Carbon footprint of constructed wetlands for winery wastewater treatment
The aim of this study was to estimate the carbon footprint (CFP) of constructed wetlands for winery wastewater treatment. In particular, a constructed wetland scenario was compared to the previous scenario (third-party management) and to an activated sludge system. CFP considered both indirect and d...
| Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | article |
| Publication Date: | 2020 |
| Country: | España |
| Institution: | Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) |
| Repository: | UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC |
| Language: | English |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/331093 |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/2117/331093 https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2020.105959 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Constructed wetlands Activated sludge Treatment wetland Greenhouse gas emissions Life cycle assessment Winery wastewater Zones humides artificials Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Desenvolupament humà i sostenible::Enginyeria ambiental::Tractament de l'aigua |
| Summary: | The aim of this study was to estimate the carbon footprint (CFP) of constructed wetlands for winery wastewater treatment. In particular, a constructed wetland scenario was compared to the previous scenario (third-party management) and to an activated sludge system. CFP considered both indirect and direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions measured on-site. Moreover, an economic analysis of the considered scenarios was also addressed. The results showed that the constructed wetland scenario had the lowest CFP (1.2 kg CO2eq mwater-3), while the third-party management was the worst scenario (52 kg CO2eq mwater-3) followed by the activated sludge system (4.5 kg CO2eq mwater-3). This was mainly due to the high GHG emissions generated by wastewater and sludge transportation as well as chemicals and electricity consumption in the third-party and activated sludge scenarios compared to the constructed wetlands. In terms of costs, the constructed wetland system was shown to be a low-cost technology which would reduce the capital, operation and maintenance costs associated with winery wastewater treatment up to 50% and 98%, respectively. Finally, constructed wetlands are low-cost and environmentally friendly technologies which constitute a sustainable alternative to conventional solutions for winery wastewater treatment. |
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