Many wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) require high levels of resource consumption to transport and treat wastewater. Resource recovery is beneficial to reducing the environmental impacts of WWTPs; however, few studies have investigated how scale of implementation impacts the sustainability of WWTPs with resource recovery. This study investigated the impact of scale on the environmental sustainability of WWTPs with resource recovery using lifecycle assessment (LCA). Three systems in Florida were selected to represent different scales: a septic tank with aerobic treatment unit at household scale, an advanced water reclamation facility at community scale, and an advanced water reclamation facility at city scale. Three sustainability indicators were considered in the study including embodied energy, carbon footprint, and eutrophication potential. This study finds that there are environmental benefits to centralization of WWTPs with resource recovery for the proven technologies investigated. Additionally, technology selection may have a larger impact on environmental sustainability than scale. This Florida case study illustrates that the environmental impact of WWTPs with resource recovery decreases with scale of implementation for embodied energy and carbon footprint; however, the community scale benefits from the lowest eutrophication potential. Future research is needed on passive nutrient reduction techniques and less energy-intensive aeration technologies to determine sustainable solutions at varying scales of implementation.

Implications of implementation scale on the environmental sustainability of wastewater treatment with resource recovery

250th National Meeting (2015)

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