scholarly journals A Methodology for Industrial Water Footprint Assessment Using Energy-Water-Carbon Nexus

Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 393
Author(s):  
Anna Trubetskaya ◽  
William Horan ◽  
Paul Conheady ◽  
Ken Stockil ◽  
Sean Moore

Recent national government policy in Ireland proposes a radical transformation of the energy sector and a large reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050. Water and energy form the water–energy nexus, with water being an essential component in energy production. However, the connection between the production of energy and water is rarely made. In particular, the end-user processes are generally excluded because they occur outside the water industry. The present study includes two simple approaches for industrial sites to calculate their carbon footprint in the water sector. The assessment of the milk powder manufacturing using both approaches indicates that the combined emission factor of the water supply and treatment is approximately 1.28 kg CO2 m−3 of water. The dairy production among steel, textile, and paper industries appears to be the most carbon-emitting industry. However, the results show that the carbon intensity of the water supply and treatment can be minimized by the integration of renewable energy sources for the onsite heat/steam and electricity generation. The uniqueness of our approaches compared to calculations illustrated by the ecoinvent and other governmental databases is its simplicity and a focus on the main energy consuming manufacturing steps in the entire industrial process. We believe that the management of water and energy resources will be more efficient when “active water citizens” raise environmental awareness through promoting measures regarding data monitoring and collection, observed leaks and damages, dissimilation and exchange of information on sustainable water stewardship to public and various industrial stakeholders.

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jure Margeta ◽  
Bojan Đurin

Paper describes and analyses new and innovative concept for possible integration of solar photovoltaic (PV) energy in urban water supply system (UWSS). Proposed system consists of PV generator and invertor, pump station and water reservoir. System is sized in such a manner that every his part is sized separately and after this integrated into a whole. This integration is desirable for several reasons, where the most important is the achievement of the objectives of sustainable living in urban areas i.e. achieving of sustainable urban water supply system. The biggest technological challenge associated with the use of solar, wind and other intermittent renewable energy sources RES is the realization of economically and environmentally friendly electric energy storage (EES). The paper elaborates the use of water reservoires in UWSS as EES. The proposed solution is still more expensive than the traditional and is economically acceptable today in the cases of isolated urban water system and special situations. Wider application will depend on the future trends of energy prices, construction costs of PV generators and needs for CO2 reduction by urban water infrastructure.


Author(s):  
Sergey Nogin ◽  
Jânio Monteiro ◽  
Sergio Gómez Melgar ◽  
José Peyroteo ◽  
António Mortal ◽  
...  

Tourists today are more likely to be concerned with the environment and greener lifestyle choices. In this context, a green flagship of some hotels can be an important selection criteria at the time of selecting one. In the near future, buildings should become nearly zero energy, consuming as low as possible and producing almost all the energy they need, using renewable energy sources. To achieve this goal, hotel buildings need to pass through a transformation process that will make them more efficient. In this process, a decision support platform would be important to help hoteliers monitor their energy consumption, identify which points are consuming more than expected, decide which investments are more cost effective and manage their equipment in an optimum way. This chapter describes the challenges involved in developing such a platform, covering several research and development fields, including Internet of Things networks, ICT, Smart Grids, Renewable Energy, Energy efficiency, as well as algorithms for machine learning and optimization.


Water Policy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 382-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Sesma-Martín ◽  
M. d. Mar Rubio-Varas

Abstract This paper focuses on the fact that the water–energy nexus remains an irrelevant issue on the energy policy agenda and on the priorities of the energy leaders in Spain. This is a striking fact given that this takes place in the most arid country in Europe, where almost two-thirds of electricity generation would have to be halted in the absence of an adequate water supply. We contend that part of the explanation may lie in the lack of official statistics and inconsistent sources of information on the water–energy nexus in Spain. To illustrate this point, we provide examples of the uneven data available for one of the most intensive freshwater users in the thermoelectric sector in Spain: nuclear power plants. Our research demonstrates the need for improved indicators as policy instruments in the water–energy nexus in Spain since it is impossible to improve what cannot be measured.


2013 ◽  
Vol 724-725 ◽  
pp. 319-322
Author(s):  
Guo Chen Zheng ◽  
Shu Li Liu ◽  
Li Wei ◽  
Ajay Kumar Jha ◽  
Li Guo Zhang ◽  
...  

Renewable energy sources such as biomass are becoming more and more important as alternative to fossil fuels. One of the most exciting new sources of biomass is microalgae. One of the major obstacles in the commercial production of microalgae as feedstock for biomass-to-liquid fuels, is the development of energy efficient and cost effective harvesting methods for the separation of micro-algal biomass from its growth medium. The problem of water shortage and lack of energy have become key restricting factors for the economic development of the world. Biomass energy due to its renewability, low pollution and other advantages is considered as the most potential products to alleviate the water pollution and energy crisis. Algae, the third generation of biomass, have many advantages such as wide distribution, high oil content, strong environment adaptability, short growth cycle and low production cost. Thus the use of algae biomass has attracted more and more attention. This paper describes the progress of the algae biomass energy research, the key issues and trends in the industrial process.


2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 83-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Neubauer

More and more news report on water-related extreme environmental phenomena. Some of these are natural, which are often beyond the human race. But others are definitely due to anthropogenic effects. I think the water footprint index is able to highlight national and international water-use processes and gives us the opportunity of organizing a sustainable, consumer-, environmental- and governancefriendly management. 81% of the fresh water withdrawal is from surface water bodies in the EU. In Europe as a whole, 44% of abstraction is used for energy production, 24% for agriculture, 21% for public water supply and 11% for industry. Public water supply is confined to ground waters. To the water resources related human activity caused qualitative and quantitative amortisation will grow worse in the foreseeable future due to the climate change. Beside seasonal differences the sectoral differences are increasingly becoming critical between different areas, such as Southern and Western Europe. The former, wrong agricultural support system has worsened the situation since it gave financial aid for the used improper techniques of water-intensive crop cultivation. By today, this seems to be solved. Public water abstraction is affected by manyfactors, of which mostly are based on social situation and habits, but technological leakage receives a big role as well. Interesting, that for example the residents’water consumption in Eastern Europe decreased because price were raised and regular measurements were introduced. But in Southern Europe it increased due to tourism in the past period. Industrial water withdrawal decreased across Europe because of the decline of industry and the development of technologies. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), the Union needs a sustainable, demand-driven leadership which focuses on the preservation and use efficiency. This have already appeared in politics and legal administration as well. Current research calls the attention to the significance and difficulties of this kind of domestic estimation presented trough the water footprint calculation of bread and pork in Hungary. The received data indicate the domestic water consumption trends in a modern approach. There is no doubt for me about the urgent necessity of water footprint calculation because as a result innovative, sustainability supported environmental, social, economical, and political relationships can be created – not just on local, regional or national level, but on interregional, European and even global stage.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2355
Author(s):  
Jéssica Mazutti Penso-Campos ◽  
Eduardo Périco ◽  
Eliane Fraga da Silveira

A negligência relacionada ao saneamento inadequado e à destinação incorreta de lixo tornam-se fatores que contribuem para a contaminação hídrica, assim como, a problemática da poluição ambiental é notória. O objetivo do estudo consistiu em analisar e estabelecer o grau de risco dos municípios do Rio Grande do Sul em relação à morbimortalidade humana associada ao saneamento, destinação do lixo e abastecimento e tratamento de água.A análise das áreas mais suscetíveis é relevante, uma vez que possibilita o planejamento e execução das ações emergentes, bem como, estratégias de promoção da saúde. Trata-se de um estudo quantitativo e ecológico, cuja unidade de análise caracteriza-se pelo conjunto de internações hospitalares e de óbitos, ocasionados pelas doenças de transmissão hídrica e alimentar (DTHA), em relação às condições de abastecimento e tratamento de água, condições sanitárias e de destinação de lixo.Para a análise, utilizou-se a correlação de Pearson, o Índice de Moran Global e a Interpolação Linear Simples. Como resultados mapas de distribuição espacial das variáveis e mapa final de suscetibilidade às DTHA foram organizados. Aponta-se associação significativa entre a destinação de fezes/urina em esgoto e, o consumo de água sem tratamento com os coeficientes de internação e de óbito pelas DTHA. Os resultados apresentam a escala do cálculo de risco, para as DTHA, em mapa temático. Existe associação entre a morbimortalidade com variáveis de saneamento, assim como a existência de municípios com grau máximo de suscetibilidade para as DTHA. Spatial analysis of human morbidity and mortality associated with sanitation, waste disposal, water supply and treatmentABSTRACTNeglect related to inadequate sanitation and improper disposal of waste become factors that contribute to water contamination, as well as the problem of environmental pollution is notorious. The objective of the study was to analyze and establish the degree of risk of the municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul in relation to human morbidity and mortality associated with sanitation, waste disposal and water supply and treatment. The analysis of the most susceptible areas is relevant, since it allows the planning and execution of the emergent actions, as well as health promotion strategies. This is a quantitative and socioenvironmental study, whose unit of analysis is characterized by the set of hospital admissions and deaths, caused by water and food transmission diseases (DTHA), in relation to water supply and treatment conditions, conditions sanitation and waste disposal. For the analysis, the Pearson correlation, the Moran Global Index and the Simple Linear Interpolation were used. As results spatial distribution maps of the variables and final map of susceptibility to DTHA were organized. A significant association between the use of feces / urine in sewage and the consumption of untreated water with the hospitalization and death coefficients by DTHA is indicated. The results show the scale of the risk calculation, for the DTHA, in the thematic map. There is an association between morbidity and mortality with sanitation variables, as well as the existence of municipalities with a maximum degree of susceptibility to DTHA.Keywords: water contamination, environmental pollution, water and food transmission diseases, environment and development, sustainability.


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