Virtual Water Footprint in Industry (Case Study: Detergent Industry)

Iran is located in arid and semi-arid climates; Due to the fact such country is facing with the growing consumption of water that can be addressed to the water crisis audience in the coming years. Therefore, to tackle the problem we should be sensitive about all type of water consumption. The industry sector is one of the consumers of water resources in the country and optimization of water consumption in this sector is a crucial priority that must be considered. This plan could save water consumption and also, the water needs of industries will also be met in the future. The present study was conducted on one of the largest detergent factories in Qazvin province. A system boundary analysis is provided for a detergent plant and specifies the range of calculations of water use factors. Using data from the plant and related calculations, the total water footprint of the plant in 2019 is estimated to be 26.64 𝑚3 for each product. Direct and indirect water footprints were estimated to be 0.658 and 25.9 𝑚3, respectively, indicating a high share of detergent production in water consumption. In this study, the amount of gray water footprint in the detergent industry was calculated and its rate for a detergent plant was calculated to be 14.5 cubic meters per tonne of product per year.