Targeting economic and environmental benefits associated with the integration of regeneration units in water systems

• Published in: Journal of cleaner production 2021-11, Vol.323, p.129022, Article 129022
• Main Authors: Lechtenberg, Fabian, Somoza-Tornos, Ana, Espuña, Antonio, Graells, Moisès
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Circular economy; Mathematical programming; Regenerated water; Sensitivity analysis; Water networks
• ISSN: 0959-6526; 1879-1786
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129022

Water treatment is traditionally seen as an "end-of-pipe" solution to deal with contaminated water satisfying discharge regulations at a minimum expense. However, the reuse of treated water as regenerated water is a promising strategy to counteract water scarcity. This approach to transform waste into resources is motivated by the circular economy paradigm. This study presents a mathematical programming approach to target both the environmental and economic benefits of water systems by introducing additional regeneration units to close the loop. In addition to water users and authorities, the approach also considers operators and dealers, which are revealed as key stakeholders. Hence, the feasible region of the regeneration units design specifications is determined and visualized through a multi-objective optimization approach targeting the systems operating cost and freshwater consumption. Its application is demonstrated on a benchmark case study from the literature, revealing a potential economic benefit of 37.5% and a freshwater reduction of 80.9% over the case without regeneration units. Furthermore, we show that a cooperative exchange strategy leads to higher benefits compared to the solutions presented in the literature. Finally, we demonstrate how the barrier plots introduced in this work can be used by different stakeholders in the water market to support their decision-making. [Display omitted] •MINLP is developed for minimization of water system cost and freshwater consumption.•Barrier plots for integration of regeneration units to water systems are developed.•Results can be used for decision-making by stakeholders in the water supply chain.•Economic and environmental benefits are shown through cooperation and regeneration.