be put. Therefore, this study analyzes different situations corresponding to various scenarios, considering both the discharge point and the hydraulic and temporal conditions of the receiving environment. It is worth noting that, to this end, Sitra has worked with different simulation tools, IBER and ANSYS v19.2, to study and predict the behavior and interaction of fluids in 3D spaces, examining different turbulent models.
The results obtained have allowed the client to demonstrate an adequate dispersion of this conductivity along the discharge plume, guaranteeing the good condition of the surface water body, which has led to the renewal of the discharge authorization, ensuring strict compliance with the discharge limits and the environmental objectives set for the receiving body.
Furthermore, this work highlights the relevance of simulation tools related to hydrological studies, ensuring a balance between economic development and compliance with current legislation on surface water quality.
Finally, it is worth remembering that Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is a branch of fluid mechanics that allows for detailed 3D calculations of fluid behavior under a wide range of conditions. In the case of discharges into rivers, due to the technical and economic limitations of experimental measurements and online monitoring for understanding the dynamics of pollutants transported in the river, CFD simulation emerges as a complementary and highly useful technique capable of calculating the evolution of the pollutant plume and assessing the resulting environmental impact.
