Compiling life cycle inventories for wastewater-derived products

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Wastewater management is shifting towards resource recovery, necessitating environmental impact assessments of derived products.
• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is vital for evaluating the sustainability of these emerging wastewater-derived products.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compile life cycle inventories of wastewater-derived products (phosphorus, nitrogen, biopolymers) from end-user perspectives.
• To identify and explore challenges in compiling these inventories for practical application.

Main Methods:

• Compilation of attributional (88 sets) and consequential (33 sets) inventories from existing wastewater resource recovery LCA literature.
• Assessment of inventories using technology readiness level, data quality, and cumulative energy demand indicators.

Main Results:

• Only a small fraction (29/174) of reviewed LCA studies were suitable for end-user inventory compilation.
• Identified key challenges: diverse recovery settings, lack of baseline scenarios, plant multifunctionality, data transparency, and low technology readiness.

Conclusions:

• Existing inventories can serve as screening tools for end users, but significant compilation challenges remain.
• Enhancing end-user orientation in LCA practice, including baseline scenarios and transparent data, is crucial for comprehensive and high-quality inventories.