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.
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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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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17
The world is looking for more clean water. Intense storms and warmer weather have worsened droughts and reduced the amount of clean water underground and in rivers and lakes on the surface.
Environment
Feb 4, 2026
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14
Across the world, water scarcity is emerging as one of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century. Climate change is pushing rivers and aquifers into unprecedented extremes, droughts and floods are intensifying, and ...
Scientists have collaborated to develop a new class of highly precise filtration membranes. The research, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, could significantly reduce energy consumption and enable ...
Bio & Medicine
Jan 21, 2026
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59
In industrial pipes, mineral deposits build up the way limescale collects inside a kettle ⎯ only on a far larger and more expensive scale. Mineral scaling is a major issue in water and energy systems, where it slows flow, ...
Nanomaterials
Nov 22, 2025
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140
As the everyday use of AI has exploded in recent years, so have the energy demands of the computing infrastructure that supports it. But the environmental toll of these large data centers, which suck up gigawatts of power ...
Environment
Nov 10, 2025
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174
An international research team has published a study unveiling the hidden water footprint of materials such as steel, cement, paper, plastics, and rubber. The findings highlight alarming growth in freshwater consumption tied ...
Environment
Nov 3, 2025
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