3.1. Low water cost within the process industry
Barrington performed a study investigating the use of
water auditing techniques to examine water flows within a
petroleum refinery, concurrently identifying practical ways
for achieving water conservation. The work demonstrated
that, even in a refinery with processes considered highly
efficient within the industry, many opportunities existed to
improve water conservation through technical, cultural and
behavioural adaptations Barrington et al. (2013).
Water is known to be under-priced economically (Gleick
et al., 2004), and a lack of water conservation culture on site
disregarded the intrinsic environmental and social value of
water, as well as embodied costs associated with high water
usage, such as the energy costs inherent in heating (particularly
when utilising steam), transporting and treating large
volumes. The process industry tends to focus on maximising
production and minimising costs, and due to the very low
economic price of water, minimising water use is not a primary
consideration. Water costs are extremely low compared
to other costs within the refinery, and the implementation of
water saving techniques would generally have a much longer
pay back period than simple measures aimed at increasing
the productive efficiency of commercial processes. This
would result in significant water cost (Barrington et al., 2013).