Environmental and economic feasibility study of a total wastewater treatment network system.
The synthesis of distributed wastewater treatment plants (WTPs) has been studied to reduce capital and operating costs associated with wastewater treatment. In this study, the environmental and economic feasibility of a total wastewater treatment network system (TWTNS) including distributed and terminal WTPs was estimated using life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) methods. Wastewater sources and existing distributed and terminal WTPs in an iron and steel plant were networked. The TWTNS was generated from the optimal solution to a mathematical optimization model and compared to a conventional wastewater treatment system (CWTS). The environmental effect scores of the TWTNS were from 29.6% to 68.3% higher than those of the CWTS because of higher electricity consumption required to pump wastewater to the networked WTPs. However, the life cycle cost of the TWTNS was lower than that of the CWTS by 10.1% because of the decrease of the labor cost resulting from the closing of three distributed WTPs. Overall, the TWTNS was no more eco-efficient than the CWTS because the increase of environmental burdens outweighed the decrease of economic costs.
Lim
Seong-Rin
SR
Advanced Environmental Biotechnology Research Center, Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, San 31, Hyoja-dong, Pohang 790-784, South Korea.
Park
Donghee
D
Park
Jong Moon
JM
D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000191:economics / Q000295:instrumentation*