INSIGHT
India is home to 16 percent of the world’s
population but has only 4 percent of the
world’s water at its disposal. India also is
one of the largest producers of steel,
a highly water-dependent industry. While
much of that water is recycled, in 2017 the
steel industry in India used approximately
118 billion gallons of water.
One of India’s largest steel makers is
working to change this. As a result of a six-year effort, the business lowered its water
consumption by 2.3 billion gallons — equal to
one year of drinking water for more than 7.9
million people, more than the
combined populations of the cities of
Kolkata and Pune.
INNOVATION
The water savings were the result of a
leadership commitment on the part of the
company and a partnership with Ecolab.
Through smart water management,
digital technologies, such as 3D TRASAR™
Technology, and operational management
services provided by Ecolab, the steel
maker optimized its cooling water use in
a water-stressed area. Scaling and fouling
in the cooling water made it difficult to
achieve higher recirculation rates in the
cooling system without using a lot of
water. The issues were addressed, thanks
to 3D TRASAR’s real-time monitoring and
control, which is used to detect and correct
variations in source water quality, reducing
the demand for freshwater. These efforts
also led to cost savings and reductions in
energy consumption.
And this is just the start. Ecolab’s digital
technologies are expected to lead to even
greater freshwater savings by monitoring
and controlling the water quality in the
mill’s other critical circuits. In addition,
water use was added to an online
dashboard. This was a key step toward
helping the company make more informed
decisions and achieving its goal of zero
liquid discharge.
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