Severe environmental issues such as excessive energy and water resources consumption and massive carbon emissions are becoming progressively prominent. Energy, water and carbon emissions are also intrinsically linked and have become the critical indicators for sustainable development. Nexus analysis between the three resources has been increasingly emphasised, mainly using mathematical programming approaches. Applications of insight-based approach for nexus study, however, have been directed very few attentions. This paper presents a new framework for the optimal design of integrated energy-water systems based on Pinch Analysis considering the energy-water-carbon emissions nexus. The framework consists of a series of Pinch Analysis methods, specifically Power Cascade Table (PCT), Water Cascade Table (WCT) and Energy Planning Pinch Diagram (EPPD), to obtain the minimum targets for each resource. The established targets provide valuable insights to assess the whole integrated system following any design modifications on certain resource networks. The framework was tested on a small-scale industrial plant case study, where adjustments on the system design were performed to achieve 20% CO₂ gas discharge reduction target. The final integrated design gave minimal impacts of up to 12% changes on the energy system, while the water system deviates by less than 1% from the initial design. The outputs from the framework can assist designers in the planning of their integrated energy-water systems while meeting the environmental requirements.

能源和水资源过度消耗、大量碳排放等严重环境问题日益突出。能源、水和碳排放也有内在联系，已成为可持续发展的关键指标。三种资源之间的关系分析越来越受到重视，主要使用数学规划方法。然而，基于洞察力的方法在关系研究中的应用很少受到关注。考虑到能源-水-碳排放关系，本文提出了基于夹点分析的综合能源-水系统优化设计的新框架。该框架由一系列夹点分析方法组成，特别是电力级联表（PCT）、水级联表（WCT）和能源规划夹点图（EPPD），获得每个资源的最小目标。在对某些资源网络进行任何设计修改后，既定目标为评估整个集成系统提供了宝贵的见解。该框架在一个小型工业工厂案例研究中进行了测试，其中对系统设计进行了调整以实现 20% 的 CO₂气体排放减少目标。最终的集成设计对能源系统的影响最小，高达 12% 的变化，而水系统与初始设计的偏差不到 1%。该框架的输出可以帮助设计者在满足环境要求的同时规划其综合能源-水系统。