Implications of Implementation Scale on the Environmental Sustainability of Wastewater Treatment with Resource Recovery

Many wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) require high levels of resource consumption to transport and treat wastewater. Resource recovery is beneficial to reducing the environmental impacts of WWTPs; however, few studies have investigated how scale of implementation impacts the sustainability of WWTPs with resource recovery. This study investigated the impact of scale on the environmental sustainability of WWTPs with resource recovery using lifecycle assessment (LCA). Three systems in Florida were selected: septic tank with aerobic treatment at household scale, advanced water reclamation facility at community scale, and advanced water reclamation facility at city scale. Three sustainability indicators were considered: embodied energy, carbon footprint, and eutrophication potential. This study finds that there are benefits to centralization of WWTPs with resource recovery in terms of embodied energy and carbon footprint; however, the community scale results in the lowest eutrophication potential. Additionally, technology selection may have a larger impact on environmental sustainability than scale.