Life cycle analysis of RusaLCA
system
Alenka Mauko Pranjić, Janez Turk
Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute, Laboratory
for Concrete, Stone and Recycled Materials
What /Who is
RusaLCA?
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
• A RUSALKA is a water nymph a female spirit in
Slavic mythology and folklore.
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
Ivan
Kramskoi,
The
Mermaids,
treatment
plants and
reuse
of water and1871
solid remains for local needs
Antonin Dvorak: Rusalka
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
LIFE RusaLCA – Nanoremediation of water from
small waste water treatment plants and reuse of
water and solid remains for local needs
• with LCA (meaning Life Cycle Assessment) in
the name
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
Three pillars of sustainability
Venn diagram of sustainable development: at the
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
ofofthree
constituent
parts
treatmentconfluence
plants and reuse
water and
solid remains
for local needs
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
Life cycle thinking - LCT
• Before: minimising impact from single sources (e.g.
polution: discharges into rivers and emissions from
factories)
• Life Cycle Thinking (LCT): possible improvements to
goods and services in the form of lower impacts and
the reduced use of resources across all life cycle
stages.
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
4. From waste to resources:
boosting the market for
secondary raw materials and
water reuse
„The Commission will take a series of actions to promote the
reuse of treated wastewater, including legislation on
minimum requirements for reused water.“
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
Three pillars of sustainability
Venn diagram of sustainable development: at the
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
ofofthree
constituent
parts
treatmentconfluence
plants and reuse
water and
solid remains
for local needs
LCA
Waste water treatment plant:
- reduce the environmental impact caused by the sewage to the
environment.
- consumption of resources for construction and operation results
in an impact on the environment.
The impact of waste water
treatment plant can be
analyzed by Life Cycle Assessment
method (see literature and/or
ISO standard of series 14040).
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment 13
plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
• Life Cycle Assessment:
an environmental tool which allows calculation of environmental
loads related to processes or product or services.
Source:
Antikainen 2011.
LCA is applied to analyze the environmental performance of
waste water treatment plant in Šentrupert municipality
(primary and secondary treatment of waste water).
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment 14
plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
• Primary treatment of waste water:
Protection of the environment from the load of nutrients and
other compounds by complying with water quality parameters
(COD and BOD values at outflow from WWTP).
• Secondary treatment of waste water (via nano-remediation):
Water is totally purified and can be used for different purposes.
The exploitation of groundwater reserves is reduced, what has
positive effect on environment (saving natural resources).
Additional amount of electrical energy is consumed;
Chemical reagents are required;
Additional amount of sludge is generated.
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment 15
plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
The LCA is four stage process, which includes:
• Goal of the study.
• Inventory analysis: LCA takes into account all relevant inputs
and outputs of a product system through its life cycle.
• Impact Assessment (impact on various environmental
indicators can be studied).
• Interpretation of the results.
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment 16
plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
GOAL OF THE STUDY
is to evaluate the environmental benefits and eventually also
weaknesses of the waste water treatment plant (in Šentrupert) with
both primary and secondary treatment processes.
The functional unit:
In this study, the functional unit is the operation of waste water
treatment plant in Šentrupert over a period of one month.
System boundaries:
Results for operation stage will be shown and presented.
Construction stage is excluded, so as sludge treatment and demolition
stage after the end-of-life of waste water treatment plant.
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment 17
plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
INVENTORY
Primary (biological) treatment of waste water:
Input data:
• Inflow of waste water: around 243 m3.
• Electricity consumption during the primary treatment.
Output data:
• 70 % of treated waste water to surface stream.
• Chemical oxygen demand (COD) at outflow: 150 mg/L,
• Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) at outflow: 30 mg/L.
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment 18
plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
Secondary treatment of waste water via nanoremediation:
Input data:
• 30% of water from primary tank is drained to secondary
tank for nanoremediation.
• Use of chemicals and filters:
Zero-valent iron (0.25 g/L),
IZOSAN G (10 mg/L),
Activated carbon,
Ion exchanger,
Sodium chloride for regeneration of filters (0,0007 kg/L).
• Electricity consumption during the secondary treatment.
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment 19
plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
RESULTS
The impact on global warming is relatively increased considering
secondary treatment of waste water in addition to primary –
biologically treatment.
Global Warming Potential
600
kg carbon dioxide equivalents
Slight benefit with
regard to impact on
GWP is related to
reduced exploitation
of groundwater.
700
500
Benefits of secondary
treatment
400
Secondary treatment
300
Primary treatment
200
100
0
GWP
-100
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment 20
plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
Global Warming Potential
300
250
kg carbon dioxide equivalents
200
150
100
50
0
Electricity
Activated carbon
IZOSAN G
Ion-exchanger
Zero-valent iron regeneration of
filters
Delivery of
chemicals
-50
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment 21
plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
Benefits
kg phosphate equivalents
Impact on Eutrophication is almost completely caused during
primary treatment due to the outflow of treated water to surface
stream.
With secondary treatment of 30% of waste water, this water is
totally purified and
emissions of nutrients
Eutrophication Potential
300
to surface stream
250
are reduced,
200
what is considered
Benefits of secondary
150
treatment
as a benefit.
100
Secondary treatment
50
Primary treatment
0
Eutrophication
-50
-100
-150
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment 22
plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
Impact on consumption of groundwater and surface water. The
amount of purified water is used for different purposes as has
been mentioned. For this reason, extraction of groundwater is
reduced, what has a positive impact on saving reserves of
groundwater.
Blue water consumption
10.000
0
Blue water consumption [kg]
-10.000
Liters
-20.000
-30.000
Benefits of secondary
treatment
Secondary treatment
-40.000
Primary treatment
-50.000
-60.000
-70.000
-80.000
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment 23
plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
Three pillars of sustainability
Venn diagram of sustainable development: at the
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
ofofthree
constituent
parts
treatmentconfluence
plants and reuse
water and
solid remains
for local needs
LIFE CYCLE COST ANALYSIS (LCCA)
• LCCA is a process of evaluating the economic performance for
example of a structure (i.e. WWTP) over its entire life. LCCA
balances initial monetary investment with the long-term
expense of owning and operating the structure.
Source: http://www.nlgreenenergysolutions.com
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment 25
plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
LCCA of operation stage:
The cost analysis showed that main hot spot of the secondary
treatment refers to cost of zero-valent iron, which is required for
nanoremediation.
These costs exceeds costs of extraction of groundwater and
production of tap water.
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment 26
plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
CONCLUSIONS
• Secondary treatment of waste water brings significant
reduction of impacts on eutrophication and results in saving
of ground water and surface water reserves.
• On other hand, impact on some other impact categories is
increased, such as impact on global warming.
• However, the overall environmental benefits associated with
secondary treatment are expected to exceed above
mentioned additional burdens.
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment 27
plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
Three pillars of sustainability
Venn diagram of sustainable development: at the
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
ofofthree
constituent
parts
treatmentconfluence
plants and reuse
water and
solid remains
for local needs
Social life cycle assessment (S-LCA)
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
S-LCA of waste water treatment
UNFORTUNATELY, NO RESULTS YET
Delay of pilot operation
Padilla-Rivera et al. 2016: Addressing social aspects with
wastewater treatment facilities. Env. Imp. Asses. Review
57, 101-113
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation of water from small waste water
treatment plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs
There are no new paths,
only new ways of walking them.
With the pain of the dispossessed,
the dark dreams
of the child who sleeps with hunger –
I have learned:
this Earth does not belong to me alone.
Thank you for your
And I have learned, in truth,
attention!
that the most important thing
is to work, while we still have life,
to change what needs changing,
each in our way, each where we are.
(Amadeu Thiago de Mello, Brasil‘s poet, activist for protection of the
LIFE RusaLCA - Nanoremediation
water from small waste water
Amazonian of
rainforest)
treatment plants and reuse of water and solid remains for local needs