A Survey of Laboratory Practice
on Water Scarcity: Conservation
of Drained Water from the Water
Distillation Process
Siok-Yee Chan, Theam Foo Ng and Mohd Sayuti Hassan
Abstract Water recycling is a critical element that supports sustainable development. While the supply of fresh water is limited, both the world’s population and
demand for the resource continues to expand rapidly. According to Global Water,
Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), approximately 2000 children are dying every day
as a result of diarrheal diseases due to unsafe drinking water, inadequate availability
of water for hygiene, and lack of access to sanitation. On the other hand, distilled
water is highly needed due to the demands of wet research laboratories. The distillation process which concurrently generates distilled water and “waste water to drain”
is often overlooked for its impact and potential. The massive amounts of drained
water as a result of the distillation process in wet laboratories has motivated us to
perform this study. Our study includes investigating the amount of water produced
due to the water distillation process in a wet laboratory in Universiti Sains Malaysia
(USM), Penang. The objectives of this study are to understand the factors contributing to water wastage among distiller users in USM and create awareness about the
potential of water recycling from the water distillation process. This study is divided
into two parts: the determination of the amount of drained water from the distillation
process and survey about water conservation from the distillation process. Validated
questionnaires are disseminated to USM residents, particularly to explore user practices and concepts about water conservation from the distillation process. This study
found that the water used in producing distilled water is 74065.68 L per day and
2221970.40 L per month, which is equivalent to the basic need of 9875 individuals
(according to individual needs stated by WHO). In addition, this study highlighted
the overlooked wastage of tremendous amounts of drained water from the distillation
process in the laboratory. Efforts and changes shall be imposed to avoid the contribution of the water distillation process to water scarcity. These efforts will support
S.-Y. Chan
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia
e-mail: sychan@usm.my
T. F. Ng (B) · M. S. Hassan
Centre for Global Sustainability Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia
e-mail: tfng@usm.my
M. S. Hassan
e-mail: sayuti@usm.my
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Universities as Living Labs for Sustainable Development,
World Sustainability Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15604-6_46
761
on Water Scarcity: Conservation
of Drained Water from the Water
Distillation Process
Siok-Yee Chan, Theam Foo Ng and Mohd Sayuti Hassan
Abstract Water recycling is a critical element that supports sustainable development. While the supply of fresh water is limited, both the world’s population and
demand for the resource continues to expand rapidly. According to Global Water,
Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), approximately 2000 children are dying every day
as a result of diarrheal diseases due to unsafe drinking water, inadequate availability
of water for hygiene, and lack of access to sanitation. On the other hand, distilled
water is highly needed due to the demands of wet research laboratories. The distillation process which concurrently generates distilled water and “waste water to drain”
is often overlooked for its impact and potential. The massive amounts of drained
water as a result of the distillation process in wet laboratories has motivated us to
perform this study. Our study includes investigating the amount of water produced
due to the water distillation process in a wet laboratory in Universiti Sains Malaysia
(USM), Penang. The objectives of this study are to understand the factors contributing to water wastage among distiller users in USM and create awareness about the
potential of water recycling from the water distillation process. This study is divided
into two parts: the determination of the amount of drained water from the distillation
process and survey about water conservation from the distillation process. Validated
questionnaires are disseminated to USM residents, particularly to explore user practices and concepts about water conservation from the distillation process. This study
found that the water used in producing distilled water is 74065.68 L per day and
2221970.40 L per month, which is equivalent to the basic need of 9875 individuals
(according to individual needs stated by WHO). In addition, this study highlighted
the overlooked wastage of tremendous amounts of drained water from the distillation
process in the laboratory. Efforts and changes shall be imposed to avoid the contribution of the water distillation process to water scarcity. These efforts will support
S.-Y. Chan
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia
e-mail: sychan@usm.my
T. F. Ng (B) · M. S. Hassan
Centre for Global Sustainability Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia
e-mail: tfng@usm.my
M. S. Hassan
e-mail: sayuti@usm.my
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Universities as Living Labs for Sustainable Development,
World Sustainability Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15604-6_46
761