Industrial

 

It is estimated that 22% of worldwide water use is industrial. Major industrial uses include hydroelectric dams, thermoelectric power plants, which use water for cooling, ore and oil refineries, which use water in chemical processes, and manufacturing plants, which use water as a solvent. Water withdrawal can be very high for certain industries, but consumption is generally much lower than that of agriculture.

Water is used in renewable power generation. Hydroelectric power derives energy from the force of water flowing downhill, driving a turbine connected to a generator. This hydroelectricity is a low-cost, non-polluting, renewable energy source. Ultimately, the energy in a hydroelectric power plant is supplied by the sun. Heat from the sun evaporates water, which condenses as rain in higher altitudes and flows downhill. Pumped-storage hydroelectric plants also exist, which pump water uphill when demand is low, and use the stored water to produce electricity when demand is high.

Hydroelectric power plants generally require the creation of a large artificial lake. Evaporation from this lake is higher than evaporation from a river due to the larger surface area exposed to the elements, resulting in much higher water consumption. The process of driving water through the turbine and tunnels or pipes also briefly removes this water from the natural environment, creating water withdrawal. The impact of this withdrawal on wildlife varies greatly depending on the design of the power plant.

Pressurized water is used in the cooling of machinery to prevent overheating. This is generally a very small source of water consumption relative to other uses.

Water is also used in many large scale industrial processes, such as thermoelectric power production, oil refining, fertilizer production and other chemical plant use. Discharge of untreated water from industrial uses is pollution. Pollution includes discharged solutes (chemical pollution) and increased water temperature (thermal pollution). Industry requires pure water for many applications and uses a variety of purification techniques both in water supply and discharge. Industrial consumption of water is generally much lower than withdrawal, due to laws requiring industrial grey water to be treated and returned to the environment.

 

Tasks

 

1. Find in the text the sentence in which it is said that…

 

1). …более половины всей воды используется для орошения.

2). …в некоторых отраслях промышленности потребление воды может быть очень высоким.

3). …вода используется для получения возобновляемой электроэнергии.

4). …электричество, получаемое на гидроэлектростанциях, является дешёвым, экологически чистым и возобновляемым ресурсом.

5). …влияние отбора воды на дикую природу зависит от типа электростанции.

6). …вода под давлением используется в охлаждении машинного оборудования.

7). …промышленное потребление воды обычно ниже, чем отбор воды.