Water Footprint Inventory Construction of Cathode Copper Products in a Chinese Eco-Industry

Long Zhang, Xiaoyu Luan, Xinyi Chen, Shuhao Zhang, Yukun Liang and Zhaojie Cui
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Long Zhang: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
Xiaoyu Luan: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
Xinyi Chen: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
Shuhao Zhang: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
Yukun Liang: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
Zhaojie Cui: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-15

Abstract: Copper is an important strategic resource for the national economy and social security of China. Water use is a significant component of copper production. However, water shortages and water pollution are two global crises in water resource management. In this study, a copper production industry in China was studied from the perspective of water footprint (WF) and ecological industry (eco-industry). A WF inventory was built by accounting for the entire production and supply chain process, including mining, ore dressing, transportation, smelting, and electrolysis. An index system comprising target, criterion, and variable layers was established to evaluate the sustainable utilization of water resources. It was observed that the studied industry showed a good sustainability for water resource utilization. Only 65.67 tons of freshwater per ton of product was inputted in the entire process due to virtual water (VW) and the use of reclaimed water. However, the WF of each ton of cathode copper product was 162.58 t, and the imported VW of the eco-industry accounted for 92.45%. Increasing the VW import and reducing the VW export can alleviate water shortages. A detailed WF analysis showed that the effects of evaporation and different types of losses on the blue WF (BWF) were significant and should be considered. Upstream water consumption of electricity and other energy sources were also observed to be an important part of the BWF. Regardless of whether freshwater or recycled water was used, the WF can be reduced only by effectively reducing water consumption.

Keywords: eco-industry; sustainability evaluation; water footprint inventory; virtual water; cathode copper; water resource management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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