WATER FOOTPRINT MODEL OF CEMENT PRODUCTION: A CASE STUDY IN WESTERN IRAN

Cement production is of particular importance in the construction industry. However, cement production is dependent on water consumption. Iran is located in a dry region; thus, investigating water consumption of Iranian cement production and providing solutions for water crisis of such production is of high interest among cement industry practitioners. Few studies have considered virtual water consumption and water footprint of cement production in Iran and all of the world. This paper addresses this knowledge gap. It proposes a comprehensive model for evaluating water footprint of cement production based on the type of energy consumption, transportation, and human's effect using a system boundary analysis. The relationship between water footprint and energy consumption is highlighted, and solutions to the water consumption problem of cement production are provided. To demonstrate the application of the proposed method, a cement manufacturer located on the western Iran as a case study is analyzed. A sensitivity analysis is conducted to show the effects of considered parameters on the proposed water footprint model. The paper shows that the total water footprint among the selected cement manufacturer accounts for $3614\times10^{3}m^{3}$ in 2017, highlighting a high contribution to cement production in water consumption and risk of maintaining the cement industry in dry regions. The paper also shows that, for the selected cement manufacturer, virtual water footprint is estimated to be 11 times more that direct water consumption, which contributes to 90 percent of the total water footprint. In addition, the paper demonstrates that water consumption intensity in the selected case study is estimated to be 2.126$m^3$ per each ton of cement produced, while direct water consumption of each ton of cement is estimated to be 0.2$m^3$. The paper's findings cast a new insight into water consumption of cement production wider than currently available. This paper contributes to producing environmentally-friendly cement in Iran and all of the world.