Water in industry: an environmental and economic challenge

SCIP Sinofrench Water Plant. Picture: ROBIN BASILE

Combating pollution, increasing scarcity and protection of water resources, tightening of environmental regulations, drought… Protecting the environment and improving the competitiveness of major challenges that are central to industrial companies’ concerns regarding securing their water supplies and ensuring the long-term future of their business activities. Go to the eMag for an overview of the challenges that these companies must meet today.

Dealing with increasingly scarce resources: a crucial challenge

The continual rise in the world’s population is invariably accompanied by an increase in demand for manufactured products, which implies an increase in the amounts of water used. These industrial companies, for which water plays a major role in their industrial processes, are naturally in search of sustainable water treatment solutions in order to protect the environment and limit pollution – by treating water before discharging it into the natural environment – and to save water resources – primarily by re-using waste water. For the industrial sector, the sustainable management of water resources involves a triple challenge: it is a question of responsibility, image and obligation, given that the regulations governing the sector are so stringent. It is also an economic necessity in order to guarantee ongoing production – there is no production without water – and to therefore ensure the long-term future of their business activities in an increasingly competitive environment.

Water: a strategic resource for the industrial sector

Water is a fundamental resource for the industrial sector, which is the second largest consumer of water after agriculture, and uses 22% of the water volumes drawn in the world (Source: French Development Agency, or AFD) which represents over 800 billion m³ of water per year. According to the McKinsey report entitled “Charting our water future”, which was published in November 2009, this figure is expected to exceed 1,500 billion m3 by 2030. In this environment, we will invariably have to make choices between different users over the coming years, and plan to use water in a more sensible and efficient way. In line with this approach, SUEZ Environnement is offering a wide range of innovative solutions for managing water resources, process water production, the treatment of waste water, its re-use, and the recovery of sludge and by-products, via Degrémont Industry.

Meeting industry’s requirements throughout the water cycle

Process water, injection water, boiler fuel water, cooling water, purified water, polluted ground water, waste water, recycled water, etc. SUEZ Environnement is involved at every level of the water management process for the industrial sector, upstream and downstream of industrial production, and is industrial companies’ preferred partner for meeting new challenges relating to the water cycle.