Life cycle assessment of paper mill wastewater: a case study in Viet Nam

Although in a critical position in the economy, the paper industry releases a lot of wastewater that requires adequate treatment for sustainable development. This study presents an application of Life cycle assessment (LCA) with ReCiPe tool on the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) of a paper factory in Vietnam to evaluate the environmental effect of the individual techniques in WWTP, especially internal circulation (IC) reactor, a pioneer and practical anaerobic technology. Both Midpoint and Endpoint categories results demonstrated that chemical use and electricity consumption mainly contributed to the environmental impact in the WWTP. The Dissolved air flotation (DAF) and Moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) are classified as effective techniques to reduce the impacts on the environment. Moreover, the comparison of LCA between IC and up-flow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) shows that IC is the better practically green technique on the environment.

Automated summary

This study evaluates the environmental impact of a wastewater treatment plant in a paper factory in Vietnam using LCA and ReCiPe tool. The results show that chemical use and electricity consumption are the main contributors to the environmental impact in the plant. Dissolved air flotation and moving bed biofilm reactor are effective techniques for reducing environmental impacts. The comparison between IC and UASB shows that IC is a better environmentally friendly technique.