Environmental analysis of three wastewater treatment plants based on the life cycle assessment

Life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was applied to examine the environmental effects of three wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) with different size and processes located in northeast China. These WWTPs were assessed with acidification potential (AP), eutrophication potential (EP), global warming potential (GWP), and human toxicity potential (HTP) as environmental impact categories. Among the processes the wastewater treatment line had the greatest environmental impact for all plants and impact categories due to the electricity consumption in the aerobic reactor. And the highest environmental impacts observed in the S-WWTP that operated by A₂O process. (paper)