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Sustainability Analysis of a Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant through Emergy Evaluation

Author

Listed:
  • Ramona Ciobanu

    (Department of Environmental Engineering and Management, “Cristofor Simionescu” Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Protection, “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iași, 73 D. Mangeron Street, 700050 Iași, Romania)

  • Carmen Teodosiu

    (Department of Environmental Engineering and Management, “Cristofor Simionescu” Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Protection, “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iași, 73 D. Mangeron Street, 700050 Iași, Romania)

  • Cecilia M. V. B. Almeida

    (Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia de Produção, Universidade Paulista, R. Dr. Bacelar, 1212, São Paulo 04026-002, Brazil)

  • Feni Agostinho

    (Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia de Produção, Universidade Paulista, R. Dr. Bacelar, 1212, São Paulo 04026-002, Brazil)

  • Biagio Fernando Giannetti

    (Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia de Produção, Universidade Paulista, R. Dr. Bacelar, 1212, São Paulo 04026-002, Brazil)

Abstract

Water and wastewater treatment plants are essential for the supply of drinking water for consumption and the treatment of effluents produced by human/industrial activities. However, few studies deal with the investments and sustainability of these services, which consider both the contribution of nature and society. This study uses the emergy approach to evaluate a wastewater treatment plant located in the northeastern part of Romania, in Iași city. An assessment of the environmental costs of natural fluxes required for the treatment processes was performed, considering that the treated effluent is, still, loaded with contaminants that have to be absorbed by the receiving water natural system. The work done by nature to assimilate this load, generally considered free, is esteemed as a further cost in the total emergy budget of the wastewater treatment processes. The sustainability perspective was approached by calculating and analyzing the emergy yield ratio (EYR), environmental load rate (ELR), and emergy sustainability development index (ESI). The use of local renewable natural resources in Iași municipal wastewater treatment plants is negligible (1.71% of the total plant emergy budget), as compared to that of the purchased resources (98.29% of the total plant emergy budget) mainly processed with the support of fossil fuels’ generated energy. The unit emegy value was, also, calculated and compared to other studies relevant for wastewater treatment plants. The analysis suggests that the large amount of emergy that wastewater contains is proportional to the number of resources employed for wastewater treatment and the extensive effects on surrounding ecosystems, where wastewater is discharged.

Suggested Citation

  • Ramona Ciobanu & Carmen Teodosiu & Cecilia M. V. B. Almeida & Feni Agostinho & Biagio Fernando Giannetti, 2022. "Sustainability Analysis of a Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant through Emergy Evaluation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-19, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:11:p:6461-:d:823999
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Liu, Gengyuan & Yang, Zhifeng & Chen, Bin & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2014. "Emergy-based dynamic mechanisms of urban development, resource consumption and environmental impacts," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 271(C), pages 90-102.
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    Cited by:

    1. Tayyib Moussaoui & Abdessamed Derdour & Alia Hosni & Manuel Ballesta-de los Santos & Pilar Legua & Miguel Ángel Pardo-Picazo, 2023. "Assessing the Quality of Treated Wastewater for Irrigation: A Case Study of Ain Sefra Wastewater Treatment Plant," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-20, July.

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