Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of small water resource recovery facilities: Comparison of mechanical and lagoon systems

• Published in: Water research (Oxford) Vol. 215; no. C
• Main Authors: Thompson, Matthew, Moussavi, Sussan, Li, Shaobin, Barutha, Philip, Dvorak, Bruce
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier 26-02-2022
• Subjects: ENGINEERING; Environmental Sciences & Ecology; Water Resources
• ISSN: 0043-1354; 1879-2448

Small water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) serving communities with populations of less than 10,000 people account for 70% of centralized wastewater treatment systems in the United States. Here, with growing interest globally in improving the sustainability of these systems, this study evaluated the environmental life cycle impact and land use tradeoffs of different lagoon and mechanical WRRFs across the diverse climate of Nebraska. Life cycle inventory including construction and operations was collected for 35 existing systems representing a range of commonly used mechanical WRRFs: oxidation ditch, extended aeration, and sequencing batch reactors, and lagoon treatment systems: complete retention, irrigation, and controlled discharge lagoons.