Life Cycle Assessment of Water Recycling Technology

Abstract

Environmental performance of different water recycling technologies is compared on the basis of the associated potential environmental impacts using the technique of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The LCA method is used here to support decision making in water recycling in terms of (1) comparison and selection of suitable technology and (2) identification of opportunities to enhance the environmental performance of the water recycling train. In addition to the conventional impact categories used in LCA, a new soil salinisation potential is included. The environmental impact contribution from the construction phase of each technology is estimated using the Missing Inventory Estimation Tool (MIET) approach which relies on the input-output analysis technique. LCA results are reported and discussed in detail in this paper and areas of potential improvement are identified including: (1) sludge quality and quantity, and (2) energy consumption. The suitability of using the LCA technique in the context of water recycling is discussed and the limitations of LCA for this particular purpose are outlined and further research needs identified.

Life cycle assessment of small-scale constructed wetland and extended aeration activated sludge wastewater treatment system

“…According to Dixon et al (2003), if minimisation of environmental impacts is one of the main functions of wastewater treatment systems, then they should be designed so that their total impact on the environment is reduced; the whole life cycle of the system must be considered. Water treatment technology which is based alone on technology to achieve high quality effluent may not reflect the most environmentally favourable option (Tangsubkul et al 2005). LCA enables to analyse the whole impact of a treatment system to the environment.…”

Design of anaerobic membrane bioreactors for the valorization of dilute organic carbon waste streams

“…74,75 The functional unit for this study was the treatment of 1 m 3 wastewater (300 mg COD·L −1 ) to discharge quality (30 mg COD·L −1 ), with a project lifetime of 30 years. The system boundary included both construction and operation of the plant ( Figure ESI-1 in ESI), but demolition was excluded (consistent with [76][77][78][79] ). First and second order environmental impacts were also examined, where first order impacts were classified as direct emissions (to water, air, and land) from the WTTP and second order impacts stemmed from off-site processes such as electricity production/transmission, material production, transportation, and avoided energy production offset by biogas recovery and utilization.…”

Análise de metodologias de ACV empregadas na avaliação ambiental de estações de tratamento de efluentes

“…A Quadro 1 apresenta em números os resultados obtidos por palavras-chave e por combinações pesquisadas, enquanto o Quadro 2 apresenta os 24 artigos selecionados para a análise. Tangsubkul et al, 2005 Partindo para análise da metodologia de ACV empregada na avaliação dos sistemas de tratamento que chamou atenção foi que a metade dos trabalhos utilizaram mais de um método de avaliação de impacto do ciclo de vida justificado pelos autores que era para atender os objetivos da proposta de trabalho (THIBODEAU et al, 2014;LOPSIK, 2013;ONTIVEROS et al, 2013;PRETEL et al, 2013;GODIN et al, 2012 HIGGINS et al, 2012;RODRÍGUEZ et al, 2012;ROUSHDI et al, 2012;TJANDRAATMADJA et al, 2012;FUCHS et al, 2011;BENETTO et al, 2009;MUÑOZ et al, 2009;ORTIZ et al, 2007 FARIA et al, 2015;LORENZO-TOJA et al, 2015;THIBODEAU et al, 2014;LOPSIK, 2013;BENETTO et al, 2009 Quanto a produção científica desta temática, a Espanha é o país que mais publicou artigos e o Brasil não apresentou trabalho algum, dentro dos critérios utilizados para a seleção dos artigos. Esta constatação possibilita abrir um novo campo de pesquisa no Brasil avaliando os impactos ambientais das estações de tratamento de efluente sob a ótica da ACV.…”