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If you’ve ever watched the smokestacks of a paper mill or felt the intense heat radiating from an industrial dryer, you’ve seen one of manufacturing’s most energy-hungry challenges: removing water. Drying and dewatering processes are the silent giants of industrial energy use, consuming enormous amounts of thermal and electrical power to evaporate or separate moisture from raw materials such as pulp, chemicals, textiles, and pharmaceuticals.
With tightening climate regulations, rising energy costs, and investor pressure on sustainability, this energy burden is no longer just a technical challenge—it is a strategic one. Companies that lead in reducing drying and dewatering emissions will gain a competitive edge, while laggards risk regulatory penalties, reputational damage, and higher operating costs.
When you think about the environmental impact of industry, smokestacks, heavy machinery, or fuel consumption might come to mind. What often goes unnoticed, however, is something much simpler: water. In factories that produce paper, chemicals, food, or even medicines, huge amounts of energy are spent just removing water from raw materials and products. This step—known as drying and dewatering—is one of the most energy-hungry processes in manufacturing, quietly consuming almost half of all the heat used in industry. Finding smarter, cleaner ways to separate water is now becoming one of the biggest opportunities to cut costs, lower emissions, and make industries more sustainable for the future.
Why It Matters
At first glance, drying and dewatering may not sound like a big deal, but in reality, they are some of the hidden giants of energy use. Every time paper is dried, chemicals are purified, or food is processed, large amounts of heat and electricity are consumed just to remove moisture.
Globally, nearly half of all industrial energy demand is tied to high-temperature processes such as drying and dewatering. These operations alone account for millions of tonnes of carbon emissions each year—on par with the annual output of entire nations. Research shows that improving efficiency in these processes, while integrating renewable electricity, could slash industrial heat demand by several dozen percentage points. The result would be a reduction of up to 5 megatonnes of CO₂ emissions annually, a change that would have a significant impact on climate goals.
But the case for innovation goes beyond the environment. Rising energy prices, increasing water scarcity, and tightening regulations are placing mounting pressure on industries worldwide. Companies that can cut their reliance on energy- and water-intensive methods not only reduce costs but also strengthen their resilience against supply chain risks and policy changes. In short, finding smarter ways to remove water from materials is more than a technical upgrade—it’s a strategic shift with the potential to reshape industries, boost competitiveness, and accelerate progress toward global sustainability.
The Business Case for Industrial Innovation
Decarbonizing drying and dewatering is not only about meeting climate goals; it is also about improving profitability and long-term resilience.
Energy expert Yvonne van Delft, coordinator of the Dutch SOLIDARITY project, points out that drying and dewatering account for such a large share of industrial energy use that they represent one of the fastest ways to deliver measurable CO₂ reductions. The business community, she explains, has specifically requested innovations in this area that balance technological feasibility with commercial sense.
TNO researcher Tamara Oukes emphasizes that interest from industry is rapidly accelerating. Pilot projects show that next-generation separation technologies align closely with companies’ own roadmaps to sustainability. With clearly defined milestones for 2030 and a vision for 2050, businesses adopting these technologies are not just complying with regulation—they are future-proofing their operations, reducing exposure to volatile energy and water markets, and signaling leadership to stakeholders.
Breakthrough Technologies Transforming Industry
The SOLIDARITY program has identified and demonstrated three breakthrough technologies that can redefine industrial separation. Each of these not only delivers environmental benefits but also offers tangible business value by reducing costs, minimizing risk, and creating new revenue opportunities.
Pervaporation: Lower Costs and Cleaner Operations in Oil & Gas
In natural gas processing, the removal of water vapor has traditionally relied on distillation, a method that requires heating large volumes of glycol-based solvents. While effective, this approach is both capital- and energy-intensive, driving up operating costs and leaving a sizable environmental footprint. As the oil and gas sector faces growing pressure to reduce emissions and improve efficiency, the limitations of distillation are becoming more apparent.
Pervaporation offers a next-generation alternative that replaces heat-intensive separation with a selective membrane process. By allowing only water molecules to pass through while retaining glycol and other larger compounds, pervaporation can reduce energy demand by as much as 70% compared to conventional methods. The result is not only a dramatic cut in fuel consumption and costs but also the elimination of volatile organic compounds, which improves workplace safety and reduces the risk of regulatory penalties.
For industry leaders, the adoption of pervaporation carries strategic benefits beyond immediate operational savings. Lower energy bills translate directly into improved margins, while cleaner operations strengthen compliance with tightening environmental standards. Just as importantly, demonstrating measurable reductions in emissions and chemical use reinforces alignment with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria. In an era where access to investment capital, shareholder confidence, and even licensing opportunities are tied to sustainability performance, pervaporation is emerging not just as a technical upgrade but as a business advantage.
Electrodialysis: Turning Waste into Value in Chemicals and Pharma
In the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, vast quantities of wastewater with high salt content—commonly known as brine—pose a persistent challenge. Traditional disposal methods such as deep-well injection or evaporation ponds are costly, resource-intensive, and fraught with environmental risks. These approaches often represent a financial sinkhole, turning valuable materials into liabilities while exposing companies to growing regulatory scrutiny over wastewater management.
Electrodialysis (ED) redefines the equation by offering a way to recover value instead of losing it. Using electrically charged membranes, ED selectively separates dissolved salts from wastewater streams. With the application of a low-voltage current, ions migrate through the membranes, leaving behind cleaner water while concentrating salts into a reusable by-product. This process not only reduces reliance on freshwater intake but also transforms what was once considered waste into a potential resource—whether reused on-site or sold as a raw material.
For businesses under pressure to adopt sustainable practices, the advantages are clear. Electrodialysis supports a “zero liquid discharge” (ZLD) model, helping organizations cut costs on wastewater treatment while meeting or exceeding regulatory requirements. At the same time, it strengthens resilience by reducing dependence on external water supplies and lowering exposure to raw material volatility. In short, ED transforms wastewater management from a compliance burden into a strategic driver of both sustainability and profitability.
Advanced Dewatering & Drying: Unlocking Efficiency in Paper Production
The pulp and paper industry remains one of the most energy-intensive sectors, with drying processes consuming a disproportionate share of thermal energy. Traditional methods, which rely on mechanically pressing water out of pulp followed by evaporation in steam-heated cylinders, are both effective and extremely inefficient. With sustainability targets growing stricter and energy costs rising, the industry is being pushed to rethink its most fundamental processes.
A wave of advanced dewatering and drying innovations is now shifting the paradigm. Technologies such as high-pressure shoe presses and impulse drying remove significantly more water mechanically before evaporation, slashing the energy needed in subsequent stages. At the same time, integrated heat recovery systems capture the latent heat released during evaporation and reuse it to preheat air and water streams, creating a cascading efficiency effect. Many mills are also exploring the integration of bioenergy derived from wood waste, effectively closing the loop by turning by-products into renewable fuel for their own operations.
These innovations offer more than incremental improvements—they represent a systemic transformation of paper production. By reducing energy intensity, mills can lower their carbon footprint and operating costs while improving long-term competitiveness. For an industry under constant pressure to balance cost efficiency with environmental responsibility, advanced drying technologies present a pathway to reconcile both. They make it possible to produce paper more sustainably without compromising quality, proving that resource efficiency can be a driver of growth rather than a constraint.
Strategic Payoffs of Sustainable Dewatering
The wider impact of adopting sustainable drying and dewatering technologies goes beyond operational efficiency. Companies gain measurable reductions in carbon emissions, helping them achieve climate commitments and avoid penalties under tightening carbon regulations. They also build greater resource resilience by reducing exposure to energy price volatility, water scarcity, and raw material risks.
Equally important, these innovations create opportunities for revenue diversification. Waste brine becomes a saleable input, recovered chemicals strengthen supply chains, and bio-based energy solutions turn residues into assets rather than costs. By aligning with ESG priorities, companies also improve their attractiveness to investors, lenders, and customers.
At a national level, initiatives like the SOLIDARITY project demonstrate how sustainable innovation can strengthen entire economies. Collaboration between research institutions, industry leaders, and innovative startups accelerates technological development, fosters knowledge leadership, and creates new markets for advanced clean technologies.
Military Applications: Enhancing Logistics and Resilience
For defense organizations, efficient drying and dewatering technologies are more than just sustainability measures—they are force multipliers. Military operations often take place in water-scarce or energy-constrained environments, where reducing dependence on supply convoys directly improves mission readiness and troop safety.
Electrodialysis, for example, offers the ability to purify and recycle water at forward operating bases, easing reliance on vulnerable supply chains and lowering the risks associated with transporting large volumes of water. The process also enables the recovery of valuable salts and minerals, which can be put to use in other field applications. Similarly, pervaporation and membrane-based separation technologies can reduce the energy required to process fuels and solvents, ultimately decreasing the logistical burden of fuel transport—a supply line that has historically been one of the most dangerous aspects of military operations.
Advanced drying systems also bring advantages in food and material storage. By removing moisture more effectively, these technologies extend the shelf life of rations and medical supplies while protecting sensitive equipment coatings from degradation, ensuring greater reliability in austere and unpredictable environments. At the infrastructure level, next-generation drying and dewatering systems can improve efficiency in paper, textile, and chemical processing facilities on military bases, driving down operating costs while aligning with defense sustainability goals.
By adopting these technologies, defense forces can reduce energy and water dependency, minimize supply chain vulnerabilities, and strengthen sustainability commitments—all while maintaining or even enhancing their operational capabilities.
Conclusion: From Compliance to Competitive Advantage
Industrial drying and dewatering stand among the most energy- and carbon-intensive operations in modern manufacturing. For business leaders, adopting new technologies in this space is no longer a matter of box-ticking compliance. It is a decisive move that strengthens competitiveness, operational resilience, and long-term market leadership in an increasingly carbon-constrained world.
By embracing solutions such as pervaporation, electrodialysis, and advanced dewatering systems, companies can do more than cut energy bills or reduce emissions. They can minimize regulatory risks, secure resource independence, and even generate new revenue streams from recovered water, salts, and bioenergy. Initiatives like the SOLIDARITY project demonstrate that progress toward 2030 and 2050 sustainability targets is not a constraint but an opportunity to reimagine industrial processes and accelerate economic performance.
The future of industry will not simply be drier—it will be cleaner, smarter, and more profitable. Those who invest today in energy-efficient separation technologies will not just keep pace with regulation; they will set the standard, shaping the markets and supply chains of tomorrow. In the transition to net zero, the winners will be those who view sustainability not as a cost but as the most powerful engine of innovation and growth.
References and Resources also include:
https://www.tno.nl/en/newsroom/insights/2024/10/three-breakthrough-technologies-drying/
