Life cycle assessment of two decentralized water treatment systems combining a constructed wetland and a membrane based drinking water production system

Lakho, Fida Hussain; Qureshi, Asif; Igodt, Wouter; Le, Hong Quan; Depuydt, Veerle; Rousseau, Diederik; Hulle, Stijn Van

doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.106104

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…Despite the importance of reducing negative externalities and fostering ecosystem services, which deeply benefit the whole society with their positive externalities, all the intangible benefits of using VFCW too often go unnoticed because of missing economic evaluations and cost-analyses (Freeman et al, 2019). In a previous study of the current authors, a comparative LCA was conducted to assess the environmental impacts of a decentralized wastewater treatment system combining a VFCW and a membrane-based purification unit for treating black water for drinking purposes with their conventional alternative of sewage treatment and potable supply (Lakho et al, 2022). The outcomes of the study showed that the decentralized system had overall lower environmental impacts as compared to its conventional alternative.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, and in order to put an end to this problem, this study introduces a groundbreaking methodology where through holistic research, traditional finan-cial indicators have been calculated along with the economic value of environmental indicators that may endanger human health and the environment and jeopardize ecosystem services. In this way and based on a previous LCA carried out, data variability from one geographical area to another would be mostly eliminated due to environmental indicators having almost the same human and environmental consequences worldwide, and so results can be representative and easily extrapolated to other areas (Lakho et al, 2022).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All the calculations of this research have been done considering a VFCW coupled with a membrane-based potable water production system as the investment proposal. This scenario, which has already gone through an LCA, is operated at a restaurant in Belgium with a water flow of 4 m 3 .d −1 , and it has been compared with its traditional alternative: a public water supply and sewerage system in the same geographical area of Belgium which is ±300m away from the restaurant (Lakho et al, 2022). The restaurant is open 5 days a week and can serve a maximum of 135 customers per day.…”

Section: Scenariomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The following assumptions have been made: − The project lifetime has been set at 20 years as in previous VFCW assessments (Abdelhay & Abunaser, 2021;Lakho et al, 2022). − Discount rates are different each year and are based on the Euro area yield curve.…”

Section: Life Cycle Cost Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, these prices are specially modelled for the impact indicators obtained through ReCiPe midpoint method 2016 (hierarchal approach) during Life Cycle Assessment (Goedkoop et al, 2009). Meanwhile, the same mid-point method was used during LCA of the decentralized water treatment systems and their conventional alternatives in a previous study that was carried out (Lakho et al, 2022). On top of this, and due to the high inflation rates that have been seen over the past months, a price update has been conducted in order to adjust the database used to the current reality and enhance and adapt results based on deviations in the annual growth rate of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) implicit deflator (Agiakloglou & Gkouvakis, 2022).…”

Section: Monetary Evaluation Of the Treatment Costsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Life cycle cost assessment and economic analysis of a decentralized wastewater treatment to achieve water sustainability within the framework of circular economy

López-Serrano

Lakho

Hulle

et al. 2023

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Research background: The increasing water demand together with an unceasing production of wastewater worldwide has resulted in a situation where the scarcity and pollution of water resources are jeopardizing and depleting such a vital asset. Purpose of the article: In this context, Nature Based Solutions (NBS) such as Vertical Flow Constructed Wetlands (VFCWs) are key because of their capacity of channelling a waste into a resource. However, and notwithstanding their essential role, their financial benefits too often go unnoticed because of missing research that study them from an economic perspective and this article has covered this existing gap. The objective of this research is to analyse the economic consequences of using VFCW against its traditional alternative through a comprehensive economic assessment. Methods: After doing a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), a combination of two approaches has been carried out. This research has developed a holistic approach where a Life Cycle Cost Assessment (LCCA) based on a Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) along with an economic evaluation of cleaning environmental costs have been calculated for two different scenarios. For this monetary analysis, the environmental externalities derived from the use of cleaning the pollution caused by a public water supply and sewerage system and the VFCW have been quantified. Findings & value added: Results conclude that VFCW apart of being a cost-effective and profitable alternative for an investor, it has also valuable benefits for the society in general because of its meaningful and positive externalities and the high removal cost of the environmental pollutants of the traditional water supply and sewage system both contributing directly to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Furthermore, 4/5 environmental impacts derived from the use of traditional alternative pollute more than twice as much as the VFCW does. Lastly, the cleaning costs difference between both alternatives is 1,984,335?.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Scenariomentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Life Cycle Cost Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Monetary Evaluation Of the Treatment Costsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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