Four projects have been initiated by Iran's Vice Presidential Office for Science and Technology to improve water resources and consumption management.
Vice President Sorena Sattari provided a blueprint of projects designed for the current year during a Saturday event, Isti.ir reported.
The event was also attended by Seyyed Javad Sadatinejad, the head of Majlis Agriculture Commission, Naderqoli Ebrahimi, the head of water and drought technologies development headquarter at the vice presidential office, and Parviz Karami, the head of the Creative Industries Development Center at the office.
The first project coming on stream was the localization of silicon carbide ceramic membranes for water and wastewater treatment.
The ceramic membranes are utilized to upgrade a water treatment plant in Qazvin by the manufacturer, Barikey Electron Company.
These membranes, according to the company, are thin layers of semiconductor material that can separate suspended particles from the water, as it flows through treatment ducts at a specific flow rate and pressure.
Ceramic membranes eliminate some of the drawbacks of traditional polymer varieties, such as limited temperature resistance, poor mechanical strength, biodegradability and short life.
The event's second highlight was the introduction of thermal imaging infrared cameras.
Rayan Fan Company developed thermal cameras, which can capture heat radiation in the 8,000 to 14,200-nanometer range. The device can be used to locate and monitor underground water resources.
The other project coming on stream was the localization of aquaculture cages and brackets developed by Sharif Marine Technology Company.
The locally-made cages and brackets are currently being used on Qeshm Island in Persian Gulf waters.
The most practical endeavor was the development of Electro-Dialysis Reversal (EDR) desalination devices.
EDR applies electricity to electrodes, pulls naturally occurring dissolved salts through an ion exchange membrane and separates water from the salts.
The manufacturer, Payam Avaran Company, has used the product to supply clean drinking water in arid and semi-arid rural spots.
Three EDR devices with a daily water discharge of 250 and 50 cubic meters have been erected in Arabi, Aliabad and Haj Nowshad villages in the southern province of Bushehr, according to the company.
Opportunities and Measures
Speaking at the event, Sattari said that due to its hot and arid climate, Iran has always been struggling with water scarcity.
The local development of new technologies is the only solution for reviving Iran’s parched lands.
“Water use may be regulated and even new groundwater supplies can be discovered with the help of the tech ecosystem and ground-breaking technologies,” he added.
Ebrahimi said Iran has access to 6,400 kilometers of coasts along free waters and the Caspian Sea, and a total of 221 knowledge-based companies working on water management, drought mitigation and environmental degradation issues, developing 324 products.
“Unfortunately, these opportunities are being overlooked, even though local potentials should be exploited to address freshwater scarcity issues,” the legislator added.
According to the vice presidential office, in the past two years, over 80 water tech projects have been implemented nationwide with an investment of around 1.14 trillion rials ($4.85 million).
Forty more projects worth 900 billion rials ($3.8 million) have been planned for execution in the current year.
Detecting deep groundwater resources, locating coastal drinking water springs and aquifers, developing new composite materials for deepwater drilling, indigenizing electric submersible pumps and drilling rigs, and establishing water resource detection centers are among the projects, according to experts.
State Support
The Iranian government is supporting technology companies to play a bigger role in water and energy conservation projects.
Following the vice presidential office’s call on tech firms in March to expand their role in such projects, 46 innovative proposals have been submitted, among which 35 have been approved for implementation.
These projects mainly deal with energy technologies, water management, heating and electricity, wind turbines, solar energy and the commercialization of R&D results.
The office has said it will assist tech companies in fostering economic and industrial growth, expanding market share and commercializing their innovations.
Government support will include seed money, technical and technological mentorship, low-cost workspace at tech centers and tech parks, as well as legal and marketing counseling.
Ongoing Projects
In tech-related news, a knowledge-based company Avisa Hydroculture is offering agricultural technology solutions to curb water consumption in the key sector.
It will educate farmers on hydroponics, a form of greenhouse agriculture that involves growing crops without soil and with less water.
Rasoul Rahnamaei, the company CEO, said, “Our staff initially prepare analytical reports on the use of light, type of plants, greenhouse quality and other parameters. Later, farmers are taught how to better feed their crops as per hydroponic analyses.”
Hydroponics is a form of horticulture and a branch of hydroculture that involves growing plants in an aqueous solvent without the use of soil. Its technology allows terrestrial plants to grow with only their roots subjected to the nutrient liquid, or with the roots supported by an inert medium such as perlite, gravel, or other substrates.
According to Rahnamaei, fish excrement, duck manure and chemical fertilizers are some of the sources of nutrients used in the hydroponic system.
Pesticides are not used in hydroponic farming and soil contamination does not pose a problem. Water circulates through the plants during the process, reducing water consumption and the overall cost of farming.
Rahnamaei said hydroponics has several benefits, the most important of which is reduction of water use.
Iran is facing serious water challenges, as precipitation is declining to hitherto unseen levels, consumption continues to rise and water mismanagement continues.
According to scientific evidence, traditional farming methods need 400 liters of water to grow 1 kilogram of tomatoes while hydroponics requires only 70 liters.
“Hydroponics uses far less water to grow crops and farmers in harsh environments with limited access to water can upgrade their practices” and profit from these systems, he said.
Nanotech Solutions
Environmentalists, academics and economic experts are urging authorities and farmers to embrace nanotechnology to modernize the agro sector and curb water use.
Alireza Allafchian, deputy director of Nanotech Research Center at Isfahan University of Technology, says the efficient management of surface water can have a major positive impact on the key farming sector.
“Nanotech water treatment systems store and purify surface waters and reduce evaporation,” he said.
In such systems, nanomembranes are used to soften the water and remove physical, biological and chemical contaminants.
Allafchian noted that nanomaterial has an internal or surface structure in the nanoscale, with a length ranging approximately from 1 nm to 100 nm.
Nanotechnology increases crop productivity and minimizes pesticide application by using nanoparticle-mediated gene or DNA transfer in plants.
The genetic modification of crops, reduction of agricultural waste and higher yields with the use of nano-biocompatible materials are some of the benefits of nanotechnology.
Nanotech’s contribution to farming includes the use of nano-formulations of chemicals for developing pesticides and fertilizers, nanosensors for crop protection, identification of disease and chemical residues, employment of nano-devices for genetic engineering of plants and improvement of postharvest management.
