Mirko Musa spent his childhood zigzagging his bike alongside the Po River. The Po, Italy’s longest river, cuts via a lush valley of grain and vegetable fields, which appear like a inexperienced and gold ocean spreading out from the river’s banks.
However, as Musa grew up, he observed one thing unnerving on this idyllic valley.
“I keep in mind being shocked,” Musa stated, remembering the day he stopped by a sales space arrange by environmental activists and noticed blown-up satellite tv for pc pictures of northern Italy. “You may clearly see the grey smog cloud trapped within the Po Valley the place I lived.”
At present, Musa’s life nonetheless revolves round water and air pollution—solely now, he’s not simply observing from the sidelines — or shorelines. As an R&D affiliate employees member within the Water Sources Science and Engineering group on the Division of Power’s Oak Ridge Nationwide Laboratory, he’s combining his childhood fascination with water together with his urge to make that smog cloud disappear.
Mirko Musa research how hydrokinetic generators, akin to underwater wind generators, may affect riverbed vegetation or the best way sediment flows downriver. Right here, he’s sitting inside a mock sandy river channel. Credit score: Mirko Musa/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Power
“Water energy is a renewable type of power that’s ubiquitous; it’s in all places and by no means stops,” stated Musa. “Water is continually working, rivers preserve flowing and tides preserve turning.”
Water energy, which incorporates each hydropower and marine power, is dependable and predictable. Musa is working to make these applied sciences extra versatile, cost-effective and sturdy — to allow them to be as ubiquitous as water itself.
For instance, Musa is learning how river currents may energy river restoration, how ocean power may generate clear hydrogen and whether or not superior manufacturing — manufacturing that depends on sensible applied sciences, quicker and extra sustainable processes, and automation — may assist preserve and modernize the hydropower fleet. He not too long ago printed a report on superior manufacturing for hydropower, with assist from DOE’s Water Energy Applied sciences Workplace.
Musa shared why he prefers to work in each hydropower and marine power, how superior manufacturing may gain advantage the hydropower business and why his biggest dream is to seize power from the mighty Mississippi River.
How did seeing the air pollution hovering over the Po Valley in Italy affect your profession path?
After I found how polluted northern Italy was, I needed to check that. So, I enrolled in environmental engineering on the College of Trento within the Alps of Italy, which makes a speciality of water assets engineering and river hydraulics — principally, the science of how water behaves and strikes via the atmosphere and the way we will handle it sustainably.
I rapidly realized that renewable power was one of many solutions — possibly the reply — to unravel environmental points and, extra broadly, local weather change, which is without doubt one of the greatest challenges for humanity proper now, for my part. And if you happen to mix hydraulics with renewable power, you get water energy applied sciences.
And that led you to pursue a doctoral diploma on the College of Minnesota, proper?
Sure. Throughout my grasp’s program in Italy, I needed to do an expertise overseas. There was a possibility to work in Minnesota with a professor who was beginning a challenge on hydrokinetic generators — principally wind generators however in water. I used to be wanting particularly on the impact of these machines on the morphology of the river — the Earth science half and the way they might affect riverbed vegetation or the best way sediment flows downriver. It was an ideal mixture.
Earlier than we get into your present work, what’s so nice about water energy? Why ought to individuals care about this renewable power useful resource?
If we design applied sciences which can be sustainable and respect the atmosphere, water energy will all the time play a vital function within the total transition to renewable power. Not solely can it combine with the extra variable assets like wind and photo voltaic, however hydropower particularly may be very versatile and, proper now, it’s additionally the easiest way to retailer power. So, water energy goes to be a key part in our power future. And to me, water is the good ingredient.
Inform us about your present analysis. Are you continue to learning how hydrokinetic generators work together with river environments?
At ORNL, which I joined as a postdoctoral scholar, I needed to swap gears slightly bit. Traditionally, my group, the Water Sources Science and Engineering Group, has labored extra on the traditional facet of water energy — so, hydropower. However I constructed a superb understanding of hydrokinetic power throughout graduate college, and I needed to broaden on that. I like that I can now be in each worlds, spanning WPTO’s hydropower and marine power applications.
Now, you’ve waded into the world of superior manufacturing and supplies, too, proper? How does that match into water energy?
I grew to become the lead on this challenge when certainly one of my advisors left, which gave me a terrific alternative to collaborate with an enormous division at ORNL that promotes energy-efficient, cost-effective methods to do sustainable and superior manufacturing. Superior manufacturing has been a revolution, serving to the power sector for many years and bringing manufacturing again to the USA. This challenge is a good alternative to discover, for the primary time, sustainable manufacturing for hydropower.
That is actually the primary time this has been explored? Regardless that hydropower is greater than a century previous?
Precisely. There was a disconnect between these two huge realities, and I had the chance to bridge that hole. We organized an in-person workshop final August and introduced in individuals from the hydropower business, producers, house owners and operators, and specialists in superior manufacturing. We sat down and talked about present manufacturing challenges in hydropower and the way superior manufacturing may provide options.
What do these options appear like?
The typical age of U.S. hydropower crops is 64 years, so repairs and upkeep are beginning to improve. On the similar time, we’ve provide chain points and an absence of huge steel casting and forging capabilities in the USA. However large-scale steel hybrid manufacturing, which mixes 3D printing and machining processes, may assist lower the time and price to fabricate important elements, like turbine runners, and alleviate our reliance on overseas suppliers.
And robotics and superior welding methods may permit upkeep on-site, eliminating the necessity to disassemble and ship vital elements to exterior restore outlets, thus minimizing a hydropower plant’s downtime and income losses.
That’s big. Another examples?
New hydro can be small hydro, so dams which can be lower than 10 meters excessive. And we all know that small tasks value extra per kilowatt. However that’s the longer term that we’d like: to energy small tasks and retrofit non-powered dams, or dams that at present do not need the infrastructure to generate energy. And right here, too, 3D and hybrid manufacturing may cut back manufacturing time and capital prices, whereas enabling the adoption of non-conventional designs and shapes which will have been precluded thus far by conventional manufacturing processes. Hopefully, this will even open the door to higher environmental mitigations, like environment friendly, fish-friendly generators and fish passages, and extra versatile operations.
What excites you most about the way forward for water energy?
I’m excited concerning the potential advantages of power manufacturing within the ocean, like powering hydrogen manufacturing utilizing marine power, or, in rivers, utilizing hydrokinetic generators for river restoration tasks, defending the financial institution of a river from erosion. The generators extract power from the circulate, which reduces the quantity of power the river exerts on its banks and slows down how rapidly the banks put on away. On the similar time, the generators can produce slightly little bit of power that can be utilized for native power manufacturing. That’s very area of interest, but it surely’s my factor.
In a really perfect world, what would you hope to perform?
The dream that I’ve had since graduate college is to put in hydrokinetic power within the Mississippi River. The lab the place I labored in graduate college actually diverts a part of the river to circulate via the constructing, so I all the time had a powerful connection to it. And the decrease Mississippi, close to New Orleans, for instance, is an ideal location for hydrokinetic power. It’s deep and huge with robust currents.
What recommendation would you may have for folk who may need to pursue a profession in water energy?
In case you’re occupied with renewable power, please be part of us. Water energy and renewable power at giant desperately want gifted scientists and engineers. So, if that’s the sphere you want, go for it.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE’s Workplace of Science, the one largest supporter of fundamental analysis within the bodily sciences in the USA. The Workplace of Science is working to deal with among the most urgent challenges of our time. For extra data, please go to power.gov/science.
Courtesy of Oak Ridge Nationwide Laboratory
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