Assessing the carbon footprint of water production

Strutt, J.; Wilson, Sian; Shorney-Darby, Holly; Shaw, Andrew; Byers, Andrew

doi:10.1002/j.1551-8833.2008.tb09654.x

Cited by 57 publications

(40 citation statements)

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“…A study in Sweden evaluating water management infrastructures through LCA showed that the installation phase is primarily responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions caused by the main water supply network, even though it can be foreseen that in future scenarios the stages of maintenance and renewal would be the major contributors (Venkatesh et al 2009). The emissions associated with the construction of a single pipe were estimated to account for over 80% of the total impact during its life cycle (Strutt et al 2008). The proposed use of alternative materials including recycled steel in the production of these concrete structures can reduce emissions by 25% (Venkatesh et al 2009).…”

Section: Environmental Assessment Of Rwh At An Urban Scalementioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental analysis of rainwater harvesting infrastructures in diffuse and compact urban models of Mediterranean climate

Angrill

Farreny

Gasol

et al. 2011

Int J Life Cycle Assess

117

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Purpose At present, many urban areas in Mediterranean climates are coping with water scarcity, facing a growing water demand and a limited conventional water supply. Urban design and planning has so far largely neglected the benefits of rainwater harvesting (RWH) in the context of a sustainable management of this resource. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify the most environmentally friendly strategy for rainwater utilization in Mediterranean urban environments of different densities. Materials and methods The RWH systems modeled integrate the necessary infrastructures for harvesting and using rainwater in newly constructed residential areas. Eight scenarios were defined in terms of diffuse (D) and compact (C) urban models and the tank locations ((1) underground tank, (2) below-roof tank, (3) distributed-over-roof tank, and (4) block tank). The structural and hydraulic sizing of the catchment, storage, and distribution subsystems was taken into account using an average Mediterranean rainfall, the area of the harvesting surfaces, and a constant water demand for laundry. The quantification of environmental impacts was performed through a life cycle assessment, using CML 2001 Baseline method. The necessary materials and processes were considered in each scenario according to the lifecycle stages (i.e., materials, construction, transportation, use, and deconstruction) and subsystems. Results and discussion The environmental characterization indicated that the best scenario in both urban models is the distributed-over-roof tank (D3, C3), which provided a reduction in impacts compared to the worst scenario of up to 73% in diffuse models and even higher in compact ones, 92% in the most dramatic case. The lower impacts are related to the better distribution of tank weight on the building, reducing the reinforcement requirements, and enabling energy savings. The storage subsystem and the materials stage contributed most significantly to the impacts in both urban models. In the compact density model, the underground-tank scenario (C1) presented the largest impacts in most categories due to its higher energy consumption. Additionally, more favorable environmental results were observed in compact densities than in diffuse ones for the Global Warming Potential category along with higher water efficiencies.Conclusions The implementation of one particular RWH scenario over another is not irrelevant in drought-stress environments. Selecting the most favorable scenario in the development of newly constructed residential areas provides significant savings in CO 2 emissions in comparison with retrofit strategies. Therefore, urban planning should consider the design of RWH infrastructures using environmental criteria in addition to economic, social, and technological factors, adjusting the design to the potential uses for which the rainwater is intended. Recommendations and perspectives Additional research is needed to quantify the energy savings associated with the insulation caused by using the tank distributed ov...

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Section: Environmental Assessment Of Rwh At An Urban Scalementioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental analysis of rainwater harvesting infrastructures in diffuse and compact urban models of Mediterranean climate

Angrill

Farreny

Gasol

et al. 2011

Int J Life Cycle Assess

117

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Embodied emissions in purchased energy 3. All indirect emissions, such as those associated with transport of purchased goods, sold products, business travels, energy activities, disposal of products etc., not included in tiers I and II (WRI/WBCSD 2004;Carbon Trust 2007a, b;BSI 2008;CDP 2008;Matthews et al 2008a, b;Strutt et al 2008). Figure 2 illustrates the three tiers in carbon footprint estimation.…”

Section: Setting Boundarymentioning

confidence: 95%

Carbon footprint: current methods of estimation

Pandey

Agrawal

Pandey

2010

Environ Monit Assess

504

239

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Increasing greenhouse gaseous concentration in the atmosphere is perturbing the environment to cause grievous global warming and associated consequences. Following the rule that only measurable is manageable, mensuration of greenhouse gas intensiveness of different products, bodies, and processes is going on worldwide, expressed as their carbon footprints. The methodologies for carbon footprint calculations are still evolving and it is emerging as an important tool for greenhouse gas management. The concept of carbon footprinting has permeated and is being commercialized in all the areas of life and economy, but there is little coherence in definitions and calculations of carbon footprints among the studies. There are disagreements in the selection of gases, and the order of emissions to be covered in footprint calculations. Standards of greenhouse gas accounting are the common resources used in footprint calculations, although there is no mandatory provision of footprint verification. Carbon footprinting is intended to be a tool to guide the relevant emission cuts and verifications, its standardization at international level are therefore necessary. Present review describes the prevailing carbon footprinting methods and raises the related issues.

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“…While CO 2 is the best studied and most known, CH 4 , which constitutes up to 75% of the total gas emitted during anaerobic wastewater treatment, is 25 times more potent as a greenhouse gas (Forster et al, 2007;Daelman et al, 2012). Similarly nitrous oxide, although emitted in relatively low amounts, is 300 times more damaging than CO 2 (Daelman et al, 2012;Strutt et al, 2008). While, harvesting and/or recycling of these gases can potentially avert any detrimental impact (Oswald, 1995;Green et al, 1995a), it is now understood that methane-oxidising bacteria (MOB), a relatively common group of bacteria capable of utilising CH 4 as their sole carbon and energy source if sufficient O 2 is present, utilise in-pond algae-derived O 2 to consume much of the emitted CH 4 before it reaches the atmosphere ( Van der Ha et al, 2011;authors' unpublished data).…”

Section: Iaps As a Global Wastewater Treatment Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Belmont Valley integrated algae pond system in retrospect

Mambo¹,

Westensee²,

Zuma³

et al. 2014

WSA

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Integrated Algae Pond Systems (IAPS) are a derivation of the Oswald-designed Algal Integrated Wastewater Pond Systems (AIWPS®) and combine the use of anaerobic and aerobic bioprocesses to effect sewage treatment. IAPS technology was introduced to South Africa in 1996 and a pilot plant designed and commissioned at the Belmont Valley WWTW in Grahamstown. The system has been in continual use since implementation, and affords secondarily treated water for reclamation according to its design specifications, which most closely resemble those of the AIWPS Advanced Secondary Process. In this paper IAPS as a municipal sewage treatment technology is re-examined in relation to design and operation, the underpinning biochemistry of nutrient removal by algae is described, and a retrospective is provided on the demonstration system at the Belmont Valley WWTW. In addition to presenting details of the process flow, several shortcomings and/or oversights are highlighted and, in particular, the need for an appropriate tertiary treatment component. However, despite the use of IAPS for sewage treatment in many countries, this technology is still viewed with some scepticism. Thus, a major purpose of this overview is to provide a synthesis of available information on IAPS and an appraisal of its use for municipal sewage treatment.

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Assessing the carbon footprint of water production

Cited by 57 publications

References 0 publications

Environmental analysis of rainwater harvesting infrastructures in diffuse and compact urban models of Mediterranean climate

Environmental analysis of rainwater harvesting infrastructures in diffuse and compact urban models of Mediterranean climate

Carbon footprint: current methods of estimation

The Belmont Valley integrated algae pond system in retrospect

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