Industry News: Canada plans new coal effluent rules, ultrapure water market booms
Canada plans new coal effluent rules
Environment and Climate Change Canada, an organization charged with implementing the Government of Canada’s environmental agenda, is considering imposing new coal effluent limits that would cut down on the amount of discharges from coal mining by 2019, according to CBC News.
The proposal would require new coal mines to collect and monitor all effluent through a final discharge point where it would have to meet new limits for suspended solids, nitrates and selenium, a toxic byproduct. Coal effluent limits would be monitored after discharge into the environment at existing mines. The first stakeholder consultation was held in Nova Scotia in February with others planned in coming weeks for Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia.
Ultrapure water market bolstered by IIoT to exceed $12 billion in 2026
The market for ultrapure water systems and components will exceed $12 billion in 2026, according to the latest forecasts by market research company McIlvaine. This includes $2 billion of IIoT-related products and services supplied by ultrapure water system and product manufacturers. Additionally, $2 billion of ultrapure water products previously sold directly to operators will now be sold to third party O&M companies. As a result, there will be a $4 billion market shaped by IIoT.
M-WERC, The Water Council release joint roadmap on Energy Water Nexus
The Midwest Energy Research Consortium (M-WERC) and The Water Council released their first-of-its kind Energy-Water Nexus (EWN) Roadmap report. A summary of the report is available to the public and is designed to provide an overview of the more comprehensive roadmap available to members of each organization.
The report seeks to provide a usable tool for members of both organizations to identify specific EWN applications, benefits, target markets, industry categories, technologies, products and active companies within the market space. Additionally, this report will allow members to focus on, reposition and analyze their products and services within the framework of the growing global markets. The online version of the public report is available at m-werc.org.
Research examines benefits, costs of novel water reuse systems
The Center for Sustainable Landscapes (CSL) net-zero building at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is recognized as one of the greenest buildings in the world, thanks in part to a "decentralized" water system that treats all non-potable water on site. But research into the efficacy of these systems compared to traditional treatment is greatly limited, until now. A collaboration between Phipps and the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering has provided researchers a greater understanding of the life cycle of water reuse systems designed for living buildings, from construction through day-to-day use.
The research, titled “Evaluating the Life Cycle Environmental Benefits and Trade-Offs of Water Reuse Systems for Net-Zero Buildings,” is published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology (DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b03879), and is the first-of-its-kind research utilizing life-cycle assessment (LCA).
