Industrial Water Footprint: Case Study
on Textile Industries
P. Senthil Kumar, S. M. Prasanth, S. Harish, and M. Rishikesh
Abstract The concept of water footprint (WF) is an important breakthrough in
the evolution of methodologies, approaches, and indicators for measuring freshwater appropriation and assessing the wastewater discharge. Industries have become
increasingly aware that they contribute directly and indirectly to water scarcity and
pollution, and this constitutes a risk that they have to respond to. Industrial water footprint (IWF) methodology, which concentrates on the industrial production stages,
can present a clear graphical view of freshwater consumption and impacts caused
by wastewater discharge at both product and environment level. Most of the case
studies reported have shown that Industrial Water Footprints (IWF) were caused by
grey industrial water footprints. The grey water footprint refers to the volume of
freshwater that is required to dilute the toxic pollutant concentration to meet the
existing water quality standards. The present study reviews the case study of the
textile industry and comprehends the internal water usage information such as the
entire plant’s water balance, detail of water usage, water yield for water conservation,
and recycling measures. Considering a textile and dyeing plant as an example, the
water footprints before and after a cleaner production audit were calculated.
Keywords Water footprint network · Cotton textile industry · Textile supply
chain · Yarn and fabric manufacturing · Dyeing
Abbreviations
WFP
Total water footprint network (Mt/a)
WFPB
The blue water footprint network (Mt/a)
WFBWE Amount of blue water evaporation rate (Mt/a)
WFBWI Amount of blue water incorporation rate (Mt/a)
P. S. Kumar (B) · S. M. Prasanth · S. Harish · M. Rishikesh
Department of Chemical Engineering, Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering,
Chennai 603110, India
e-mail: senthilchem8582@gmail.com; senthilkumarp@ssn.edu.in
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer
Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
S. S. Muthu (ed.), Water Footprint, Environmental Footprints and Eco-design
of Products and Processes, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4377-1_2
35
on Textile Industries
P. Senthil Kumar, S. M. Prasanth, S. Harish, and M. Rishikesh
Abstract The concept of water footprint (WF) is an important breakthrough in
the evolution of methodologies, approaches, and indicators for measuring freshwater appropriation and assessing the wastewater discharge. Industries have become
increasingly aware that they contribute directly and indirectly to water scarcity and
pollution, and this constitutes a risk that they have to respond to. Industrial water footprint (IWF) methodology, which concentrates on the industrial production stages,
can present a clear graphical view of freshwater consumption and impacts caused
by wastewater discharge at both product and environment level. Most of the case
studies reported have shown that Industrial Water Footprints (IWF) were caused by
grey industrial water footprints. The grey water footprint refers to the volume of
freshwater that is required to dilute the toxic pollutant concentration to meet the
existing water quality standards. The present study reviews the case study of the
textile industry and comprehends the internal water usage information such as the
entire plant’s water balance, detail of water usage, water yield for water conservation,
and recycling measures. Considering a textile and dyeing plant as an example, the
water footprints before and after a cleaner production audit were calculated.
Keywords Water footprint network · Cotton textile industry · Textile supply
chain · Yarn and fabric manufacturing · Dyeing
Abbreviations
WFP
Total water footprint network (Mt/a)
WFPB
The blue water footprint network (Mt/a)
WFBWE Amount of blue water evaporation rate (Mt/a)
WFBWI Amount of blue water incorporation rate (Mt/a)
P. S. Kumar (B) · S. M. Prasanth · S. Harish · M. Rishikesh
Department of Chemical Engineering, Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering,
Chennai 603110, India
e-mail: senthilchem8582@gmail.com; senthilkumarp@ssn.edu.in
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer
Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
S. S. Muthu (ed.), Water Footprint, Environmental Footprints and Eco-design
of Products and Processes, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4377-1_2
35