(125d) Modeling-Based and Data-Driven Frameworks to Promote Water Sustainability in Chemical Manufacturing Plants at Dow

Freshwater availability is key to Dow’s continued operations. Recognizing that water is a shared and finite resource, Dow is working to accelerate water stewardship in its operations and to innovate water-saving products. Through the World-Leading Operations Performance 2025 Sustainability Goal, Dow has identified six of its manufacturing sites as key water-stressed sites where it is committed to reducing the freshwater intake intensity by 20 percent [1]. At these sites, we are leveraging data driven techniques to develop freshwater reduction strategies and advanced forecasting techniques to mitigate the impacts of drought events.

In this talk, we will present two such efforts. The first effort presents a framework on leveraging open-source and site-specific water availability data to identify current water supply risk and predict future water availability scenarios. We have developed a digital dashboard that identifies the short-, medium-, and long-term risk of water availability to the site. We will also present a framework to leverage timeseries forecasting techniques to predict future water supply and guide drought contingency plans for the site. These modeling capabilities can also be used in guiding infrastructure investment decisions to develop strategies that mitigate the impact of drought events.

In the second sub-topic, we will present a framework to assess and improve the cooling strategy efficiency in existing sites. Inefficient cooling can affect the nominal plant operation and may give rise to (i) excessive water withdrawal from external reservoirs (or make up), and (ii) subpar asset productivity due to cooling bottlenecks. Water quality also affects the condition of the pipeline which in turn affects productivity due to the arising need for more frequent maintenance. Finally, in extreme cases seasonal hot periods may pose an additional strain on cooling efficiency since less external water may be available to cool down the units and on top of that with higher incoming temperature. To this end, we present a framework that (i) assesses the current cooling water requirements of a plant in terms of cooling duty and water flows, (ii) evaluates the economic effect of cooling efficiency on productivity, and (iii) offers alternative cooling strategies to minimize strain on external water, maximize cooling efficiency and minimize implementation capital.

References:

[1] Recycling Water in Water-Stressed Communities. Dow Corporate homepage [online accessed: March 27^th, 2023]. Available at: https://corporate.dow.com/en-us/science-and-sustainability/2025-goals/world-water-day/recycling-water-20.html.