Relation between Energy production and Water in Spain. A particular case for Waste Water Treatment Plants in Granada.

Abstract In recent years the relationship between the energy produced and the amount of fresh water needed in the process is attracting increasing attention. In this work we have carried out a systematic study of that relationship using the Water Footprint (WF) approach. We have compared the contribution of each energy source, distinguishing between renewable and non-renewable, in the production of electricity in Spain during the last three decades, to later relate each energy source to its corresponding consumptive Water Footprint. For comparative purposes, we have also extended our analysis to other European countries and to the region of Andalusia. We also performed a study over a sample of six different-type Waste Water Treatment Plants (WWTP) in the province of Granada to estimate the Used Fresh Water (UFW) along the full chain of treating water in the plants.This master thesis was developed during the course 2019/2020 of "Master's Degree in Techniques and Science of Water Quality (IDEA) at the University of Granada"