Method for technical, economic and environmental assessment of advanced sludge processing routes

Area of Science:

• Environmental Engineering
• Wastewater Treatment Technologies
• Sludge Management

Background:

• European Union (EU) legislation imposes strict standards for wastewater effluents and sewage sludge disposal.
• Minimizing sludge production and contamination in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is a key challenge.
• Existing technologies and management strategies require thorough techno-economic and environmental evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and apply a comprehensive assessment procedure for novel wastewater and sludge treatment processes.
• To compare innovative treatment lines against conventional reference plants.
• To inform EU member states on future wastewater and sludge management strategies through the ROUTES project.

Main Methods:

• Development of a procedure for techno-economic-environmental assessment.
• Inclusion of technical issue ratings and operating cost estimations.
• Life cycle assessment (LCA) for evaluating environmental impacts.

Main Results:

• The paper presents the developed assessment procedure.
• Examples of results comparing new and reference wastewater and sludge processing lines are shown.
• The procedure provides a framework for evaluating innovative solutions.

Conclusions:

• The developed procedure offers a robust method for assessing wastewater and sludge treatment options.
• This assessment is crucial for guiding policy and investment in sustainable water management.
• The ROUTES project contributes to informed decision-making for EU wastewater and sludge management.