Industrial water audit: enhancing the water use efficiency
Student name: Ms Niyati Seth
Guide: Ms Fawzia Tarannum
Year of completion: 2015
Host Organisation: The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI), New Delhi
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Mr Anshuman
Abstract: As the population and the per capita income rises, the demand for industrial products increases leading to greater consumption of water. The higher is the water use efficiency, the lesser is the water consumption and the associated costs. Therefore, water audit becomes a necessary tool to determine the current water usage in different processes within an industry. This further helps in optimizing the water use efficiency and developing integrated water management strategies. Two industries, thermal power plants and railways, have been analyzed under the same context, where the inefficiencies provide opportunities for saving water. The major water intensive processes in the generation of power are the handling of ash, generated in the formation of steam which is required to move the turbines, and a significant volume of water is used in cooling towers to dissipate the heat of the hot water received from the condensers. Based on the available secondary data and the best practices followed around the world, the current and potential specific water consumption (SWC) of the plants is calculated respectively. On adoption of these practices huge amount of water can be saved. Similarly in railways, the main water usage areas are washing and filling of coaches. A water audit was conducted at the Nizamuddin Railway Station to estimate its consumption. A water balance has been established which gives the details of the quantum of water received from the Ranney well and the distribution in different areas of the station (washing of coaches, aprons and platforms, coach filling, water booths, offices, toilets, etc.). After analyzing the water consumption, the scope for reducing the same was looked at. The two industries provide enough opportunities to reduce their water consumption by undertaking few easily adoptable measures.
Keywords: Water Use Efficiency, Industrial Water Audit, Thermal Power Plants and Railways, Specific Water Consumption
