Liquid Assets: Industrial water management

By Walt Kozlowski
Senior Director Client Sustainability Solutions, Xylem

The escalating impacts of climate change, aging infrastructure, and growing populations are putting the world's water challenges into sharp focus. When it comes to supply versus demand, there simply isn't enough water to go around. The problem is so pervasive that recent reports suggest global freshwater demand could exceed supply by as much as 56% within the next five years.

This presents a significant challenge for water-intensive industries. Having the right amount of water at the right quality and time is critical to business continuity, yet sustainable water management has never been more complex. Variability in supply can jeopardize supply chains, and new contaminants are complicating water use and discharge.

Put simply, water is no longer a commodity we can afford to take for granted. Climate change has transformed the risk profile of this essential resource, underscoring the urgent need for businesses to develop a more resilient and sustainable path forward.

At the same time, an aging workforce within the water sector significantly impacts businesses as a wave of retirements creates issues around institutional knowledge and specialized skills.

While these challenges are formidable, they're not insurmountable. Businesses are responding.

Around the world, industries are showing that digital technologies, advanced treatment solutions, and new business models can address the escalating challenge of water scarcity, quality, and affordability while empowering communities and economies to become more water-secure. Businesses are also overcoming workforce capacity concerns by leveraging solution providers to provide equipment and operate and maintain systems, allowing plant operators to focus on their core business.

Water management programs within the microelectronics, pharmaceutical, and food and beverage industries are proving that, with the right approaches, businesses can minimize risk and maximize growth for a more sustainable future.

Microelectronics - Precision water management

Under every climate scenario - from business as usual to the most pessimistic - semiconductor manufacturing will likely face water risk factors. Many plants are located in areas of water stress. As the U.S. and European Chip Acts boost production, semiconductor factories must secure water supplies to meet growing demand.

Manufacturing semiconductors and electronic components is highly water-intensive. Ultrapure water (UPW) is essential for rinsing and cleaning silicon wafers during fabrication. The production of UPW requires significant amounts of water and energy, while wastewater from manufacturing processes contains pollutants such as heavy metals, which must be treated to environmentally safe levels.

The microelectronics industry is adopting advanced water treatment and recycling technologies, including reverse osmosis and membrane filtration, to produce ultrapure water without depending on municipal sources.

Digitally enabled water reclamation systems also can optimize the treatment and reuse of wastewater, minimizing environmental impact.

For instance, Silfex, A Lam Research Company and leading provider of precision components for semiconductor manufacturing, has successfully implemented a system that recovers up to 80% of cleanroom wastewater. The solution has been so successful that the company has saved millions of gallons of water annually, lowered operational costs and prevented production disruptions.

Pharmaceuticals - Ensuring quality and compliance

As the pharma 4.0 evolution accelerates the delivery of new drugs and medical technologies to patients with advanced digital and automation solutions, the industry is adopting a similarly agile, innovative, and personalized approach to water management.

The pharmaceutical industry relies heavily on water for research and testing, drug formulation, chemical reactions, equipment cleaning, and sterilization. Water quality is paramount, as substandard water can compromise product safety and efficacy. Pharmaceutical wastewater often contains active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and other chemicals that require specialized treatment to prevent environmental contamination.

By leveraging a combination of sensors, data analytics, and AI to monitor and manage water quality and usage, pharmaceutical companies are transforming water management to ensure quality and compliance.

Advanced treatment methods, such as biological processes, advanced oxidation, and membrane filtration, are also employed to handle the complex composition of pharmaceutical wastewater.

Furthermore, predictive analytics help water operators foresee and prevent system failures. These technologies enable pharmaceutical companies to maintain regulatory compliance, reduce downtime, and optimize water usage - particularly during the throws of transformation, when processes are advancing at speed.

The industry can achieve transformative cost savings, enhance operational efficiency, and improve its environmental footprint by adopting sustainable water management practices powered by digital technology. By deploying a smart water management system that combines connected products with remote monitoring, one leading MedTech company dramatically reduced its risk of shutdown.

Through improved control of temperature and ozone levels, the company experienced a 99% reduction in alarms generated while uptime increased to nearly 100%.

Food and beverage - From waste to resource

As an industry reliant on water, the food and beverage sector is taking significant steps to adopt sustainable practices. Industry leaders are setting ambitious water conservation goals and implementing advanced treatment technologies to meet regulatory compliance and enhance resource recovery. The sector also faces the challenge of high-strength organic wastewater that requires extensive treatment.

A recent report from Bluefield Research found that due to the heightened emphasis on sustainability, the industry could invest more than $112 billion in water and wastewater management by 2030. This renewed focus on corporate stewardship can be a competitive advantage, particularly for consumer brands where customer perception is key to building trust.

Across the food and beverage industry, advanced treatment systems, such as anaerobic digestion and aerobic processes, are being adopted to handle high-strength organic wastewater.

Anaerobic digestion converts organic waste into biogas suitable for generating renewable energy, while aerobic treatment further purifies the effluent for discharge or reuse.

Food and beverage companies can achieve significant cost savings by treating and reusing wastewater, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and enhancing their sustainability profiles. In Argentina, for example, global yeast and bakery leader AB Mauri uses an anaerobic reactor and biogas recovery system to treat effluent and generate steam.

This system has allowed AB Mauri to remain environmentally compliant by reducing the organic load from its wastewater, saving on operational costs, and significantly lowering its carbon footprint.

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