Enhancing Sustainability in Italian Water Supply Pipes through Life Cycle Analysis

Isabela Maria Simion (), Sara Pennellini (), Eric Awere, Alessandro Rosatti and Alessandra Bonoli
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Isabela Maria Simion: Research Department, Iasi University of Life Sciences “Ion Ionescu de la Brad”, Mihail Sadoveanu Alley 3, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Sara Pennellini: Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Material Engineering, University of Bologna, Via Terracini 28, 40131 Bologna, Italy
Eric Awere: Department of Civil Engineering, Cape Coast Technical University, Cape Coast P.O. Box DL 50, Ghana
Alessandro Rosatti: Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Material Engineering, University of Bologna, Via Terracini 28, 40131 Bologna, Italy
Alessandra Bonoli: Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Material Engineering, University of Bologna, Via Terracini 28, 40131 Bologna, Italy

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 7, 1-14

Abstract: The primary concern regarding the sustainability of the urban water cycle remains the performance of water supply systems. This, in turn, is determined by the functionality and sustainability of the system components, such as the pipe networks, pumps, and other appurtenances, which must be analyzed from an environmental perspective. The aim of the present study is to analyze the sustainability of two different types of water supply pipe materials that are commonly used, polyvinyl chloride and high-density polyethylene, using a comparative Life Cycle Analysis methodology. The functional unit was established in accordance with the water supply system that serves an Italian metropolitan city with a dimension of 9240 km, as one meter of water supply infrastructure, with 40 years as a life span. A cradle-to-gate analysis was conducted, starting from the production phase of the water pipelines to the maintenance phase, excluding the end of life and disposal phases. The chosen methodology was CML, justified by the fact that the results are more understandable and reproducible. Results comparison revealed a higher environmental impact during the production phase, while the maintenance phase had a very low impact. Notably, PVC pipe in comparison with HDPE material had a higher impact, except in two categories of impact: abiotic depletion and photochemical oxidation. The study contributes to the future development of alternative approaches for sustainable and eco-efficient water supply infrastructure designs and materials.

Keywords: environmental impacts; eco-friendly; life cycle analysis (LCA); pipe material; sustainability; water supply system (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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