Lifecycle Assessment of Two Urban Water Treatment Plants of Pakistan

Shayan Jamil, Saimar Pervez, Fiza Sarwar, Rameesha Abid, Syed Umair Ullah Jamil, Hassan Waseem () and Kimberley A. Gilbride ()
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Shayan Jamil: Earthworks, Calgary, AB T3P 1B9, Canada
Saimar Pervez: Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila 47050, Pakistan
Fiza Sarwar: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Bahria University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Rameesha Abid: Department of Microbiology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 44100, Pakistan
Syed Umair Ullah Jamil: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Bahria University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Hassan Waseem: Department of Biological Sciences, Muslim Youth University, Islamabad 44310, Pakistan
Kimberley A. Gilbride: Department of Chemistry and Biology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON M5B 0C3, Canada

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 23, 1-21

Abstract: Water treatment technologies are striving to retain their ecological and economic viability despite the rising demand, conventional infrastructure, financial constraints, fluctuating climatic patterns, and highly stringent regulations. This study evaluates the lifecycle environmental impact of urban water treatment systems within the two densely populated South Asian municipalities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The scope of this study includes a process-based Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the entire water treatment system, particularly the resources and materials consumed during the operation of the treatment plant. The individual and cumulative environmental impact was assessed based on the treatment system data and an in-depth lifecycle inventory analysis. Other than the direct emissions to the environment, the electricity used for service and distribution pumping, coagulant use for floc formation, chlorine gas used for disinfection, and caustic soda used for pH stabilization were the processes identified as the most significant sources of emissions to air and water. The water distribution consumed up to 98% of energy resources. The highest global warming impacts (from 0.3 to 0.6 kg CO 2 eq./m 3 ) were assessed as being from the coagulation and distribution processes due to extensive electricity consumption. Direct discharge of the wash and wastewater to the open environment contributed approximately 0.08% of kg-N and 0.002% of kg-P to the eutrophication potential. The outcome of this study resulted in a thorough lifecycle inventory development, including possible alternatives to enhance system sustainability. A definite gap was identified in intermittent sampling at the treatment systems. However, more stringent sampling including the emissions to air can provide a better sustainability score for each unit process.

Keywords: water treatment system; lifecycle assessment; sustainability; LCA (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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