Journal
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
Volume 174, Issue -, Pages 333-342Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.10.193
Keywords
Greywater reclamation; Membrane bioreactor; Decentralized water supply; Centralized water system; Non-potable water use; Life cycle assessment
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Funding
- Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Hightower Chair of the Georgia institute of Technology
- Georgia Research Alliance
- National Science Foundation, Division of Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovations (EFRI) [0836046]
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This study examines a hybrid system (HS) that combines a greywater reclamation system with the centralized water system. Greywater is collected from laundry, showers, faucets and dishwashing and is reclaimed for non-potable on-site purposes (i.e., irrigation and toilet flushing) by using submerged membrane bioreactors (MBAs). This technology can reduce the burden of the conventional system (CS), defined as the water supply and wastewater treatment systems within the City of Atlanta. We conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) comparison of the HS and CS using TRACI v2.1, which simulates ten impacts related to the ecosystem, human health and natural resources. We simulated the technology feasibility for nine residential zones, including five single-family house zones (SFZs) and four multi-family apartment building zones (MFZs) that vary by land use and population density (0.4-62.2 persons per 1000 m(2)). The greywater reclamation system reduces non-potable water demand in SFZs (by 17-49%) and MFZs (by 6-32%) while simultaneously reducing electricity consumption by 17-49% and 32-41% for SFZs and MFZs, respectively. Moreover, the LCA score of the CS is 20-41% lower than that of the HS. However, the sensitivity analysis indicates that energy sources in electricity generation play a critical role in reducing and stabilizing life cycle impacts. The results indicate that the LCA scores stabilize at higher population densities. Therefore, once the greywater reclamation capacity is exhausted, municipalities can further decrease the life cycle impacts related to water infrastructure through improvements in the electricity generation infrastructure. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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