Life Cycle Assessment and Its Application in Wastewater Treatment: A Brief Overview

This paper provides a brief review on wastewater treatment system and the application of life cycle assessment (LCA) for assessing its environmental performance. An extensive review regarding the geographical relevance of LCA for WWTPs, and the evaluation of sustainable wastewater treatment by LCA in both developed and developing countries are also discussed. The objective of the review is to identify knowledge gap, for the improvement of the LCA application and methodology to WWTPs. A total of 35 published articles related to wastewater treatment (WWT) and LCA from international scientific journals were studied thoroughly and summarised from 2006 to 2022. This review found that there is lack of studies concerning LCA of WWTPs that consider specific local criteria especially in the developing countries. Thus, it is important to: (1) assess the influence of seasonality (i.e., dry and wet seasons) on the environmental impact of WWT, (2) investigate environmental impacts from WWTPs in developing countries focusing on the site-specific inventory data, and (3) evaluate environmental sustainability of different processes for upgrading the wastewater treatment system. The environmental impact and cost assessment aspects are crucial for the sustainable development of WWTP. Therefore, environmental impacts must be thoroughly assessed to provide recommendation for future policy and for the water industry in determining environmental trade-offs toward sustainable development.

Automated summary

This paper provides a review of wastewater treatment systems and the use of life cycle assessment (LCA) for evaluating their environmental performance. The review examines the geographical relevance of LCA for WWTPs and the evaluation of sustainable wastewater treatment in both developed and developing countries. It identifies a lack of studies that consider specific local criteria, particularly in developing countries, and highlights the need for research on seasonality, site-specific inventory data, and the environmental sustainability of different processes for upgrading WWTPs. Thorough assessment of environmental impacts is crucial for the sustainable development of WWTPs and can inform future policies and decision-making in the water industry.