Singapore’s Water Use to reduce by 70% with Industrial Water Recycling
The rising demand for water by various industries in Singapore has become a catalyst for new conservation techniques such as water recycling. The Singapore government has incentivised companies that are willing to adopt the technology by opening up funding that these companies can access for their upgrading.
Singapore’s National Water Agency, PUB, has opened three schemes (WEF, IWSDF, and Living Lab) which will be the basis for project funding and implementation. The priority of these schemes is big-ticket projects that are projected to deliver water savings of 3 million gallons a day.
As of this writing, the existing 22 projects under the program have resulted in 5 million gallons of water savings. Another 13 million gallons of savings is projected to be delivered in the next five years with the completion of on-going projects and the implementation of those in the pipeline.
The Singapore International Water Week will thrust into the spotlight the industrial water recycling programs including that of the PUB. More than 180 leaders from various industries will convene to discuss the best practices and significant issues for water use reduction and reclaiming efforts.
Recycled industrial water is suitable for use in industrial activities such as heating and cooling, general cleaning that will only require non-potable water. In order to increase the rate of recycled water use, partnerships between the PUB and the large water users have been fostered through water management, technical support for recycled water solutions, and other stewardship projects.
Companies such as the Silicon Manufacturing Company (SSMC) and Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore (PCS) have a water recycling system in place in their operations. They use NEWater technology which proactively optimised water consumption in their operations. SSMC had achieved 70 per cent recycled water by reusing their discharge; recycling used water and other processes.
A demo plant had recently been commissioned by PCS to extract treated water from their CAS (Conventional Activated Sludge) collection. Experts predict that their recycling rate will go up to 25 per cent.
A patented system developed by Wyeth Nutritionals in Singapore called the High-Efficiency Reverse Osmosis (HEROTM) System had also been funded by the PUB which allowed them to build their water recycling plant. The treated water produced from their plant is used in their cooling towers.
PUBs mantra “Reduce, Replace, and Reclaim” has resulted in the development of Water Efficiency Management Plan (WEMP) for industrial water users. Each company has its own water meter for monitoring and based on the data collected will create a WEMP which they will propose to the PUB.
Using data from the WEMP per company, the PUB will consolidate and come up with their guide for best practices in water recycling per sector. As a professional plumber, we believe this will help predict water usage patterns and develop strategies to use water more efficiently.
The approach was also crucial in developing water efficiency benchmarks for various sectors from private, commercial, to manufacturing. It will be useful for companies and the government in managing water usage throughout the country.