Idaho National Laboratory Sponsored Workshop: Energy-Water Nexus

Within the Energy-Water nexus is the economic linkage between water technology and the associated costs of energy to operate water technology. This portion of the workshop is focused on identifying those industries that can specifically benefit from lower cost water treatment with the goal of developing net-zero liquid discharge advanced manufacturing processes. Thermodynamically, water transport from lower quality to higher requires energy. The variable is how that energy is delivered. For example, switching a process from high value heat/energy to lower value inputs can have significant advantages. This workshop seeks to identify specific industrial processes that can benefit from such a change in energy input for water treatment, ultimately leading to net-zero discharge of water. It is expected that significant energy and cost savings can be obtained from recycling and reuse of industrial water. This is especially significant for industries located in water stressed regions, such as California; although there are other industries both within and outside the US that may also significantly benefit from new approaches to process implementation.