The global transition to net-zero emissions necessitates the integration of clean hydrogen as a key solution. To facilitate the required expansion of clean hydrogen production, sustainable water sources are required to support the electrolysis process. Utilizing nontraditional water sources such as water resource recovery facility (WRRF) effluents could potentially alleviate the water constraints and create cobenefits, but the real-world feasibility has not been explored in depth. Here, we investigated the geospatial interplay between WRRFs and H₂ users in a clean hydrogen economy. We developed an optimization framework for contiguous U.S. that would identify H₂ users-WRRF pairing through techno-economic constraint and multicriteria decision analysis, and we found that utilizing reclaimed water from WRRFs could save 66% (62–99%) of freshwater for clean hydrogen economy while accumulating $758 (275–1162) million annual national cost savings. The added benefits from H₂ users to WRRFs such as pure oxygen aeration would provide a compelling new opportunity for infrastructural symbiosis but warrant a future investigation on its technical and economic feasibilities.

中文翻译：

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水资源回收设施为电解氢经济赋能


全球向净零排放过渡需要将清洁氢作为关键解决方案。为了促进清洁氢气生产所需的扩展，需要可持续的水源来支持电解过程。利用非传统水源，如水资源回收设施 （WRRF） 污水，可能会缓解水资源限制并产生协同效益，但实际可行性尚未得到深入探索。在这里，我们研究了清洁氢经济中 WRRF 和 H₂ 用户之间的地理空间相互作用。我们为美国本土开发了一个优化框架，该框架将通过技术经济约束和多标准决策分析确定 H₂ 用户-WRRF 配对，我们发现利用 WRRF 的再生水可以节省 66% （62-99%） 的淡水以实现清洁氢经济，同时每年节省 758 （275-1162） 万美元的国家成本。H₂ 用户对 WRRF 的额外好处，例如纯氧曝气，将为基础设施共生提供一个引人注目的新机会，但需要对其技术和经济可行性进行未来研究。