IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v14y2021i18p5935-d638655.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Analysis of Spatial Distribution of Sediment Pollutants Accumulated in the Vicinity of a Small Hydropower Plant

Author

Listed:
  • Paweł Tomczyk

    (Institute of Environmental Engineering, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 50-363 Wrocław, Poland)

  • Bernard Gałka

    (Institute of Soil Sciences and Environmental Protection, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 50-357 Wrocław, Poland)

  • Mirosław Wiatkowski

    (Institute of Environmental Engineering, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 50-363 Wrocław, Poland)

  • Bogna Buta

    (Institute of Environmental Engineering, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 50-363 Wrocław, Poland)

  • Łukasz Gruss

    (Institute of Environmental Engineering, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 50-363 Wrocław, Poland)

Abstract

Hydropower plants affect the distribution and composition of sediments. The main aim of this study was to analyze the spatial distribution of sediment pollution in the vicinity of a small hydropower plant. The grain composition of the sediments, the content of heavy metals (Cu, Ni, Cr, Zn, Pb, and Cd) and select physicochemical properties (pH, electrolytic conductivity) were tested at 14 points upstream and downstream of the hydropower plant on the ?l?za River in Poland, as well as at reference point. The interactions between the tested parameters were also verified. The results of the conducted analysis show that hydropower plants significantly affect the composition and properties of sediments. Large amounts of sediment are deposited on damming weirs, accumulating heavy metals and other substances. The differences in the concentrations of elements were significant, and Cu, Ni, Cr, Zn and Pb were 8.74, 9.53, 3.63, 8.26 and 6.33 times higher, respectively, than the median value at points upstream of the hydropower plant than downstream. It was shown that the tested parameters of the sediments interact with each other and are correlated; heavy metals showed a synergistic effect, while other parameters configurations showed an antagonistic effect. The higher content of heavy metals upstream of the hydropower plant resulted from the presence of finer sediment—classified as silt—in this section. Downstream of the hydropower plant, there were mainly sands, which showed a lower ability to absorb substances. This work contributes to improving the rational management of the worldwide issue of sediments within dams located in river valleys. Moreover, it is in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations, particularly in the fields of clean water and sanitation, clean and available energy, and responsible consumption and production.

Suggested Citation

  • Paweł Tomczyk & Bernard Gałka & Mirosław Wiatkowski & Bogna Buta & Łukasz Gruss, 2021. "Analysis of Spatial Distribution of Sediment Pollutants Accumulated in the Vicinity of a Small Hydropower Plant," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-20, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:18:p:5935-:d:638655
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/18/5935/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/18/5935/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ewa Wojciechowska & Nicole Nawrot & Jolanta Walkusz-Miotk & Karolina Matej-Łukowicz & Ksenia Pazdro, 2019. "Heavy Metals in Sediments of Urban Streams: Contamination and Health Risk Assessment of Influencing Factors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-14, January.
    2. Agnieszka Operacz, 2021. "Possibility of Hydropower Development: A Simple-to-Use Index," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-19, May.
    3. Thomas A. Tsalis & Kyveli E. Malamateniou & Dimitrios Koulouriotis & Ioannis E. Nikolaou, 2020. "New challenges for corporate sustainability reporting: United Nations' 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and the sustainable development goals," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1617-1629, July.
    4. Anuschka Buter & Antonia Spitzer & Francesco Comiti & Tobias Heckmann, 2020. "Geomorphology of the Sulden River basin (Italian Alps) with a focus on sediment connectivity," Journal of Maps, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(2), pages 890-901, December.
    5. Kuriqi, Alban & Pinheiro, António N. & Sordo-Ward, Alvaro & Bejarano, María D. & Garrote, Luis, 2021. "Ecological impacts of run-of-river hydropower plants—Current status and future prospects on the brink of energy transition," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    6. Yuichiro Yoshida & Han Soo Lee & Bui Huy Trung & Hoang-Dung Tran & Mahrjan Keshlav Lall & Kifayatullah Kakar & Tran Dang Xuan, 2020. "Impacts of Mainstream Hydropower Dams on Fisheries and Agriculture in Lower Mekong Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-21, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mariusz Sojka & Joanna Jaskuła, 2022. "Heavy Metals in River Sediments: Contamination, Toxicity, and Source Identification—A Case Study from Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-25, August.
    2. Wang, Qianqian & Li, Pengcheng & Zhang, Wenming & Cong, Nan & Xi, Yuqian & Xiao, Lirong & Wang, Yihang & Yao, Weiwei, 2023. "Evaluating the cascade dam construction effects on endemic fish habitat and population status in spawning sites of Lancang River (in Tibet), China," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 483(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Migo-Sumagang, Maria Victoria & Tan, Raymond R. & Aviso, Kathleen B., 2023. "A multi-period model for optimizing negative emission technology portfolios with economic and carbon value discount rates," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    2. Yuan, Peng & Pu, Yuran & Liu, Chang, 2021. "Improving electricity supply reliability in China: Cost and incentive regulation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    3. Danica Fazekašová & František Petrovič & Juraj Fazekaš & Lenka Štofejová & Ivan Baláž & Filip Tulis & Tomáš Tóth, 2021. "Soil Contamination in the Problem Areas of Agrarian Slovakia," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-14, November.
    4. Agnieszka Strzelecka, 2021. "The Field of “Public Health” as a Component of Sustainable Development—Poland Compared to the European Union," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-20, September.
    5. Zhu, Guojun & Guo, Yuxing & Feng, Jianjun & Gao, Luhan & Wu, Guangkuan & Luo, Xingqi, 2022. "Analysis and reduction of the pressure and shear damage probability of fish in a Francis turbine," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 462-473.
    6. Yang, Yi & Yuan, Zhuqing & Yang, Shengnan, 2022. "Difference in the drivers of industrial carbon emission costs determines the diverse policies in middle-income regions: A case of northwestern China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    7. Zhang, Zhiqin & Zhang, Liangliang & Liu, Dong & Sun, Nan & Li, Mo & Faiz, Muhammad Abrar & Li, Tianxiao & Cui, Song & Khan, Muhammad Imran, 2024. "Measurement and analysis of regional water-energy-food nexus resilience with an improved hybrid kernel extreme learning machine model based on a dung beetle optimization algorithm," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    8. Priyanka Mallick, 2022. "Transboundary River Cooperation in Mekong Basin: A Sub-regional Perspective," Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs, , vol. 9(1), pages 50-71, April.
    9. Dzido, Aleksandra & Wołowicz, Marcin & Krawczyk, Piotr, 2022. "Transcritical carbon dioxide cycle as a way to improve the efficiency of a Liquid Air Energy Storage system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 1385-1391.
    10. Paweł Tomczyk & Mirosław Wiatkowski, 2021. "The Effects of Hydropower Plants on the Physicochemical Parameters of the Bystrzyca River in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-29, April.
    11. Alsaleh, Mohd & Abdul-Rahim, A.S., 2022. "The pathway toward pollution mitigation in EU28 region: Does hydropower growth make a difference?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 291-301.
    12. Doanh-Ngan-Mac Do & Linh-Khanh Hoang & Cuong-Minh Le & Trung Tran, 2020. "A Human Rights-Based Approach in Implementing Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education) for Ethnic Minorities in Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-18, May.
    13. Larbi-Siaw, Otu & Xuhua, Hu & Owusu, Ebenezer & Owusu-Agyeman, Abigail & Fulgence, Brou Ettien & Frimpong, Samuel Akwasi, 2022. "Eco-innovation, sustainable business performance and market turbulence moderation in emerging economies," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    14. Tao, Zhibin & Chao, Jiaxiao, 2024. "Unlocking new opportunities in the industry 4.0 era, exploring the critical impact of digital technology on sustainable performance and the mediating role of GSCM practices," Innovation and Green Development, Elsevier, vol. 3(3).
    15. Jelena Cvijović & Vladimir Obradović & Marija Todorović, 2021. "Stakeholder Management and Project Sustainability—A Throw of the Dice," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-22, August.
    16. Adam Sulich & Letycja Sołoducho-Pelc, 2021. "Renewable Energy Producers’ Strategies in the Visegrád Group Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-21, May.
    17. Qian, Long & Xu, Xiaolin & Sun, Ying & Zhou, Yunjie, 2022. "Carbon emission reduction effects of eco-industrial park policy in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(PB).
    18. Han, Rong & Li, Jianglong & Guo, Zhi, 2022. "Optimal quota in China's energy capping policy in 2030 with renewable targets and sectoral heterogeneity," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PA).
    19. Vinod, J. & Sarkar, Bikash K. & Sanyal, Dipankar, 2022. "Flow control in a small Francis turbine by system identification and fuzzy adaptation of PID and deadband controllers," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 201(P2), pages 87-99.
    20. Xinran Guo & Yuanchu Cheng & Jiada Wei & Yitian Luo, 2021. "Stability Analysis of Different Regulation Modes of Hydropower Units," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-19, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:18:p:5935-:d:638655. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.