An internet of things approach for water efficiency: A case study of the beverage factory

Jagtap, Sandeep; Skouteris, George; Choudhari, Vilendra; Rahimifard, Shahin; Duong, Linh Nguyen Khanh

Abstract

There is a lack of knowledge among food manufacturers about adopting the Internet of Things (IoT)-based water monitoring system and its ability to support water minimisation activities. It is therefore necessary to investigate the applicability of IoT-based real-time water monitoring systems in a real food manufacturing environment to pursue water-saving opportunities accordingly. This article aims to propose an architecture of an IoT-based water-monitoring system needed for real-time monitoring of water usage, and address any water inefficiencies within food manufacturing. This article looks at a study conducted in a food beverage factory where an IoT-based real-time water monitoring system is implemented to analyse the complete water usage in order to devise solutions and address water overconsumption/wastage during the manufacturing process. The successful implementation of an IoT-based real-time water monitoring system offered the beverage factory a detailed analysis of the water consumption and insights into the water hotspots that needed attention. This action initiated several water-saving project opportunities, which contributed to the improvement of water sustainability and led to an 11% reduction in the beverage factory’s daily water usage.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 12, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Mar 18, 2021
• Publication Date: Mar 18, 2021
• Deposit Date: Jul 23, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 4, 2021
• Journal: Sustainability (Switzerland)
• Electronic ISSN: 2071-1050
• Publisher: MDPI
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 6
• Article Number: 3343
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063343
• Keywords: waste reduction; Internet of Things; food beverage industry; recovery and reuse; water monitoring system; water sustainability
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/7487304
• Publisher URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/6/3343