Life cycle assessment of integrated bioelectrochemical-constructed wetland system: environmental sustainability and economic feasibility evaluation

The sustainability of the integrated bioelectrochemical-constructed wetland system (ECW) is still debatable. In this study, the environmental impact and economic performance of the conventionally constructed wetland (CW) and ECW were conducted using the life cycle assessment method. The results showed that both CW and ECW had significant impacts on the aquatic environment, especially on marine aquatic ecotoxicity. Although the appli-cation of the electrode module, especially the power supply, increased 118.0% of the environmental impacts from construction materials due to the massive use of plastics and metals, the overall environmental impact of ECW was 49.2% lower than that of the CW and the total global warming potential of ECW were mitigated by 69.1% compared with the CW. In terms of cost, the ECW could reduce 61.8% of the total cost when reaching the same effluent standard with the CW, indicating that ECW was environmentally and economically feasible.

Automated summary

This study compares the environmental and economic performance of a conventionally constructed wetland (CW) and an integrated bioelectrochemical-constructed wetland system (ECW) using the life cycle assessment method. The results show that although ECW has a higher environmental impact from construction materials, it overall has a lower environmental impact and mitigates global warming potential compared to CW. In terms of cost, ECW can reduce total costs by 61.8% while reaching the same effluent standard as CW, making it environmentally and economically feasible.