The Impact of Urban Wastewater Treatment on Carbon Emissions: Current Status, Challenges, and Future Perspectives

Volume 8, Issue 3, June 2024     |     PP. 83-103      |     PDF (200 K)    |     Pub. Date: November 18, 2024
DOI: 10.54647/environmental610411    15 Downloads     175 Views  

Author(s)

Xuyan Chen, Three Gorges Ecological Environment Investment Co.,Ltd.
Naifei Wang, Three Gorges Ecological Environment Investment Co.,Ltd.
Xiang Li, Three Gorges Ecological Environment Investment Co.,Ltd.
Mingqiu Wen, Three Gorges Ecological Environment Investment Co.,Ltd.
Shanshan Song, Three Gorges Ecological Environment Investment Co.,Ltd.
Xinkang Hou, Three Gorges Ecological Environment Investment Co.,Ltd.
Xuezhu Wang, Three Gorges Ecological Environment Investment Co.,Ltd.
Jie Gao, Three Gorges Ecological Environment Investment Co.,Ltd.

Abstract
Urban wastewater treatment is crucial for protecting public health and aquatic ecosystems, but its carbon footprint has raised concerns in the context of climate change mitigation. This study provides a comprehensive review of the current status of carbon emissions from urban wastewater treatment, identifies key challenges, and proposes future perspectives for sustainable wastewater management. A systematic literature review was conducted to collect data on the carbon footprints of various wastewater treatment technologies, which were analyzed using a life cycle assessment approach. Scenario analysis was performed to evaluate the mitigation potential of different strategies. The results reveal that the carbon footprints of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) vary significantly depending on the treatment technologies employed, with advanced treatment processes generally having higher carbon emissions. Key factors contributing to the carbon footprint include energy consumption, direct greenhouse gas emissions, and embedded emissions from chemical use. The scenario analysis indicates that a combination of energy efficiency measures, renewable energy integration, and process optimization can significantly reduce the carbon emissions from WWTPs. This study highlights the importance of considering carbon emissions in the design and operation of urban wastewater treatment systems and provides valuable insights for developing sustainable wastewater management strategies that balance environmental protection, public health, and climate change mitigation.

Keywords
Urban wastewater treatment, Carbon emissions, Carbon footprint, Greenhouse gases, Mitigation strategies

Cite this paper
Xuyan Chen, Naifei Wang, Xiang Li, Mingqiu Wen, Shanshan Song, Xinkang Hou, Xuezhu Wang, Jie Gao, The Impact of Urban Wastewater Treatment on Carbon Emissions: Current Status, Challenges, and Future Perspectives , SCIREA Journal of Environment. Volume 8, Issue 3, June 2024 | PP. 83-103. 10.54647/environmental610411

References

[ 1 ] United Nations. (2018). World Urbanization Prospects: The World’s Cities in 2018.
[ 2 ] Hamawand, I. Energy Consumption in Water/Wastewater Treatment Industry—Optimisation Potentials. Energies 2023, 16, 2433.
[ 3 ] Li, L.Q., et al., Carbon neutrality of wastewater treatment-A systematic concept beyond the plant boundary. Environmental Science and Ecotechnology, 2022. 11.
[ 4 ] Maktabifard, M., E. Zaborowska, and J. Makinia, Evaluating the effect of different operational strategies on the carbon footprint of wastewater treatment plants - case studies from northern Poland. Water Science and Technology, 2019. 79(11): p. 2211-2220.
[ 5 ] Xi, J.R., et al., The evaluation of GHG emissions from Shanghai municipal wastewater treatment plants based on IPCC and operational data integrated methods (ODIM). Science of the Total Environment, 2021. 797.
[ 6 ] Akguel, S.T., Assessment of the role of photovoltaic systems in reducing the carbon footprint of wastewater treatment plants. Global Nest Journal, 2023. 25(8): p. 139-145.
[ 7 ] Gustavsson, D.J.I. and S. Tumlin, Carbon footprints of Scandinavian wastewater treatment plants. Water Science and Technology, 2013. 68(4): p. 887-893.
[ 8 ] L. Yerushalmi, O. Ashrafi, F. Haghighat; Reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) generation and energy consumption in wastewater treatment plants. Water Sci Technol 1 March 2013; 67 (5): 1159–1164.
[ 9 ] Venkatesh, G. and H. Brattebo, Environmental impact analysis of chemicals and energy consumption in wastewater treatment plants: case study of Oslo, Norway. Water Science and Technology, 2011. 63(5): p. 1018-1031.
[ 10 ] Wei, Y., L. Yerushalm, and F. Haghighat, Estimation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions by the Wastewater Treatment Plant of a Locomotive Repair Factory in China. Water Environment Research, 2008. 80(12): p. 2253-2260.
[ 11 ] Gustavsson, D.J.I. and S. Tumlin, Carbon footprints of Scandinavian wastewater treatment plants. Water Science and Technology, 2013. 68(4): p. 887-893.
[ 12 ] Demir, Ö. and P. Yapicioglu, Investigation of GHG emission sources and reducing GHG emissions in a municipal wastewater treatment plant. Greenhouse Gases-Science and Technology, 2019. 9(5): p. 948-964.
[ 13 ] Zhang, Y.A., et al., Technology for Upgrading the Tailwater of Municipal Sewage Treatment Plants: The Efficacy and Mechanism of Microbial Coupling for Nitrogen and Carbon Removal. Water, 2021. 13(20).
[ 14 ] Lu, Y.X., et al., Environmental Impact Analysis and Carbon Emission Reduction Pathways by Upgrading Wastewater Treatment Plant: A Case Study of Upgrading Project at a Wastewater Treatment Plant in Dongguan, China. Water, 2024. 16(4).
[ 15 ] United Nations. (2015). Sustainable development goals.
[ 16 ] Corominas, L., et al., The application of life cycle assessment (LCA) to wastewater treatment: A best practice guide and critical review. Water Research, 2020. 184.
[ 17 ] Moher, D., et al., Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement. Annals of Internal Medicine, 2009. 151(4): p. 264-W64.
[ 18 ] Curran, M.A. (2016). Life Cycle Assessment. In Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, John Wiley & Sons, Inc (Ed.).
[ 19 ] Kalbar, P.P., S. Karmakar, and S.R. Asolekar, Assessment of wastewater treatment technologies: life cycle approach. Water and Environment Journal, 2013. 27(2): p. 261-268.
[ 20 ] Corominas, L., et al., The application of life cycle assessment (LCA) to wastewater treatment: A best practice guide and critical review. Water Research, 2020. 184.
[ 21 ] Wang, X., et al., Assessment of Multiple Sustainability Demands for Wastewater Treatment Alternatives: A Refined Evaluation Scheme and Case Study. Environmental Science & Technology, 2012. 46(10): p. 5542-5549.
[ 22 ] Pasqualino, J.C., et al., LCA as a Decision Support Tool for the Environmental Improvement of the Operation of a Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant. Environmental Science & Technology, 2009. 43(9): p. 3300-3307.
[ 23 ] Mannina, G., et al., Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Wastewater Treatment Plants on a Plantwide Scale: Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis. Journal of Environmental Engineering, 2016. 142(6).
[ 24 ] Tao. Xie and Chengwen. Wang, "Impact of different factors on greenhouse gas generation by wastewater treatment plants in China," 2011 International Symposium on Water Resource and Environmental Protection, Xi'an, 2011, pp. 1448-1451
[ 25 ] Ansorge, L., L. Stejskalová, and J. Dlabal, Effect of WWTP size on grey water footprint-Czech Republic case study. Environmental Research Letters, 2020. 15(10).
[ 26 ] Chen, K.H., et al., The application of footprints for assessing the sustainability of wastewater treatment plants: A review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2020. 277.
[ 27 ] Tian, Y.H., et al., Insight into Greenhouse Gases Emissions and Energy Consumption of Different Full-Scale Wastewater Treatment Plants via ECAM Tool. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022. 19(20).
[ 28 ] Huang, Y.J., et al., China's enhanced urban wastewater treatment increases greenhouse gas emissions and regional inequality. Water Research, 2023. 230.
[ 29 ] Wang, D., et al., Greenhouse gas emissions from municipal wastewater treatment facilities in China from 2006 to 2019. Scientific Data, 2022. 9(1).
[ 30 ] Du, R., et al., A review of enhanced municipal wastewater treatment through energy savings and carbon recovery to reduce discharge and CO2 footprint. Bioresource Technology, 2022. 364.
[ 31 ] Hamouda, Hasan M. “Tracing Carbon Footprint in the Wastewater Treatment Plant.” Environmental Science, 2015.
[ 32 ] K. Kimura, N. Yamato et al. “Membrane fouling in pilot-scale membrane bioreactors (MBRs) treating municipal wastewater.” Environmental science & technology (2005).
[ 33 ] A. Drews, M. Kraume. “On maintenance models in severely and long‐term limited membrane bioreactor cultivations.” Biotechnology and Bioengineering(2007).
[ 34 ] M. Litter, N. Quici. “Photochemical Advanced Oxidation Processes for Water and Wastewater Treatment.” Recent Patents on Engineering (2010).
[ 35 ] A. Capodaglio, G. Olsson. “Energy Issues in Sustainable Urban Wastewater Management: Use, Demand Reduction and Recovery in the Urban Water Cycle.” Sustainability (2019).
[ 36 ] Ashrafi, O., L. Yerushalmi, and F. Haghighat, Greenhouse Gas Emission and Energy Consumption in Wastewater Treatment Plants: Impact of Operating Parameters. Clean-Soil Air Water, 2014. 42(3): p. 207-220.
[ 37 ] S. Azimi, V. Rocher. “Energy consumption reduction in a waste water treatment plant.” Water Practice & Technology (2017).
[ 38 ] J. Keller, K. Hartley; Greenhouse gas production in wastewater treatment: process selection is the major factor. Water Sci Technol 1 June 2003; 47 (12): 43–48.
[ 39 ] Jr-Lin Lin, Shyh-Fang Kang; Analysis of carbon emission hot spot and pumping energy efficiency in water supply system. Water Supply 1 February 2019; 19 (1): 200–206.
[ 40 ] Bahman Khabiri, Milad Ferdowsi et al. “Bioelimination of low methane concentrations emitted from wastewater treatment plants: a review.” Critical Reviews in Biotechnology (2021).
[ 41 ] Campos, J.L., et al., Greenhouse Gases Emissions from Wastewater Treatment Plants: Minimization, Treatment, and Prevention. Journal of Chemistry, 2016. 2016.
[ 42 ] Santín, R. Vilanova, C. Pedret, M. Meneses and O. Arrieta, "Complementary Control Actions for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction in Wastewater Treatment Plant Operation," 2022 26th International Conference on System Theory, Control and Computing (ICSTCC), Sinaia, Romania, 2022, pp. 68-73
[ 43 ] Smyth, B.M., P. Davison, and P. Brow, Carbon curves for the assessment of embodied carbon in the wastewater industry. Water and Environment Journal, 2017. 31(1): p. 4-11.
[ 44 ] Huan, L., Yiying, J., & Yangyang, L. (2011). Carbon Emission and Low-carbon Strategies of Sewage Sludge Treatment. Journal of Civil,Architectural & Environmental Engineering, 33, 117-121.
[ 45 ] Mikosz, J., Analysis of greenhouse gas emissions and the energy balance in a model municipal wastewater treatment plant. Desalination and Water Treatment, 2016. 57(59): p. 28551-28559.
[ 46 ] Płuciennik-Koropczuk, E.; Myszograj, S.; Mąkowski, M. Reducing CO2 Emissions from Wastewater Treatment Plants by Utilising Renewable Energy Sources—Case Study. Energies 2022, 15, 8446.
[ 47 ] M. Badruzzaman, T. Crane et al. “Minimizing Energy Use and GHG Emissions of Lift Stations Utilizing Real‐Time Pump Control Strategies.” Water Environment Research (2016).
[ 48 ] Barros, Castro and Celia Maria. “Greenhouse gas reduction through innovative nitrogen removal from wastewater.” (2016).
[ 49 ] Gómez-Llanos E, Matías-Sánchez A, Durán-Barroso P. Wastewater Treatment Plant Assessment by Quantifying the Carbon and Water Footprint. Water. 2020; 12(11):3204.
[ 50 ] Caniani D, Esposito G, Gori R, Mannina G. Towards A New Decision Support System for Design, Management and Operation of Wastewater Treatment Plants for the Reduction of Greenhouse Gases Emission. Water. 2015; 7(10):5599-5616.
[ 51 ] Guo Z, Sun Y, Pan S-Y, Chiang P-C. Integration of Green Energy and Advanced Energy-Efficient Technologies for Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019; 16(7):1282.
[ 52 ] Umesh Ghimire, Gideon Sarpong et al. “Transitioning Wastewater Treatment Plants toward Circular Economy and Energy Sustainability.” ACS Omega (2021).
[ 53 ] Paul M. Sutton, B. Rittmann et al. “Wastewater as a resource: a unique approach to achieving energy sustainability.” Water science and technology: a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research (2011).
[ 54 ] Roy H, Rahman TU, Tasnim N, Arju J, Rafid MM, Islam MR, Pervez MN, Cai Y, Naddeo V, Islam MS. Microbial Fuel Cell Construction Features and Application for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment. Membranes. 2023; 13(5):490.
[ 55 ] Mahmood, Z., H. Cheng, and M. Tian, A critical review on advanced anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) for wastewater treatment: advanced membrane materials and energy demand. Environmental Science-Water Research & Technology, 2022. 8(10): p. 2126-2144.
[ 56 ] Zielinski, M., J. Kazimierowicz, and M. Debowski, Advantages and Limitations of Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment-Technological Basics, Development Directions, and Technological Innovations. Energies, 2023. 16(1).
[ 57 ] Sutton, P.M., et al., Treating municipal wastewater with the goal of resource recovery. Water Science and Technology, 2011. 63(1): p. 25-31.
[ 58 ] Horstmeyer, N., et al., A novel concept to integrate energy recovery into potable water reuse treatment schemes. Journal of Water Reuse and Desalination, 2018. 8(4): p. 455-467.
[ 59 ] Viet, N.D., et al., Enhancement of membrane system performance using artificial intelligence technologies for sustainable water and wastewater treatment: A critical review. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 2022. 52(20): p. 3689-3719.
[ 60 ] Brown, R.R. and M.A. Farrelly, Delivering sustainable urban water management: a review of the hurdles we face. Water Science and Technology, 2009. 59(5): p. 839-846.
[ 61 ] L. G. Chavira, N. Villanueva-Rosales, J. Heyman, D. D. Pennington and K. Salas, "Supporting Regional Water Sustainability Decision-Making through Integrated Modeling," 2022 IEEE International Smart Cities Conference (ISC2), Pafos, Cyprus, 2022, pp. 1-7.