2.5.

Case Study: Water Pinch Analysis

2.5.1. Introduction

Water Pinch Analysis or also known as WPA is originally derived from the
concept of pinch analysis used in the chemical processes. The simple term and
understanding of water pinch analysis are reduced and reuse the water. Nevertheless
in a scientific term, WPA is a systematic methodology to reduce water consumption
and also minimizing the wastewater generation through integration of water using
activities or processes. This analysis was first introduced by Wang and Smith. Since
then, this method has been very popular among big factory as they prefer to conserve
their water consumption, thus reducing the operation cost.
Techniques used for setting up the targets for maximum water recovery
capable of handling any type of water using operation includes the application of mass
transfer based and non mass transfer based system. This includes the source and sink
composite curve and water cascade analysis (WCA). As a graphical tool for setting
water recovery targets as well as for design of water recovery networks, the source
and sink composite curves are used.

2.5.2. Overall Process

As shown in Figure 1, the facility uses water obtained from water wells and
water purchase from the water authority. Rainfall is also considered as an input to the
facility because it crosses the imaginary dotted line around the facility. Figure 1 is only
a rough estimation of the water input and water output by that company.
 136,000 0 34,000

Water Water
Evaporation in to
Product Ground

Well Water Wastewater

after treatment 130,000
330,000
to Surface Water
Facility
Purchased Wastewater to
Water Off-site 30,000
Treatment
Facility
Rainfall 20,000
Storm water
20,000
runoff

Figure 1: Site Wide Facility Water Balance (gallons per day)

The output steams include:

a. Evaporation of water from the facility, for example cooling towers
b. Containment of the water in the facility’s products, for example a beverage
c. Water that leaks or goes into the ground from the facility’s irrigation system or
piping.
d. Treated effluent from the facility’s on-site wastewater treatment facility which
is discharged to a surface water
e. Sanitary wastewater which are sent to an off-site wastewater treatment facility
operated by the municipality
f. After rainfall event, storm water runoff.
 20000

Water Purchase + well Evaporate Evaporator

Rainfall
consumed in water input 34000 157081 3
reaction
4000

To ground
Water in
product

604545 30000 34000 199955

Sanitary Irrigation Utilities

Production

42874
Sanitary Wastewaters
to Offsite
Treatment Facility

30000

Wastewater
Discharge

130000

20000
Figure 2: The plant overall water balance Storm water run-off
Flow rate is estimated by process knowledge, engineering calculation and or
judgment, factor or a combination thereof

Flow rate is measured. For example, water meter on purchased water, flow meter on
wastewater, other measurement, e.g., the wastewater collection tank (volume of 3000
gallons) from building A fills up and is transferred twice per day.

Figure 2 shows an expanded view of the facility including production, sanitary,

irrigation, and utilities. Other use category where water is used but does not fit into to
one of the categories, example: quality assurance laboratories.
- In Figure 2, notice that the well water and purchased water are combined in
one line and there is green box signifying for purposes that the volume of
purchased water and well water is measured, in this case via water meters.
- Rainfall (in inches) is also measured via a rain gauge. By multiplying the inches
of rainfall per year by the surface area of the production site, the volume of
rainwater entering the site is estimated.
- The water outputs (other losses and wastewater discharges) from the different
areas of use are determined via inspection and process knowledge.
- For example, the output of water used for sanitary purposes, including water
used in toilets, showers, food preparation, dish washers and human
consumption is primarily to the wastewater collection system. For sanitary
usage, there is very little evaporation or loss to ground, except for leaks from
the process waste lines or from the sewerage system.
- Similarly, the output for water used in irrigation, for example watering green
areas in the facility, is principally to the ground via percolation into soil or leaks
from the irrigation system piping and via evaporation. For uses in the irrigation
area, there is no wastewater discharge.
There are numerous possibilities and combinations of water inputs and outputs. Table
1 shown on below provides common inputs and losses and resulting discharge as
wastewater.
Plant Over Balance
Common Inputs Common Losses Wastewater
Water used in production
to clean equipment, work If elevated temperatures Most of the water that is
areas, raw material and are used for cleaning, some used for cleaning goes to
product containers of the water can be wastewater collection
evaporated system.
Water used as an input to While classified as a loss, There are several
a water treatment process the output water from the wastewater treatment
to make higher quality water treatment process is processes. For filtration
water. For example, a loss. and carbon adsorption,
purchased water is used in there are backwash
water treatment process to streams which are
produce a high quality discharged to wastewater.
water via distillation or For softeners, there are
reverse osmosis followed also backwash,
by a continuous deionizer regeneration streams, and
for a pharmaceutical fast and slow rinses.
production process For reverse osmosis
systems, there is a reject
stream that commonly
goes to wastewater. For
continuous water
demineralizers there are
continuous blowdown
streams. For distillation
units, there is a blowdown
stream and water
 blowdown from the
condenser.
for cooling
as one pass non-contact Generally no losses Generally non-contact
cooling water cooling water is either
discharged to a surface
water, recharged into the
ground or sent to an on-
site or off-site wastewater
treatment facility
to cool and lubricate pump Generally no losses Commonly this water is
seals discharged to the site's
wastewater system.

Water used for sanitary purposes

Toilets To wastewater
Showers To wastewater
Food Preparation To wastewater
Drinking Water Consumed though a small
amount
Dishwasher To wastewater
Area cleaning To wastewater

Water used in utilities

as an input to a water
treatment process to
produce softened water
and or higher quality water
for boiler feed water and
or cooling tower makeup

as makeup to the cooling Water which evaporates Cooling tower blow down,
towers from the cooling tower and side stream filter blow
drift losses from ID fans down
as boiler feed water steam/water which is Boiler blowdown

as once through cooling
for compressors, chillers
and other equipment
as water to inject into gas
turbines to reduce Nox
emissions
evaporated,
water/condensate which is
lost from steam traps
Generally no losses Discharge to surface water
or wastewater
Water is evaporated Generally no wastewater
discharge

Water used for Irrigation

to irrigate the lawns, Discharge to ground Runoff can enter
shrubs, plants, fields (the wastewater collection
green areas)
Calculations, Published Factors to Prepare a Balance
Sanitary Water Usage 10 -25 gallons per person The lower value is used
per shift where there are just
toilets. A higher value is
used where there are
toilets, showers, full
kitchen services, that is,
food preparation and dish
washing.

Irrigation Usage Number of sprinkler heads Inspect the irrigation

x the flow capacity per system during operation to
head, e.g. 2.5 gpm x the determine if there are
duration (minutes) of water leaks from broken
application sprinkler heads and from
water distribution lines.

Wastewater Streams from Water Treatment Operations

Reverse Osmosis Reject Reject stream generally Reject flow can be higher
Flow ranges from 25 to 50% of than the indicated range.
the feed to the system RO reject streams can be
used as cooling tower
makeup if the water is
softened prior to the
reverse osmosis system.
Backwash & Rinse Rates Backwash, regeneration
and rinse rates can be
obtained from
manufacturer's literature.
The rates should be verified
in the field.
Cooling Tower Usage Sum of Water lost via Windage is the water
windage + water driven from the tower due
evaporated from the tower the tower fans. The
+ blow down from the windage loss decreases if
tower the tower is provided with
a mist eliminator.
Windage Rate Commonly 0.1 to 0.3 % of The Tower recirculation
the Recirculation Rate rate can be obtained from
the manufacturers
literature and or head
versus flow curve for the
pump
Tower Evaporation Rate C x _T x Cp / (Hv) C is the tower recirculation
rate in the units of lbs of
water per minute , T is the
temperature difference
across the cooling tower in
degrees Fahrenheit, Cp is
 the specific heat = 1
BTU/lb and Hv is the heat
of vaporization = 1,000
Btu/lb of water evaporated
Cooling Tower Blow down (Windage Rate x ( Cycles of Cycles of Concentration =
Rate Concentration -1) - Tower conductivity or chloride
Evaporation Rate) / (1- level in the cooling tower
Cycles of Concentration) blowdown/ conductivity or
chloride level in the
cooling tower makeup
water

Boiler Usage
Boiler make up Boiler Steam Rate -
Condensate Return + Boiler
Blow Down
Boiler Blow down Range of 4 to 8 % of boiler
makeup

Table 1: Description of Common Inputs, Losses and Wastewater Discharges

- Where the inputs and output flows are not measured, estimates of water flow
can be obtained by calculation, process knowledge and engineering judgment.
- At many facilities, the utilities area is the largest user of water.
Reasons:
 Facility in a warm climate which requires controlled humidity and temperatures
in the production and packaging areas uses a significant amount of water in
the cooling towers to remove heat from the sites chillers
 Water is blown down from the cooling tower at a higher rate than is required
to control corrosion, scaling and bio-fouling.
 Facilities that generate steam for production and heating or cooling purposes
which have low rates of condensate return can use considerable amount of
water.
2.5.3. Water Consumption and Generation

The plant needs to reduce its water consumption because it was facing
uncertainty in the sustainability of its water supply for new drug products. They rely
most on the water authority for water supply. Therefore, it is very difficult for them to
get a constant water supply. Besides, the groundwater was polluted with saltwater
intrusion and also other property contamination. Reducing consumption of water in
the factory brings a lot of impact on reliability on the water authority as well as saving
cost of production. Since pharmaceutical companies need a large amount of water,
reducing is another way to reduce cost in their plant.
Reducing wastewater generation will definitely benefits to the environment.
Water pollution has been increasing drastically throughout the years and it have been
said that the freshwater sources have been depleting towards the years. Wastewater
can be recycled, but water treatment operations have to be used in order to recycle
them. Therefore, reducing wastewater can help the treatment plant to lessen their
burden as well as preventing pollution to the environment. As for the plant, the
wastewater generated from the utilities is less polluted and can be treated or safe to
be used for other purposes such as sanitary and also irrigation. From here, it will not
only reduce the wastewater generation but also reduces the water consumption in the
plant. This enables the company to use the water more efficiently.
2.5.4. Water Pinch Analysis
2.5.4.1. Introduction
Water Pinch Analysis or known as WPA is a concept of systematic technique
for reducing water consumption and wastewater generation through many processes
or activities that uses water. This concept originates from the heat pinch analysis. The
WPA was first used by Wang and Smith. From there onwards, it has been widely used
as a tool for water conservation in industrial process plants. Now, they have even
applied it for urban or domestic building.
Techniques for setting targets for maximum recovery of water capabilities of
any type of water using operation includes mass transfer and non mass transfer based
systems. These include the course and sink composite curves and water cascade
analysis (WCA). The source and sink composite curves is a graphical tool for setting
water recovery and also the design of water recovery networks.
We have identified one of the software which is called the Water Design.
Water Design is a software tool which is sufficient for developing many aspects of
water pinch analysis and synthesis. This software could cover chapter 1 to 7 of the
Industrial Water Reuse and Wastewater Minimization by Mann, J.G. and Y.A. Liu,
Mcgraw-Hill, 1999. It originates from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States.
2.5.4.2. Advantages

Advantages
 Free software
 Easy to install and user friendly
 Capable of solving most of the water pinch analysis problems
 Compact size of software size
 Won many awards from the institution level up to international level.
 Compatibility with Window Vista, and XP

2.5.4.3. Important Parameters

The important parameters that have to been included into the software are
 Limiting flowrate (ton/hr)
 Limiting inlet concentration (ppm)
 Limiting outlet concentration(ppm)
2.5.4.4. Approach used and why, source to be reuse and assumptions

As for the approach for the plant, firstly, the main water source usage was analyzed
into sections. From here, few sections have been analyzed to have large amount of
water consumption. The water consumption is as follows:
Section Water Consumption (gallons per day)
Production 66,045
Sanitary 30,000
Irrigation 34,000
 Utilities 199,955
total 330000
Table 2 : Water consumption according to sections
After knowing the water consumption in each section, we analyzed the limiting water
concentration consumption in each section. Then, assumption has been for setting the
minimum water targets for the plant water usage. Assumptions have been made as
follows:
Section Limiting Inlet Limiting Outlet
Concentration(ppm) Concentration(ppm)
Production 0.00 150.00
Sanitary 5.00 100.00
Irrigation 5.00 50.00
Utilities 0.00 10.00
Table 3 : Limiting concentration for each sections

As shown above, assumptions have been made on the limiting inlet

concentration as well as the limiting outlet concentration. These assumptions have
been made from references from journals as well as books. In pharmaceutical
companies, production section must use water with 0 ppm concentration due to
consumption purposes. Most of the water in the production section is used for
cleaning the equipment and also some are used in the process. While for sanitary, a
little concentration was allowed as the water is only used for flushing the toilet and
washing the toilet. Similarly, a little concentration was also allowed for irrigation as it
is only used for flowering and gardening purposes. Utilities must use 0 ppm water
concentration as well, due to prevention of corrosion and also contamination of the
equipments. Utilities refer more to cooling towers and boilers in this section.
The source of stream wanted to be reused is the water from the utilities
because the wastewater does not contain too many impurities inside it and therefore,
can be used for irrigation and also sanitary purposes.
2.5.4.5. Process flow diagram of the water analysis
Figure : Process flow diagram of the water analysis
 The blue line denotes freshwater, green line denotes recycle water and finally
the red line denotes wastewater. Operation 1 represents production, operation 2
represents sanitary, operation 3 represents irrigation and finally operation 4
represents utilities. The diagram also denotes the impurities concentration at each
operation. The limiting inlet and outlet concentration is also shown to let the users
know the amount of water that can be recycled. As shown, operation 4 which is the
utilities can recycled back their water source to the operation 2, sanitary and
operation 3, irrigation at 10ppm. This is because the water concentration recycled
back into the operation 2 and 3 is within the range acceptable for the operation (Table
2 ). Total flow rate recycled is also shown in the diagram with 2.35ton/hr for operation
2 and 2.70 ton/hr for operation 3.

2.5.4.6. Results of the approach and how to use pinch analysis

Our approach is quite similar with the water pinch analysis results. From the
assumption made on the limiting concentration of the water, we can estimate the
water source that we can recycle. As estimated, the water source from the utilities can
be recycled due to the low contamination of the water. By inserting the data into the
water pinch analysis, it shows that which operation we can recycle the water from.
Indirectly, this can reduce the water consumption for the respectively operation later
on. From this case, water consumption for sanitary and also irrigation can be reduced
because the water consumption can be recycled from the water used in the utilities.
2.5.4.7. Graphs and diagrams to support our results

There are two diagrams that can be used to support our results. As we can see
from Figure 1, water concentration at operation 4 is within the range of operation 2
and 3. Therefore the water pinch can be applied into this section. The water pinch can
be done at 10 ppm as highlighted in the diagram.
Figure 1: Concentration-Interval Diagram
 While the second diagram will be the concentration-composite curve, where it
shows how the wastewater and also the freshwater intersect in the graph in terms of
concentration. Red line represents wastewater while blue line represent freshwater.
The graph shows that intersection of the red line and blue line is at 10 ppm which
represents the freshwater can be pinch for usage in the operation. Each slope
represents the water concentration in the operation. The minimum flow rate is 31.20
ton/hr while the average outlet concentration is 77.15 ppm.

Figure: Concentration-Composite Curve Graph

2.5.5. Conclusion

Before water pinch analysis, total water consumption is 330000 gpd. After
water pinch analysis, the total water consumption is 266000. Therefore, there have
been reductions of 64000gpd in the water usage or 19.4% in percentage terms.