A new graphical representation of water footprint pinch analysis for chemical processes

Water resource conservation and wastewater minimization are important strategies for the chemical industry. In this work, a graphical technique established for carbon footprint reduction is extended for the analysis of water footprint reduction. Similar to its original variant, this extended water footprint pinch analysis technique is based on the decomposition of total water footprint into external and internal footprint components. A case study on coal-to-methanol process is used to illustrate the proposed technique. Results show that water is mainly consumed in the utility processes and it is possible to achieve a goal for water saving of 16 %. Several practical water saving measurements are suggested to achieve the water reduction target.