Argonne releases new version of water consumption tool for biofuel developers

In Illinois, a new version of an online tool created by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory will help biofuels developers gain a detailed understanding of water consumption of various types of feedstocks, aiding development of sustainable fuels that will reduce impact on limited water resources.

The newest version of the Water Assessment for Transportation Energy Resources (WATER) was released this week, and for the first time allows biofuels manufacturers to analyze water consumption associated with use of cellulosic feedstocks such as residue left from lumber production and other wood-based resources. The new tool also provides analysis down to the county level in the U.S. for the first time.