RT Journal Article
T1 Life cycle and economic analyses of the removal of pesticides and pharmaceuticals from municipal wastewater by anodic oxidation
A1 Surra, Elena
A1 Correia, Manuela
A1 Figueiredo, Sónia
A1 Silva, Jaime Gabriel
A1 Vieira, Joana
A1 Jorge, Sandra
A1 Pazos Currás, Marta María
A1 Sanromán Braga, María Ángeles
A1 Lapa, Nuno
A1 Delerue Matos, Cristina
K1 3308.10 Tecnología de Aguas Residuales
K1 3308 Ingeniería y Tecnología del Medio Ambiente
K1 3101.09 Plaguicidas
AB Several pesticides and pharmaceuticals (PP) have been detected in the effluent of a full-scale Portuguese Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). Their presence contributed to the environmental burdens associated with the existing treatment of the Municipal Wastewater (MWW) in the impact categories of Human Carcinogenicity, Non-Carcinogenicity, and Freshwater toxicities on average by 85%, 60%, and 90%, respectively (ReciPe2016 and USEtox methods). The environmental and economic assessment of the installation of an Anodic Oxidation (AO) unit for PPs’ removal was performed through Life Cycle and Economic Analysis, considering two types of anodes, the Boron-Doped Diamond (BDD) and the Mixed Metal Oxides (MMO). The operation of the AO unit increased the environmental burdens of the system by 95% on average (USEtox), but these impacts can be partially compensated by the avoided the production of non-renewable energy in the Portuguese electricity mix by biogas cogeneration at the WWTP. If the construction of the AO unit and the manufacturing of the electrodes are considered, the Human and Freshwater Toxicities are often higher than the environmental benefits derived from the PPs’ removal. On the economic side, the MMO configuration is clearly more advantageous, whereas BDD is environmentally more favorable. The issue of the presence of PP in MWW effluents has to be addressed as an integrated solution both improving upstream PP’s management and adopting PP’s removal technologies strongly supported by renewable energies. Further insights are needed for the assessment of fate and of the environmental effects of PP in the sludge.
PB Sustainability
SN 20711050
YR 2021
FD 2021-03-25
LK http://hdl.handle.net/11093/2800
UL http://hdl.handle.net/11093/2800
LA eng
NO Sustainability, 13(7): 3669 (2021)
NO Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. UIDB / 50006/2020
DS Investigo
RD 11-sep-2024