Business & climate hand in hand when working with water

The frequent news reporting on extreme weather has hardly bypassed anyone. How permanent some of the changes will be is still up for debate, but a view on the reporting from the meteorological and hydrological institutions shows clearly that the gaps between high water flow and water scarcity are getting bigger and extreme weather situations occur more frequently. This is a fact, and it is already giving production leaders who depend on water or steam, a headache.   

“There are several ways to avoid limitations and disturbances related to climate changes. The solutions depend on the situation and of course also on future needs for the industry in question”, says Hampus Bellander, head of Water Solutions at Adven.  

Hampus and his water concept team at Adven go for tailor-made solutions. The team aims for circularity, which in many ways combines environmental sustainability with corporate robustness and higher profitability. In this field, climate & business go hand in hand. As Adven’s engineers create closed systems for water, cooling or steam they simultaneously reduce – and often prevent – unwelcome disturbances from the outside. And obviously, unwelcome disturbances from the inside are not getting out. 

“With closed systems, industries need less water and use less energy, which of course improve cost efficiency. They also become less dependent on water flow or temperature to remain stable, which increases production safety. On top of that, they are more likely to have a prosperous river outside the door”, Hampus Bellander underlines. 

With climate change follow new needs – and new demands. Today more water is often required for cooling in industrial processes and that doesn’t necessarily align with the current environmental permits and local restrictions. In the same way a low level of ground water affects both environment and production. Difficulties complying with permits might increase as rivers, lakes and sea may not be able to handle higher outlet temperatures. Another challenge is that the technical equipment may not be adapted for the new situation. 

“Sometimes there is simply a lack of water, and it is difficult to obtain a good enough volume to the process. These new situations require new solutions”, says Angela Eslava, concept developer at Adven. 

Angela Eslava specializes in sustainable industrial water treatment and solutions. She and her colleagues work with the whole water process: raw water treatment, make-up water production, wastewater treatment, sludge treatment and valorization, flue gas condensate treatment, water for hydrogen production and biogas production. They work with many water-intensive industries where the water usage can be of the same size as a Nordic city. The team design solutions that treat different types of water, meet all regulations, minimize the use of resources, and reduce overall water consumption for the benefit of environment and business. 

The Adven business model, Energy as a Service® (EaaS), is valid not only when working with energy such as heat, steam or cooling, but also when working with water applications and solutions.  

“EaaS means we partner with our customers, taking full responsibility for the investment, the project management, the plant’s operation and maintenance on a long-term basis”, Angela Eslava explains.  

This way Adven’s customers, or rather partners, can handle even a complicated conversion to a more sustainable production, but still keep focus on their own core business. By improving the industrial water treatment processes Adven makes an impact to their business and – as importantly – often to the environment too. By constructing closed systems, reusing the water, one can secure quality and minimize risks of outer effects like extreme weather. At the same time, the environment is protected as outlets are extensively decreased – or even excluded.

“With our minds on circularity, we can help industries to meet several much-desired goals – and to save noticeable amounts of energy and water”, Hampus Bellander states.

Efficient industrial processes with MVR evaporation

Biokraft’s biogas production made more sustainable with evaporation

Reducing Kotkamills’ environmental load through evaporation and chemical recycling