Industrial water use refers to the abstraction, intake, and consumption of water by manufacturing, energy production, mining, and other industrial sectors for processes such as cooling, heating, washing, chemical reactions, dilution, and steam generation. Scientifically, it is characterized by metrics including withdrawal, consumptive use, return flows, and water-use efficiency, and is often analyzed by sector (e.g., thermoelectric power, pulp and paper, metallurgy, food processing). Research focuses on quantifying demand, assessing water quality impacts of effluents, optimizing process water cycles, and evaluating technologies for reuse, recycling, and substitution to reduce freshwater dependence and environmental stress.
The environmental footprint of data centers already rivals some of the world's largest countries, according to a United Nations University report, which also predicts their water and energy use and pollution will double in ...
Environment
Jun 3, 2026
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By 2030, the global data centers powering artificial intelligence are projected to consume 945 terawatt-hours of electricity. This is nearly triple the combined annual electricity use of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria—countries ...
Environment
Jun 3, 2026
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Pomegranate peel discarded by food vendors could soon help clean up contaminated water, thanks to research from the Department of Chemistry at the Faculty of Science. Led by Professor Sam Li, the research team developed a ...
Nanomaterials
May 26, 2026
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The volume of water drawn from Scotland's rivers and lochs by the agricultural sector surged by more than 500% during periods of water scarcity in recent years, new research has found. The University of Strathclyde study ...
Environment
May 18, 2026
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9
Potentially harmful chemicals can contaminate untreated water used in recycling plants to clean plastics before they're processed into new products, according to a new study by an Iowa State University research group. Researchers ...
Environment
Mar 25, 2026
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The São Paulo Metropolitan Area (SPMA) in Brazil has approximately 22 million inhabitants and consumes an average of 61.6 cubic meters (61,600 liters) of water per second. Although nearly the entire public water supply originates ...
Environment
Mar 20, 2026
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11
Efforts to prevent pathogenic contaminations such as salmonella in dry food processing facilities will take a step forward through new research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst describing a novel chemical mixture ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 18, 2026
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12
The presence of small plastic pellets on the beaches of Donostia and Orio has drawn attention to a little-studied source of pollution: leakage of industrial microplastics that reach the sea through stormwater drainage networks. ...
Environment
Mar 13, 2026
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After weeks of relentless rain and flooding, and even more forecast, 2025's droughts and hosepipe bans feel like ancient history. But they shouldn't.
Environment
Feb 18, 2026
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16
As semiconductor manufacturing rapidly expands to meet growing global demand for generative AI and advanced electronics, a new review published in Environmental Science & Technology assesses the current state of science, ...
Environment
Feb 13, 2026
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