Energy Recovery and Clean Water: Techno-Economic and Environmental Assessments—2nd Edition
A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water-Energy Nexus".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 708
Editors
Interests: water quality and quantity; water–energy–food nexus; hydrological modelling; irrigation; GIS and remote sensing; climate change; solar powered irrigation; environmental impact assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: irrigation; drainage; salt management; groundwater and matter flow modelling; water footprint; environmental impact assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
A considerable amount of energy is exploited to harness, treat, and distribute the water used for drinking, agricultural, and industrial purposes. While the water industry uses energy to treat water and recycle wastewater to make it clean and safe for consumption, water utilities require energy to distribute safe water through distribution systems. The scale of energy consumption in the water sector also varies from large-scale water recycling and bottling plants to electricity- or diesel-operated groundwater extraction machines owned by smallholders. All present sectors of water are focusing on reducing the consumption of fossil fuels to minimize CO2 emissions and combat the negative effects of climate change. The optimum utilization of water and the efficient use of energy, driven by technologies and policies with the objective of energy recovery, has become key to enhancing the sustainability of water systems and practices. The interdependence between water and energy systems is of great relevance due to the alarming occurrence of water shortages and the need for phasing out fossil fuels in many parts of the world. However, energy recovery has tradeoffs in terms of the cost and diffusion of the technology and the economic efficiency and environmental impacts of water systems. In other words, the assessment of energy recovery plans and technological systems needs to take into account techno-economic and environmental impact assessments to minimize the tradeoffs and maximize the benefits. Thus, the complex interconnectedness of water and energy needs be holistically investigated from the novel perspective of smart systems and the energy transition, aiming to ensure their sustainable use.
This Special Issue, entitled “Energy Recovery and Clean Water: Techno-Economic and Environmental Assessments”, aims to explore and assess the new technological systems and implementational models that will aid policy makers and planners in developing ‘energy smart’, ‘climate smart’, and ‘water smart’ systems for a resilient and sustainable clean water future. What are the emerging technologies that aim for energy recovery when taking into consideration economic feasibility and environmental protection? What are the governance challenges present when linking efficient and sustainable water and energy systems? How do we generate affordable and safe water with optimum energy management strategies when considering climate change and socioeconomic development? How can energy use in water supply and treatment be integrated into water–carbon footprint studies? Case studies addressing a variety of new innovative technologies for water and energy nexus issues are also welcome. We are pleased to invite contributions that generate new knowledge, groundbreaking solutions, appealing technological applications, and innovative governance models that will aid in energy recovery in the water sector.
Below is a list of indicative, but not exhaustive, topics for this Special Issue:
- Energy use and recovery in water collection, treatment, and distribution;
- Interconnected water and energy systems;
- Climate change and energy transitions in the water sector;
- Water technologies for efficient, resilient, and sustainable solutions;
- Innovative water management and water governance;
- Social and stakeholder involvement in water–energy management;
- Water–energy–ecology nexus;
- Hydropower and renewable energies;
- Low-carbon water technology;
- Modelling and optimization of smart water and energy grids;
- Characterization and forecasting of water and energy demand;
- Optimal design and management of water distribution systems;
- Digital implementation and AI tools linking the water–energy sector;
- Resilience and interdependencies between water and energy infrastructures;
- Irrigation and energy demand;
- Solar-powered irrigation systems;
- GIS and RS in groundwater quality mapping.
Dr. Navneet Kumar
Dr. Bernhard Tischbein
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- water–energy nexus
- energy policy
- water governance
- water quality
- groundwater and matter flow modelling
- groundwater irrigation
- solar powered pumps
- wastewater treatment
- water–energy–food nexus
- water distribution systems
- GIS and Remote Sensing
- Artificial Intelligence
- climate change
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