AMMAN — A university student’s drive to improve the energy
sector led him to an innovation that may help Jordan’s water scarcity problem.
Omar Nuimat, a student at the
German Jordanian University, specializing in
energy engineering developed a unique project that would address the transition
of energy from non-renewable to renewable sources, while also mitigating water
supply issues.
اضافة اعلان
The project, known as “Utilizing Second Life Lithium-Ion
Batteries in Off-Grid Water Pumping Systems”, seeks to address Jordan’s
water scarcity by increasing the quantity and quality of water produced by
underground wells.
According to Nuimat, hybrid vehicles have gained significant
popularity around the world. Unlike other gasoline-powered vehicles, hybrid
vehicles require lithium-ion batteries to function properly.
“Lithium-Ion batteries are expensive and hazardous to the
environment if their contents are leaked or burned. After six or seven years of
use by car owners, the capacity of lithium-ion batteries is typically reduced from
100 percent to 80 percent. When this happens, car owners must dispose of the
batteries,” Nuimat explained.
Rather than disposing of the batteries or storing them in a
way that could harm the environment, Nuimat devised the idea of reusing lithium
batteries to power underground wells.
Currently, the project is being researched and implemented
on a 240-square-kilometer plot of land in the Azraq region. Lithium batteries
connected to off-grid systems power the underground well in the Azraq region.
An off-grid system uses solar panels to generate electricity, which is then
stored in a battery without being connected to the utility grid.
The knowledge and expertise gained from this project can be
applied to other Jordanian or international underground wells once the
project’s efficiency is proven.
Without
lithium batteries, Jordanian underground wells can
continuously pump water for six hours. The use of lithium batteries will enable
them to pump for longer periods, therefore producing more water.
However, the advantages of reusing lithium-ion batteries do
not stop there.
Reducing water pumping costs, lithium battery prices, and
CO2 emissions are other advantages of the project. In turn, reduced CO2
emissions will positively impact the quality of water produced, as well as the
environment.
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