Economic and cost-effectiveness analysis of integrated desalination and brine treatment systems

The brine generated from desalination is a threat to the environment, and its disposal has been a great challenge. A new concept Zero liquid discharge (ZLD) can minimize the environmental impact of brine. However, the high costs for construction and running of a ZLD plant limits its growth in desalination market. Therefore, a new strategy...

Feasibility of the Polders: When can the Dutch polderconcept become economically unviable?

Adequate flood protection is important to many countries, but especially so to the Netherlands. With a large share of its population centers located below sea level, in so-called polders, the need for flood protection systems quickly becomes apparent. This need is even more pressing with the rise of sea levels and the increase in river discharge...

Closed Loops, Open Justice: Creating circular construction flows, for a just social housing industry

In the province of South Holland steps have been taken to create a circular construction industry to mitigate current linear processes. These linear processes include wasteful resource-intensive models that lead to loss of value and depletion of raw materials. However, to achieve a complete circular construction industry, the true social and...

"Precise Monitoring of Horizontal Displacement of Large-Scale Structures using Low-Cost Dual Frequency GNSS Receivers"

Under urban sprawl the trend of new established complex structures has rapidly increased. In this context maintenance plays a major role and monitoring of such structures represents a first important step in combating disasters. Over the last years low-cost Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) equipment has faced rapid and important...

Stop Boiling the Oceans: A Review on Energy Efficient Proof of Work Alternatives

Bitcoin’s underlying consensus algorithm, Proof of Work, is of inefficient nature. Due to the sheer size that Bitcoin has grown to over the recent years, power consumption has increased so much that the Bitcoin network has been estimated to consume more power than the whole country of Ireland. This paper investigates several alternatives to the...

Optimization of flood safety levels: Case study for unembanked areas in the Port of Rotterdam

Additional master thesis