U.S. Manufacturing Water Use Data and Estimates: Current State, Limitations, and Future Needs for Supporting Manufacturing Research and Development

James McCall, Prakash Rao, Susana Garcia Gonzalez, Sachin Nimbalkar, Sujit Das, Sarang Supekar, Joe Cresko

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Water is essential to manufacturing operations; without it, many facilities could not operate or meet production demands. Physical, reputational, and regulatory risks to water supplies compounded by climate change-induced impacts on hydrological conditions threaten the adequacy of water supplies for manufacturing. Manufacturing water use has not been a major focus of either water or manufacturing-related research. Research and development (R&D) aimed at helping manufacturers use water more sustainably and adapt to changing water conditions is needed to ensure a thriving sector and economy. However, the ability to identify R&D needs is severely limited due to a lack of current, statistically representative data on manufacturing water use and its environmental implications. In this Perspective, we outline four key questions to inform R&D on manufacturing use and highlight how the current state of water data in the United States does not support the adequate investigation of these questions. We make recommendations for the water data characteristics needed to explore the research questions and knowledgeably inform R&D on manufacturing water use.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2186-2196
Number of pages11
JournalACS ES and T Water
Volume1
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 8 2021

Funding

This work was authored in part by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, operated by Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under Contract DE-AC36-08GO28308, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC02-05CH11231 with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), UT-Battelle, LLC, under Contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy, and UChicago Argonne, LLC, operator of Argonne National Laboratory (“Argonne”). Argonne, a U.S. DOE Office of Science laboratory, is operated under Contract DE-AC02-06CH11357. Funding provided by the U.S. DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Advanced Manufacturing Office. The views expressed in the article do not necessarily represent the views of the DOE or the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. Government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this work, or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes. This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by the United States Government. While this document is believed to contain correct information, neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor the Regents of the University of California, Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, nor any of their employees, make any warranty, express or implied, or assume any legal responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represent that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by its trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof, or the Regents of the University of California. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof, or the Regents of the University of California. Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is an equal opportunity employer.

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