Masters Theses

Abstract

"A clean and sufficient source of drinking water can be a challenge to develop in the rural highlands of Guatemala. Installing a submersible pump in a groundwater well can provide a source of water that is free of contamination and yields sufficient water throughout the year. Submersible pumps are typically powered from grid-power; however, an alternative energy source may be considered. An evaluation of the renewable energy resources has been conducted in Sacala las Lomas de San Martin Jilotepeque, Chimaltenango, Guatemala (Sacala). The drilling of a deep groundwater well has been proposed in Sacala to supply the community with sufficient, clean drinking water. A multi-staged pumping system has been proposed to transfer water from a surface storage tank near the well to a surface storage tank above all residences in Sacala. From the storage tanks, the water would be distributed by gravity to the homes. Renewable energy pumps cannot supply sufficient power for the dynamic head and water demand needed for the submersible pump in Sacala, so the feasibility study focused on evaluating renewable energy for the transfer pumps. A weather station was erected and collected site-specific data in Sacala. Using the collected data and models for predicting the renewable energy generation rate, the potential to use a photovoltaic array or a wind turbine was evaluated. Analyzing the data revealed that the energy required to power the transfer pumps was too great to economically use a renewable energy system. The number of solar panels or wind turbines required to supply sufficient power was not only economically impractical, but it would consume excessive space that could be used for farming or development--Abstract, page iv.

Advisor(s)

Elmore, A. Curt

Committee Member(s)

Cawlfield, Jeffrey D.
Crow, Mariesa

Department(s)

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering

Degree Name

M.S. in Geological Engineering

Sponsor(s)

National Science Foundation (U.S.)

Comments

Appendices A-G included in PDF, not on CD-ROM.

Publisher

Missouri University of Science and Technology

Publication Date

Spring 2009

Journal article titles appearing in thesis/dissertation

  • Evaluation of the use of renewable energy to pump water in Sacala las Lomas, Guatemala

Pagination

x, 63 pages

Geographic Coverage

Guatemala

Rights

© 2009 William Anthony Granich, All rights reserved.

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Subject Headings

Pumping machinery -- Design
Renewable energy sources -- Case studies -- Guatemala
Water-supply -- Guatemala

Thesis Number

T 9486

Print OCLC #

436089323

Electronic OCLC #

327854653

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