Cleaner Environmental Systems 2 (2021) 100039

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Cleaner Environmental Systems

journal homepage: www.journals.elsevier.com/cleaner-environmental-systems

Environmental performance of extended activated sludge and sequential

batch reactor using life cycle assessment
Phathutshedzo Mamathoni, Kevin G. Harding *
Industrial and Mining Water Research Unit, School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Private Bag 3, Wits, 2050,
South Africa

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Although several studies have been published on the application of life cycle assessment (LCA) on wastewater
Environment treatment plants (WWTP), few have been reported from developing countries. In this study, the environmental
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) impacts of a sequential batch reactor (SBR) and extended activated sludge process (EASP) treatment technologies
Attributional LCA
were evaluated and analysed using LCA. SimaPro® 9.1.1.1 software was used, together with the ecoinvent 3.6
Recipe midpoint (H)
South Africa
database, and the ReCiPe midpoint (H) methodology. A functional unit of 1 m3 of treated wastewater was used.
SimaPro® Normalised results showed that freshwater eutrophication, freshwater ecotoxicity, and human toxicity were the
key impact categories. EASP indicated the highest impact result on all evaluated impact categories. Electricity
consumption was the main contributor to freshwater ecotoxicity and human toxicity impact categories. Residual
phosphorus in the effluent stream was the dominant contributor to freshwater eutrophication. Primary treatment
had the highest environmental burden of EASP, due to raw wastewater pumping. Secondary treatment had the
highest environmental burden on SBR due to aeration. SBR was the preferable option as it scored less on all the
key impact categories evaluated. The coal-based South African electricity mix was found to be highly influential
on both the EASP and SBR.

1. Introduction only focusing on pollutant removal, that may cause health effects and
environmental impacts, to also include sustainability considerations that
Water demand is predicted to increase globally over the coming de- view wastewater as a renewable resource from which valuable resources
cades due to accelerated urbanisation and population growth amongst may be recovered (Guest et al., 2010; Lij
o et al., 2015; Zepon Tarpani and
many other factors. Consequently, as the demand for water increases, the Azapagic, 2018; Diaz-Elsayed et al., 2019; Chrispim et al., 2020; Liu
production of wastewater and its pollution load also increases. According et al., 2021). Moreover, treatment objectives are now concerned with
to Su et al. (2019), Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) can be classi- reducing emerging contaminants in wastewater as the conventional ASP
fied into 1) environmental (Activated sludge process (ASP), Sequential treatment technologies are unable to eliminate them (Gani et al., 2020;
batch reactor (SBR), Anaerobic/Anoxic/Oxic (A2/O), Membrane biore- Rout et al., 2021). The reclamation of wastewater to obtain freshwater
actor (MBR) and oxidation ditches) or 2) ecological (stabilisation ponds, alternatives has been on the increase in recent years (Wang et al., 2019).
constructed wetland, trickling filters and land application systems). However, the reclamation process requires advanced treatment tech-
Environmental processes are characterised by high energy consumption nologies over and above the conventional ASP that is often costly (Zhang
and huge capital investment while ecological processes exploit the nat- and Liu, 2020).
ural environment to treat wastewater with lower pollution loads. ASP has Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been the most established sustain-
been the most effective wastewater treatment process for many years in ability tool to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with WWTP
various countries for the removal of organic pollutants and nutrients (Zhang et al., 2010). The findings from LCA applied in the WWTP have
(Guo et al., 2013). Wastewater treatment objectives have shifted from enabled the 1) design selections of new technologies, 2) better decision

Abbreviations: A2/O, Anaerobic/anoxic/oxic; ASP, Activated sludge process; COD, Chemical oxygen demand; EASP, Extended activated sludge process; FE,
Freshwater eutrophication; FEC, Freshwater ecotoxicity; GHG, Greenhouse gasses; HT, human toxicity; LCA, Life cycle assessment; MBR, Membrane reactor; SANS,
South African national standard; SBR, Sequential batch reactor; WWTP, Wastewater treatment plant.
* Corresponding author. Private Bag 3 Wits, 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (P. Mamathoni), [email protected] (K.G. Harding).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cesys.2021.100039
Received 22 November 2020; Received in revised form 6 May 2021; Accepted 9 May 2021
2666-7894/© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
nc-nd/4.0/).
P. Mamathoni, K.G. Harding Cleaner Environmental Systems 2 (2021) 100039

making by stakeholders during strategic planning for the water sector, wastewater is aerated for nutrients and organic matter to be digested
and 3) improvements of the existing systems based on the environmental biologically. Moreover, soda ash is dosed in the aeration tank to keep pH
trade-offs (Corominas et al., 2020). LCA application in the WWTP has at 6.8 (optimum pH for biological treatment). The mixed liquor from the
mostly been in the developed countries although the adoption has been aeration tank is gravity fed to the clarifier, which is fitted with a skim-
improving in the developing countries as reviewed by Corominas et al. ming device to remove any floating matter and to assist with the settling
(2013). Significant stages such as construction, sludge management, and of sludge. A portion of the sludge is returned to the aeration tank to
accountability of direct greenhouse gases on the inventory level were provide an active sludge to raw wastewater and the rest is wasted
often missing on the application of LCAs in the developing countries through the wastewater drying beds. Dried sludge is then transported to
(Gallego-Schmid and Tarpani, 2019). Significant environmental burden the landfill for disposal. Clarified water overflows into the chlorine
towards the LCA applied to the WWTP located in South Africa was contact tank, whereby chlorine is injected to disinfect water before being
grossly attributed to the energy mix which is fossil-fuel dependant discharged to maturation ponds. Potable water is used as motive water to
(Masindi et al., 2018; Mavhungu et al., 2020). Energy integration and ensure constant supply pressure for chlorine gas ejectors.
energy efficiency technologies were found to reduce the environmental
impact of treating saline mining wastewater in South Africa using LCA 2.2. System description of SBR plant
(Fernandez-Torres et al., 2012).
The main aim of the research was to conduct LCA on a Sequential Wastewater from an industrial site passes through a mechanical
batch reactor (SBR) and Extended activated sludge process (EASP) screen before being pumped to the balancing tank at the design flow rate
treatment technologies to evaluate their environmental impacts in South of 1700 m3/h (Fig. 2). The mechanical screen is equipped with a flushing
Africa. The findings of the study will provide insights into the environ- system (potable water tank and two pumps) to flush any debris that
mental hotspots of the treatment technologies and identify areas of might be left during the screening operation. Ferric chloride is dosed in
improvement. These will enable informed WWTP design selection and the balancing tank to precipitate inorganic phosphates to suspended
provide better environmental insights to stakeholders who are respon- solids. From the balancing tank, wastewater is pumped to the splitter box
sible for strategic planning in the water sector. An attributional life cycle which gravity feeds the three sequential batch reactors (SBR), each
assessment (LCA) was selected to assess the environmental impacts due equipped with a surface aerator. In the SBR, wastewater is aerated to
to the extended activated sludge process (EASP) and sequential batch biologically oxidize/digest dissolved and suspended waste. After a pre-
reactor (SBR) using the average data. The guidelines and principles from determined time, aeration is stopped, and wastewater is allowed to settle
ISO 14040/14044:2006 standards were followed to formulate the LCA in the same tank. Once settling has occurred treated effluent is dis-
(ISO 2006a; ISO 2006b). charged into the chlorine contact tank, whereby chlorine is dosed to
disinfect water before being discharged to the maturation ponds. A
2. Methods stream from the contact tank is drawn as motive water to ensure constant
supply pressure for chlorine gas ejectors. Settled sludge is wasted to the
2.1. System description of EASP plant drying beds whereby it is left to dry before being transported to the
landfill for disposal.
The facility is designed to treat 2700 m3/day of raw wastewater from
an industrial site, collected from four pump stations (Fig. 1). The sus- 2.3. Goal and scope definition
pended matter is removed through the mechanical bar screens installed
upstream of the balancing tank and the aeration tank. The screenings The assessed wastewater facilities were EASP and SBR. These were
thereof are disposed of in the landfill. Wastewater is pre-aerated in the considered for assessment due to being the most dominant WWTP
balancing tank to ensure it is pumped to the biological aeration tanks located in Limpopo province, South Africa. For both technologies, the
with a uniform flow for stable operating conditions. In the aeration tank construction and operation phases were considered, while the

Fig. 1. Extended Activated sludge process flowsheet.

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P. Mamathoni, K.G. Harding Cleaner Environmental Systems 2 (2021) 100039

Fig. 2. Sequential batch reactor process flowsheet.

decommissioning phase was not considered due to its negligible contri- landfill were not considered in this study as that was viewed as solid
bution towards wastewater LCA (Machado et al., 2007; Lopsik, 2013). waste management instead of wastewater treatment (Lij o et al., 2015).
The function of both wastewater treatment technologies is to remove Consequently, allocation methods were ignored as sludge did not have
contaminants from wastewater to meet the South African general limit any economic value. It is however noted that not including sludge
for wastewater (Section 39 of National Water Act 36 of 1998). The disposal ignores the negative/positive environmental consequences that
functional unit for both treatment technologies was 1 m3 of treated may result from the presence of potentially hazardous substances in the
wastewater. The lifespan for the wastewater works was set to 50 years as sludge or the beneficial material and energy recovery. The wastewater
per the design reports of the WWTP under study. sludge from both WWTPs was characterised as category C of the South
African national standard (SANS) 10234:2019, implying that sludge may
2.4. System boundaries be toxic if swallowed, in contact with skin or if inhaled but still suitable
for landfill disposal as it poses a moderate risk to the environment. Direct
The system boundaries incorporated inflows and outflows for both Greenhouse Gases [GHG], (CH4 and N2O) released during biological
construction and operation phases (Fig. 3). In the operation phase, all wastewater treatment processes were considered as they were found to
inputs and outputs associated with primary, secondary, and tertiary be significant contributors to the climate change of wastewater treatment
wastewater treatment stages were considered. Chemical Oxygen Demand plants (Lopsik, 2013). CO2 emitted during wastewater treatment was not
(COD), nitrogen, and phosphorus were the only parameters considered in accounted for as it is considered of biogenic origin, therefore, rendering it
the inflows and outflows as both plants were designed to remove these climate-neutral (Doorn et al., 2006). The actual transport distance for
contaminants. Sludge treatment processes after being disposed to the chemical from the suppliers to the WWTPs was used.

Fig. 3. System boundaries for extended activated sludge (EASP) and sequential batch reactor (SBR).

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P. Mamathoni, K.G. Harding Cleaner Environmental Systems 2 (2021) 100039

2.5. Inventory analysis Table 1

Inventory data for the extended activated sludge process.
2.5.1. Extended activated sludge process (EASP) Extended Activated Sludge Process
The required construction materials were calculated based on the
INPUT ecoinvent 3.6
volume of the structures and reported in kg/m3 of treated water
(Table 1). The electricity consumption for the plant was calculated as Primary Treatment
Cast Iron 8.0
104 kg/m3 Cast iron {GLO}j market for j Cut-
7.01 kWh/m3. Previous studies on biological wastewater treatment off, U
found values of electricity which were less than the one required by Galvanised Steel 6.5
106 kg/m3 Steel, low-alloyed {GLO}j market
EASP: 0.3–1 kWh/m3 (Barroso Soares, 2017), 0.38–1.12 kWh/m3 for j Cut-off, U
(Wakeel et al., 2016) and 0.33–1 kWh/m3 (Wang et al., 2016). The large Reinforced 1.0
106 m3/ Concrete, 25 MPa {GLO}j market
Concrete m3 for j Cut-off, U
electricity consumption for EASP was due to numerous pumps that
Polyvinylchloride 3.8
106 kg/m3 Polyvinylchloride, emulsion
supply raw wastewater in the primary treatment phase. South Africa polymerised {GLO}j market for j
generates electricity from coal (74%), liquid/gas fuel (7%), water (7%), Cut-off, U
nuclear (4%), wind (4%), photovoltaic solar (3%) and the remaining 1% Electricity 5.36 kWh/ Electricity, medium voltage {ZA}j
from concentrating solar power and landfill (Eskom, 2020). The chemical m3 market for j Cut-off, U
Secondary Treatment
requirements, soda ash and chlorine, were obtained from the design re- Carbon Steel 6.5
106 kg/m3 Steel, low-alloyed {GLO}j market
ports of the plant. The plant is designed to reduce the following influent for j Cut-off, U
7 3
characterisation: COD (350 mg/l to 70 mg/l), P (15 mg/l to 10 mg/l) and Stainless Steel 304 2.0
10 kg/m Steel, chromium steel 18/8, hot
N (30 mg/l to 6 mg/l). rolled {GLO}j market for j Cut-off, U
Cast Iron 6.6
106 kg/m3 Cast iron {GLO}j market for j Cut-
off, U
2.5.2. Sequential batch reactor (SBR) Galvanised Steel 2.2
106 kg/m3 Steel, low-alloyed, hot rolled
The SBR chemical inventory was obtained from the plant operations {GLO}j market for j Cut-off, U
log: lime (pH balance), ferric chloride (removal of phosphates) and Reinforced 2.9
106 m3/ Concrete, 25 MPa {GLO}j market
chlorine (disinfection) (Table 2). The electricity consumption was Concrete m3 for j Cut-off, U
Asbestos Cement 6.6
106 kg/m3 Asbestos, crysotile type {GLO}j
calculated to be 1.04 kWh/m3 which is comparable to 0.320 kWh/m3 production j Cut-off, U
which was calculated by Lijo et al. (2017) on similar WWTP technology. Polyvinylchloride 2.5
106 kg/m3 Polyvinylchloride, suspension
The amount of material required for all the concrete/steel infrastructure polymerised {GLO}j market for j
(balancing tank, aeration tanks, chlorination tank, sidestream tank, Cut-off, U
Electricity 8.0
101 kWh/ Electricity, medium voltage {ZA}j
drying beds, maturation ponds, filtration tank) were calculated according
m3 market for j Cut-off, U
to their respective volumes. The plant is designed to reduce the following Soda Ash 6.0
104 kg/m3 Soda ash, light, crystalline,
influent characterisation: COD (750 mg/l to 70 mg/l), P (15 mg/l to heptahydrate {GLO}j market for j
10 mg/l) and N (40 mg/l to 6 mg/l). The SBR sludge was almost 50% Cut-off, U
more than that produced by EASP owing to the use of ferric chloride to Diesel for 1.8
104 kg/m3 Diesel {GLO}j market group for j
transportation Cut-off, U
remove inorganic phosphorus in SBR, which results in phosphates pre- Tertiary Treatment
cipitates that are removable as sludge. Cast Iron 2.0
105 kg/m3 Cast iron {GLO}j market for j Cut-
off, U
2.6. Impact assessment Stainless Steel 304 2.0
106 kg/m3 Steel, chromium steel 18/8 {GLO}j
market for j Cut-off, U
Fibreglass 5.1
106 kg/m3 Glass fibre reinforced plastic,
The SimaPro 9.1.1.1 software was used for LCA modelling and esti- polyamide, injection moulded
mating the environmental consequences. The ecoinvent database version {GLO}j market for j Cut-off, U
3.6 was used as the background process for the study. The ReCiPe Reinforced 1.5
104 m3/ Concrete, 25 MPa {GLO}j market
midpoint methodology (hierarchical perspective) was chosen for the Concrete m3 for j Cut-off, U
Polyvinylchloride 1.0
104 kg/m3 Polyvinylchloride, suspension
impact assessment of the study. A total of seven midpoint impact cate- polymerised {GLO}j market for j
gories were considered and included: Climate change (CC), Human Cut-off, U
Toxicity (HT), Fossil Depletion (FD), Freshwater Ecotoxicity (FEC), Electricity 8.5
101 kWh/ Electricity, medium voltage {ZA}j
Terrestrial Acidification (TA), Photochemical Oxidant Formation (POF) m3 market for j Cut-off, U
3
Chlorine 3.7
10 kg/m3 Chlorine, liquid {GLO}j market for j
and Freshwater Eutrophication (FE). The impact categories were selected
Cut-off, U
because WWTP is known to release emissions to the atmosphere and Diesel for 1.6
103 kg/m3 Diesel {GLO}j market group for j
freshwater resources, which are currently some of the environmental transportation Cut-off, U
challenges facing South Africa (Ehi and Ifeanyi, 2020). Chlorine motive 9.8
102 kg/m3 Tap water {GLO}j market group for
water j Cut-off, U
OUTPUT
3. Results COD 1.60
102 kg/m3 Quality monitoring foreground data
from the plant
3.1. Impact assessment results for LCA N 7.65
103 kg/m3 Quality monitoring foreground data
from the plant
P 5.0
104 kg/m3 Quality monitoring foreground data
EASP had the highest environmental impact in all seven impact cat-
from the plant
egories compared to SBR (Table 3). Human toxicity, fossil depletion, CH4 8.0
103 kg/m3 Correlation background data from
freshwater ecotoxicity and terrestrial acidification impact categories for Campos et al. (2016)
EASP were all about six times greater than those of SBR respectively. N2O 3.38
103 kg/m3 Correlation background data from
Climate change was the significant impact category on SBR and EASP due Campos et al. (2016)
Treated 1 m3/ Functional unit
to greenhouse gas emitted due to the South African coal-based electricity wastewater m3
mix coupled with the direct greenhouse gases released during biological
treatment. A study conducted by Li et al. (2013) in China, found the
climate change impact of 5.45
108 kg CO2-eq from ASP treatment
technology. The greater contribution to the latter study was attributed to
the difference in the electricity mix of South Africa and China.

4
P. Mamathoni, K.G. Harding Cleaner Environmental Systems 2 (2021) 100039

Table 2 Table 3
Inventory table for sequential batch reactor process. LCA characterisation results for EASP and SBR.
Sequential Batch Reactor Impact category Units EASP SBR

INPUT ecoinvent 3.6 Climate change (CC) kg CO2 eq 8.4 4.2

Human Toxicity (HT) kg 1,4-DB eq 3.8 6.1
101
Primary Treatment
Fossil Depletion (FD) kg oil eq 1.9 3.2
101
Cast Iron 3.2
104 kg/ Cast iron {GLO}j market for j Cut-
Freshwater Ecotoxicity (FEC) kg 1,4-DB eq 1.1
101 1.8
102
m3 off, U
Terrestrial Acidification (TA) kg SO2 eq 6.9
102 1.1
102
Mild Steel 1.4
104 kg/ Steel, low-alloyed {GLO}j market
Photochemical Oxidant Formation kg NMVOC 3.6
102 6.7
103
m3 for j Cut-off, U
(POF)
Stainless Steel 304 3.6
105 kg/ Steel, chromium steel 18/8 {GLO}j
Freshwater Eutrophication (FE) kg P eq 1.1
102 8.9
103
m3 market for j Cut-off, U
6
Polypropylene 3.2
10 kg/ Polypropylene, granulate {GLO}j
m3 market for j Cut-off, U
Polyvinylchloride 2.8
104 kg/ Polyvinylchloride, emulsion
To better understand the magnitude of impact categories, environ-
m3 polymerised {GLO}j market for j mental impact results were normalised using the ReCiPe 16 midpoint
Cut-off, U world reference method (Fig. 4). While the influent to each may be
Polyethylene 1.4
105 kg/ Polyethylene, high density, different, the magnitude of each category is what is highlighted here.
m3 granulate {GLO}j market for j Cut-
EASP had the highest environmental impact on freshwater eutrophica-
off, U
Reinforced Concrete 2.3
107 m3/ Concrete, 25 MPa {GLO}j market tion (3.61
102), followed by freshwater ecotoxicity (2.58
102) and
m3 for j Cut-off, U then human toxicity (1.16
102). While SBR had the highest environ-
Electricity 2.02
101 kWh/ Electricity, medium voltage {ZA}j mental impact on freshwater eutrophication (3.02
102), freshwater
m3 market for j Cut-off, U
ecotoxicity (4.08
103) and then human toxicity (1.86
103). Nor-
Ferric chloride 3.41
102 kg/ Iron (III) chloride, without water,
m3 in 14% iron solution state {GLO}j
malisation results showed that although climate change had the highest
market for j Cut-off, U impact on both WWTP, its total impact on global climate change was
Screen flush water 9.80
102 kg/ Tap water {GLO}j market group insignificant. Thus, the relevant impact categories for EASP and SBR are
m3 for j Cut-off, U freshwater eutrophication, freshwater ecotoxicity and human toxicity.
Diesel for 5.9
106 kg/ Diesel {GLO}j market group for j
transportation m3 Cut-off, U
Secondary Treatment 3.2. LCA contribution results for EASP
Reinforced Concrete 1.5
106 m3/ Concrete, 25 MPa {GLO}j market
m3 for j Cut-off, U Results shown in Fig. 5 reveal that freshwater ecotoxicity (76%),
Mild Steel 7.2
105 kg/ Steel, low-alloyed {GLO}j market
m3 for j Cut-off, U
human toxicity (76%), terrestrial acidification (76%), fossil depletion
Cast Iron 7.9
104 kg/ Cast iron {GLO}j market for j Cut- (76%), climate change (73%) and photochemical oxidant formation
m3 off, U (76%) impact on primary treatment is the highest, while freshwater
Polyvinylchloride 1.8
106 kg/ Polyvinylchloride, suspension eutrophication (54%) impact is highest on secondary treatment. To
m3 polymerised {GLO}j market for j
investigate process contributions made by key impact categories (fresh-
Cut-off, U
Electricity 6.2
101 kWh/ Electricity, medium voltage {ZA}j water eutrophication, freshwater ecotoxicity, and human toxicity)
m3 market for j Cut-off, U determined from normalised LCAs results, sunburst diagrams were uti-
Lime 8.8
102 kg/ Lime, hydrated, packed {GLO}j lized (Harding, 2013). This style accounts for all direct (innermost cir-
m3 market for j Cut-off, U cular layer) and indirect processes (successive outward circular layers)
Diesel for 3.0
104 kg/ Diesel {GLO}j market group for j
transportation m3 Cut-off, U
that contribute toward the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) scores.
Tertiary Treatment The percentage of contributions greater than 1% of the LCA impact
Stainless Steel 304 2.2
105 kg/ Steel, chromium steel 18/8 {GLO}j categories was investigated.
m3 market for j Cut-off, U About 54% of freshwater eutrophication environmental burden was
Mild Steel 1.4
104 kg/ Steel, low-alloyed {GLO}j market
from the secondary treatment stage, of which almost 49% of the impact
m3 for j Cut-off, U
Cast Iron 3.3
105 kg/ Cast iron {GLO}j market for j Cut- in this category was from the residual nutrients left in the wastewater
m3 off, U effluent after biological treatment and about 5% from electricity (Fig. 6).
Polyvinylchloride 1.6
105 kg/ Polyvinylchloride, suspension On the freshwater ecotoxicity category, the impact was highest on the
m3 polymerised {GLO}j market for j primary treatment (76%). Electricity made a significant contribution of
Cut-off, U
about 75% towards the freshwater ecotoxicity category. The results of
Reinforced Concrete 3.8
104 m3/ Concrete, 25 MPa {GLO}j market
(25 MPa) m3 for j Cut-off, U the human toxicity category show that primary treatment (76%) had the
Electricity 2.2
101 kWh/ Electricity, medium voltage {ZA}j highest impact. Electricity was responsible for about 75% of human
m3 market for j Cut-off, U toxicity impact; of which 64% was from hard coal (the dominant source
Chlorine 4.0
103 kg/ Chlorine, liquid {GLO}j market for
of electricity in South Africa). The high electricity demand in the primary
m3 j Cut-off, U
Diesel for 3.0
104 kg/ Diesel {GLO}j market group for j treatment of EASP was due to four pump station that supplies raw
transportation m3 Cut-off, U wastewater to the plant.
OUTPUT
COD 7.5
102 kg/ Quality monitoring foreground
3.3. LCA contribution results for SBR
m3 data from the plant
2
N 4
10 kg/ Quality monitoring foreground
m3 data from the plant Secondary treatment had the greatest impact on all evaluated cate-
P 4.5
104 kg/ Quality monitoring foreground gories (Fig. 7): freshwater eutrophication (96%), freshwater ecotoxicity
m3 data from the plant (57%), human toxicity (56%), climate change (86%), terrestrial acidifi-
CH4 7.5
103 kg/ Correlation background data from
m3 Campos et al. (2016)
cation (58%), fossil depletion (49%) and photochemical oxidant forma-
N2O 3
103 kg/ Correlation background data from tion (63%). The majority of the impact in the freshwater eutrophication
m3 Campos et al. (2016) category was from residual phosphates (90%) left in wastewater effluent
Treated wastewater 1 m3/ Functional unit after biological treatment (Fig. 7). Electricity made an impact contribu-
m3
tion of about 92% towards freshwater ecotoxicity, this was mostly due to
the energy required to enable aeration in the secondary treatment. Ferric

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P. Mamathoni, K.G. Harding Cleaner Environmental Systems 2 (2021) 100039

Fig. 4. Normalised impact assessment results for the EASP and SBR processes.

Fig. 5. Impact assessment results for EASP with treatment stages contributions.

chloride (which is dosed on the primary treatment balancing tank to study found that the SBR had about 2% (freshwater ecotoxicity, concrete)
precipitate phosphates) and concrete (required for infrastructure in the and 3% (human toxicity, concentre) towards the construction phase
tertiary treatment) made about 3% and 2% contributions respectively environmental burden. The less construction contribution on the present
towards freshwater ecotoxicity (Fig. 8). study might be because sludge treatment and ancillary building were not
Electricity, concrete (for the infrastructure in the tertiary treatment) considered in the system boundaries.
and ferric chloride (which is dosed in the primary treatment balancing Electricity contributed the most towards the environmental perfor-
tank to precipitate phosphates) were respectively responsible for about mance of freshwater ecotoxicity (EASP, 98%; SBR, 92%) and human
93%, 3%and 4% of the environmental burden towards human toxicity toxicity (EASP, 98%; SBR, 92%). Electricity consumption for EASP was
impact category (Fig. 8). highest in the primary treatment phase (Fig. 6) due to the four pump
stations that supply raw wastewater compared to one pump station in the
SBR plant. Aeration in the three biological reactors was responsible for
3.4. Discussion of EASP and SBR results
high electricity consumption in the secondary treatment phase of the SBR
technology. Previous studies also confirmed a large share of electricity on
A previous study on conventional activated sludge found the con-
the environmental impacts of wastewater treatment plants (Mavhungu
struction phase contribution to the overall burden to be over 5%,
et al. (2020); Longo et al. (2016); Masindi et al. (2018); Awad et al.
although for metal depletion the impact of construction reached about
(2019)). Significant savings in electricity consumption can be achieved
63% (Morera et al., 2017). The latter study also found that concrete and
by using renewable energy sources and utilising new WWTP technologies
reinforced steel were the materials with the highest contribution to the
(Li et al., 2020). Other possibilities include energy conservation by
civil works phase of WWTPs. The present study found that EASP had a
sludge treatment processes such as anaerobic digestion, gasification of
minimal impact (<1%) on the construction phase. Moreover, the current

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P. Mamathoni, K.G. Harding Cleaner Environmental Systems 2 (2021) 100039

Fig. 6. Contributions of LCA to the environmental impacts of EASP. FE: freshwater eutrophication; FEC: freshwater ecotoxicity; HT: human toxicity.

Fig. 7. Impact assessment results for SBR with treatment stages contributions.

dried sludge, pyrolysis (Buonocore et al., 2018) and incineration to For freshwater eutrophication, phosphorus was the dominant process
generate electricity (Niero et al., 2014). However, there are concerns contributor (SBR, 90%; EASP, 49%). This was due to the residual nutri-
regarding the high costs and weak environmental laws for sludge treat- ents left after wastewater treatment which leads to excessive plant
ment more especially in developing countries (Abdel et al., 2020). growth (eutrophication) in freshwater bodies. Lij o et al. (2017) also
Further research is needed to evaluate the environmental impacts of found up to 98% relative contribution by treated effluent towards
sludge treatment for the SBR and EASP. The environmental burdens for freshwater eutrophication of biological WWTPs. Lane, Haas and Lant
disposing of sludge in the landfill, which is the common practice in South (2015) found a chemical contribution of around 24–34% towards
Africa, lead to the consequences of resource waste and the potential for freshwater ecotoxicity and up to 7% towards human toxicity for an urban
secondary environmental pollution (Li et al., 2020). The results from this water system in Australia. In the present study, the environmental impact
study showed that SBR and EASP even without considering the impact due to chemicals was only significant on the SBR whereby ferric chloride
associated with sludge treatment already have the highest impact on contributed about 3% on both freshwater ecotoxicity and human toxicity.
freshwater ecotoxicity, freshwater eutrophication and human toxicity In the previous study, all water supply and wastewater management
(Figs. 6 and 8). infrastructure in the urban area was considered hence the noticeably

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P. Mamathoni, K.G. Harding Cleaner Environmental Systems 2 (2021) 100039

Fig. 8. Contributions of LCA to the environmental impacts of SBR. FE: freshwater eutrophication; FEC: freshwater ecotoxicity; HT: human toxicity.

lower value by the present study. the work reported in this paper.

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