Life Cycle Assessment of an Innovative Combined Treatment and Constructed Wetland Technology for the Treatment of Hexachlorocyclohexane-Contaminated Drainage Water in Hajek in the Czech Republic

Abstract

The paper presents the results of an LCA analysis of the “Wetland+®” technology compared to conventional wastewater treatment technology. Wastewater contaminated with pesticide production residues from lindane was treated. The analysis is based on data from a full-scale Wetland+® installation located in Hajek, the Czech Republic. Conventional wastewater treatment technology was selected as a comparator. For the comparative system, data for the LCA came from design calculations assuming the location of such a system in the same place and function as the Wetland+® technology implemented. The LCA analysis was carried out using system boundaries covering the stages of construction and operation of the systems. The results indicate that with the Wetland+® technology, a system’s overall environment burdens are >11 times less than that of conventional wastewater treatment technology.