Abstract
Water is a key resource for all life. Recent droughts have also exemplified the importance for manufacturers to understand their impact on water resources. While most manufacturers typically know the amount of water they use in their facilities, they have little knowledge about the indirect effects they have on water resources. In this paper, the indirect impact from electricity use by automakers on water resources is examined. Water withdrawal and consumption from electricity use by hypothetical but representative facilities around the world is quantified and analyzed. The results indicate that the water withdrawal and consumption caused by the use of electricity is larger than the direct water use and consumption in the facilities themselves.
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Acknowledgements
The material presented in this manuscript is based on research done within the Sustainable Design and Manufacturing group at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The authors would like to thank all who have contributed invaluable input and support, including but not limited to Thomas Niemann, Sherry Mueller, Sue Rokosz, Heidi McKenzie, Hyung Chul Kim and Tim Wallington from the Ford Motor Company.
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Bras, B., Carlile, A. (2016). An Analysis of Indirect Water Withdrawal and Consumption in Automotive Manufacturing Facilities. In: Setchi, R., Howlett, R., Liu, Y., Theobald, P. (eds) Sustainable Design and Manufacturing 2016. SDM 2016. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol 52. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32098-4_18
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32098-4_18
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