Page 182 - CW E-Magazine (13-2-2024)

Special Report Special Report

Industrial water management: Paving the way for new optimised, integrated water manage-  The recycling of water and material poses completely new challenges.
fl ows must be optimised.
Examples include the chemical recycling
ment comes into play.
processes, sustainable production and site security More and more new hydrogen pro- Water for the circular economy in of plastics, composite materials (e.g.,
high-performance lightweight materi-
ater is key for the process jects are focussing on a direct conver- the process industry als or composites for electromobility)
industry: whether as a cool- sion of hydrogen into basic chemicals Circular innovations are changing or polymetallic composites in electron-
Want or solvent, as a reagent and chemical energy storage, such as industry worldwide and are currently at ic components, battery cells or light-
or product component. Chemical and ammonia, methane or e-kerosene. The the top of the process industry’s agen- weight alloys. In addition to chemical
pharmaceutical production is constant- thermal energy released in this produc- da. The transition to a circular economy processes, various biotechnological
ly evolving – hydrogen, digitalisation, tion step can be made available to other focussing on the entire product life approaches are being pursued to recycle
recycling, new production processes. processes. Thermal desalination tech- cycle from raw material procurement plastics, including the use of enzymatic
What does this mean for industrial wa- nologies with higher effi ciency, as well to recycling requires a comprehensive processes. These are often associated
ter management?. as biological wastewater treatment, can transformation of industrial processes with increasing water requirements. To
thus benefi t from the available thermal and structures towards climate neu- meet these requirements, comprehen-
Dr. Ing. Christina Jungfer Mr. Andres Lucht Uribe Dr. Thomas Track
Carbon dioxide (CO ) neutral- Senior Expert Water Reuse Senior Expert Digital and Head of Subdivision Water energy and move further into focus. trality and long-term competitiveness. sive technological approaches and pro-
2
ity, hydrogen production, power-to-X DECHEMA Hydrogen, DECHEMA Management, DECHEMA This development is not only relevant The associated challenges for industry cesses for the treatment of wastewater
processes, circular economy and zero for the hydrogen economy; new mem- also have an impact on industrial water must be developed, tested and imple-
pollution are currently at the top of the brane separation processes or exten- management. mented.
process industry’s agenda. Water is an sions to biological water treatment can
irreplaceable resource, especially for also have a positive impact on indus- “The value chain of future circular Pharmaceuticals and hydrogen
chemical and pharmaceutical produc- trial water management in terms of pro- production will have a high proportion production: water for injection and
tion. If industrial water management cess and energy effi ciency. of processes in the aqueous phase,” ultrapure water
can be successfully integrated into says Dr Christoph Blöcher, Head of
production and site management, pro- “Water is the key to realising large- Infrastructure Processes, Materials & Pharmaceutical production has be-
cess effi ciency can be increased, cir- scale plants for the production of green Corrosion, Covestro Deutschland AG. come even more important, not least
cular solutions become possible and hydrogen and its downstream products “Water management must therefore be due to the coronavirus pandemic, and
the transformation towards a sustain- such as methanol or ammonia. That’s taken into account in process devel- innovations have been launched. For
able process industry progresses. In why we need to think about integrat- opment right from the start. New ap- the pharmaceutical industry, parts of
addition, close integration of produc- ed water management together with proaches are required for the aqueous industrial biotechnology and the labo-
tion and industrial water management ternational hydrogen projects, as well water stress and therefore a water risk. strategies for renewable energies and residual streams in order to recover ratory sector, industrial water manage-
strengthens the competitiveness of as many reference projects in Germany Once the local resources have been hydrogen production right from the chemical energy and valuable substanc- ment is focussing on water for injection
companies and sites, reduces the risk such as Aquaventus, H2Giga, H2Mare used up, this has an irreversible im- start. This is the basis for a successful es, such as nutrients.” (WFI) and ultra-pure water.
of production downtime and increases or Kopernikus emphasise this develop- pact on the region. Alternative water green hydrogen economy. Plant engi-
investment security in corporate de- ment. While industry uses hydrogen as resources for hydrogen production are neering and process technology, as we In addition to its traditional role in Rising investment and maintenance
velopment. The increasing water stress an energy storage medium or for high- therefore becoming increasingly im- will see at ACHEMA 2024, will make industrial production and cooling, wa- costs, high energy prices and increas-
at many process industry sites means temperature processes, R&D projects portant. Examples include desalinated a decisive contribution to this,” says ter as a resource is therefore increas- ing consumer concerns about the en-
that business success is increasingly are focussing on hydrogen infrastruc- water and water reuse. Dr Thomas Track, Head of the Water ingly coming into focus in new indus- vironmental impact of production and
dependent on effi cient industrial water ture, mass production of electrolysis Management Subdivision at DECHE- trial fi elds of application. Processes for packaging residues are causing many
management. technologies and the synthesis of basic A growing number of seawater MA e.V. (waste) water treatment will change pharmaceutical companies to rethink
chemicals based on hydrogen. desalination plants leads to new chal- overall, from water purifi cation to the their approach to more sustainable pro-
Water as the key to hydrogen pro- lenges in terms of wastewater discharge In addition to renewable energies, utilisation of residues, water and its duction options. Since 2017, it has also
duction Commercially available electrolys- (emissions into the sea) and opens up effi cient and robust water-related solu- thermal energy through recovery. been permitted in Europe to produce
The utilisation of renewable ener- ers require around 10-17 kg of deion- opportunities for the utilisation of tions are therefore needed: water for injection no longer exclu-
gies and their storage in the form of ised water to produce 1-kg of green brines and concentrates, for example.  Expertise and planning to produce Chemical recycling processes as sively using distillation, but also using
hydrogen or derived products is one hydrogen. Green or sustainable energy, hydrogen/follow up PtX products well as processes based on renewable membrane processes, for example. This
of the most important prerequisites the basis for green hydrogen, can be The production of green hydrogen and water management must go raw materials and biotechnological process has been standard in the USA
for a climate-neutral process indus- produced particularly economically in will increase in the future. As a result, hand in hand. processes generate aqueous residual and other parts of the world for many
try. A growing number of initiatives sunny or windy regions. However, the water will have to be utilised and re-  (Wastewater) treatment technolo- fl ows that are characterised by a high- years. This production variant is not
in various sectors are accelerating the regions with the highest potential for used more effi ciently in the produc- gies and management concepts volume fl ow and high organic and salt only more fl exible and energy-effi cient,
expansion of capacities to produce and renewable energies are usually also the tion process, especially cooling water must be tailored to inland, coastal loads. The composition of the process but for operators of WFI systems it
utilise hydrogen: More than 1,400 in- regions where there is a high level of and wastewater streams. This is where and marine production scenarios. water in recycling processes therefore also offers advantages in terms of in-

182 Chemical Weekly February 13, 2024 Chemical Weekly February 13, 2024 183

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