APPLICATION OF LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT (LCA) IN WATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study applied the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to a water treatment system, aiming to quantify the primary environmental impacts generated during the operational phase. The SimaPro software and the ReCiPe (H) v1.09 method were used to evaluate impact categories at both midpoint and endpoint levels. The research results indicate that electricity consumption and the chemical polyaluminium chloride (PAC) are the two largest contributors to overall environmental impacts. In particular, electricity is the main driver of global warming and fossil depletion, contributing 57.5%–77.3% to these respective categories, while PAC dominates impacts related to carcinogenic toxicity (78.4%) and mineral resource depletion (99.7%). The system’s total endpoint damage was calculated at 9.97 mPt, with 9.19 mPt associated with human health. The study evaluated two alternative scenarios: aluminum recovery from PAC-containing sludge and the use of solar power for electricity supply. The results indicated that both scenarios achieved significant environmental improvements, with total midpoint impact indicators reduced by 5–65% and 40–74%, respectively, and total endpoint damages decreased by 23% and 41%. The findings highlight the potential of integrating water treatment processes with resource circularity strategies and renewable energy utilization to enhance sustainability in the water supply sector.
Keywords
life cycle assessment, water treatment system, environmental impact, recovery of alum coagulant, solar power
Article Details
References
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