July 2013 Membrane Technology9

FEATURE

Concerns about the steep increase in the car-bon footprint of the water industry are rising. Population growth, tightening of legislative standards resulting in further treatment needs, resource scarcity, and deteriorating quality levels are, however, resulting in ever increasing energy consumption. This is highlighting the importance of innovative, environment-friendly practices across the value chain of the water industry.

A recently release study by Frost & Sullivan – entitled ‘Carbon Footprint Reduction Opportunities in Networks and Treatment Plants of European Water Utilities’ – provides an overview and examples of efforts to reduce the carbon footprint in water and wastewater treatment facilities and networks in Europe.

Water treatment processes are highly energy-intensive and energy usage is only set to intensify with an ever increasing tightening of regulations, requiring additional levels of treat-ment. As in the water industry, future carbon emissions, especially from wastewater treatment are poised to increase.

There are a number of areas in carbon-neutral water/wastewater treatment that show promise, notes the energy and environmental research team at the company. These include off-grid and on-site generated renewable ener-gy; on-site production of energy and electricity through biogas from wastewater; advanced treatment and energy-efficient equipment, especially in the biological treatment processes; and smart plant processes aimed at plant opti-misation.

Efforts are also ongoing to develop low-carbon water/wastewater networks. Smart metering and leakage monitoring and detection systems as well as energy-efficient pumps in

water and wastewater networks are attempting to ensure greater sustainability in energy con-sumption.

ToolboxAs part of its ongoing focus to help water utili-ties reduce energy consumption and improve sustainability, US-based Water Research Foundation (WaterRF) has published its latest report, entitled: ‘Toolbox for Water Utility Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emission Management’ (Project 4224).

This project evaluates, compares and contrasts process models, impact assessment methods and performance indicators used by water utilities in North America, Europe, South Africa and Australia to evaluate their energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emis-sions.

It also identifies how these tools can be used to support management decisions at water utilities. The report discusses implications of different methodologies, investigates oppor-tunities to establish a harmonised assessment method and provides related recommenda-tions.

Research partners include the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and the Global Water Research Coalition.

No universal methodologies

In explaining the value of this latest report, Robert Renner, Executive Director, WaterRF, said: ‘Energy management and GHG account-ing tools are proliferating. However, because they are typically developed in response to differing location and sector-specific needs, no universally accepted methodologies, which

support the unique needs of the water sector, currently exist.’

‘It was critical to assess the applicability of existing tools and develop an energy and GHG toolbox that the water industry can use effec-tively on a global scale.’

Among the recommendations is to develop methodologies and tools that represent the full range of GHG emissions associated with the urban water cycle or a whole-systems level analysis of emissions. At present most methodologies address GHG emissions from a selected subset of the urban water cycle, such as sourcing, storing, treating and dis-tributing drinking water or treating waste-water, but do not address the water cycle holistically.

‘As WaterRF continues to expand its research agenda to support ‘‘total water management’’ it is critical that we adopt a more holistic view, and that includes energy consumption and GHG emissions,” explained Renner.

‘This dovetails with the growing industry trend to optimise water usage with the abso-lute least and cleanest energy possible.’

Project 4224 is the latest effort by WaterRF to help the water utility industry address challenges associated with the water–energy nexus. The foundation has several ongoing projects in what it refers to as its ‘‘Energy Focus Area’’ to provide effective strategies to reduce water utility energy con-sumption and costs, to provide approaches for energy generation by water utilities, and to develop strategies for multi-sector inte-grated water-energy planning.

Contacts:

Frost & Sullivan (UK), 4 Grosvenor Gardens, London

SW1W 0DH, UK. Tel: +44 20 7343 8314,

www.frost.com

Frost & Sullivan (USA), 7550 IH 10 West, Suite 400,

San Antonio, TX 78229-5616, USA.

Tel: +1 210 477 8427, www.frost.com

Water Research Foundation, 6666 West Quincy

Avenue, Denver, CO 80235-3098, USA

Tel: +1 303 347 6100, www.WaterRF.org

Reports highlight environment- friendly practices throughout the water industryUnsustainable levels of energy consumption are pushing the water industry towards innovative, environment-friendly practices as two recently pub-lished reports reveal. One study, by Frost & Sullivan, shows how European water utilities are striving to reduce their carbon footprint. The other, published by the US Water Research Foundation, provides tools to help water utilities measure and manage energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.