Water Footprinting in the Manufacturing Industries -Methods, Tool and Optimization Strategies

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Implementing the goal of sustainable manufacturing into daily engineering practice is challenging - especially with regard to water. Today, water use is simply reported as one indicator among many others and optimization strategies usually aim at reducing water needs due to increased efficiency, cycling systems, or waste water purification. Even though these measures are relevant, the direct water consumption of a company is only a small fraction of its total water footprint. Water consumption in the production of materials or in the generation of energy is often much higher. Moreover, impacts resulting from direct water consumption in water-abundant regions in Central Europe are usually low. In contrast, the indirect water consumption in the supply chain often causes more severe impacts if it occurs in water scarce regions, e.g. mining of copper ore in Chile or bauxite in Australia. Hence, water consumption and resulting impacts should be assessed along a product life cycle and optimization strategies should focus on local impacts along global supply chains rather than on the direct consumption of a company. After reviewing and discussing more than 30 water footprint approaches, the applicant conducted the first water footprint studies in industrial product systems and manufacturing. Based on these experiences methodological challenges have been identified and a novel water footprint method - the water accounting and vulnerability evaluation (WAVE) model has been developed. This research project aims at enhancing the water footprint concept for manufacturing from a methodological and practical point of view. From a methodological perspective, the modelling of local water availability will be refined by considering seasonal variation in the hydraulic situation of river basins and by taking into account atmospheric moisture recycling effects. Based on these improved water scarcity models, impact assessment methods will be developed which evaluate consequences of water consumption on human health and ecosystems. From a practical perspective, the lack of regionalized inventory data is the main hindrance regarding the application of water footprinting in manufacturing. Therefore, a regionalization methodology will be developed in cooperation with an inventory database provider and regionalized water inventories will be developed for a broad set of materials and processes relevant for manufacturing. In a water footprint tool, this regionalized water inventory database will be combined with the impact assessment developments. The tool will be tested in several industrial case studies. This research project and the resulting water footprint tool will enable practitioners to quantify water consumption in manufacturing processes and the corresponding supply chains. By assessing impacts resulting from water consumption, efficient optimization strategies can be developed allowing for a sustainable use of freshwater resources in manufacturing.