Use of life cycle assessment to evaluate environmental impacts associated with the management of sludge and biogas

Water Science and Technology : a Journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research
Karina Cubas do AmaralMarcelo Real Prado

Abstract

Upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors used in sewage treatment generate two by-products that can be reused: sludge and biogas. At the present time in Brazil, most of this resulting sludge is disposed of in sanitary landfills, while biogas is commonly burned off in low-efficiency flares. The aim of the present study was to use life cycle assessment to evaluate the environmental impacts from four different treatment and final destination scenarios for the main by-products of wastewater treatment plants. The baseline scenario, in which the sludge was sanitized using prolonged alkaline stabilization and, subsequently, directed toward agricultural applications and the biogas destroyed in open burners, had the most impact in the categories of global warming, terrestrial ecotoxicity, and human non-carcinogenic toxicity. The scenario in which heat resulting from biogas combustion is used to dry the sludge showed significant improvements over the baseline scenario in all the evaluated impact categories. The recovery of heat from biogas combustion decreased significantly the environmental impact associated with global warming. The combustion of dried sludge is another alternative to improve the sludge management. Despite the re...Continue Reading

References

Oct 31, 2012·Water Science and Technology : a Journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research·L C S LobatoC L Souza
Sep 26, 2013·Waste Management & Research : the Journal of the International Solid Wastes and Public Cleansing Association, ISWA·Hiroko YoshidaCharlotte Scheutz
Feb 24, 2015·Waste Management·Oliver Krüger, Christian Adam
Apr 8, 2016·Water Science and Technology : a Journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research·A P RosaC A L Chernicharo

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Citations

Feb 2, 2020·Water Research·Ka Leung LamJan Peter van der Hoek

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