Life Cycle Assessment of Hybrid Nanofiltration Desalination Plants in the Persian Gulf
Although emerging desalination technologies such as hybrid technologies are required to tackle water scarcity, the impacts of their application on the environment, resources, and human health, as prominent pillars of sustainability, should be evaluated in parallel. In the present study, the environm...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-04-01
|
| Series: | Membranes |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/12/5/467 |
| _version_ | 1797497993573695488 |
|---|---|
| author | Benyamin Bordbar Arash Khosravi Ali Ahmadi Orkomi Mohammad Peydayesh |
| author_facet | Benyamin Bordbar Arash Khosravi Ali Ahmadi Orkomi Mohammad Peydayesh |
| author_sort | Benyamin Bordbar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although emerging desalination technologies such as hybrid technologies are required to tackle water scarcity, the impacts of their application on the environment, resources, and human health, as prominent pillars of sustainability, should be evaluated in parallel. In the present study, the environmental footprint of five desalination plants, including multi-stage flash (MSF), hybrid reverse osmosis (RO)–MSF, hybrid nanofiltration (NF)–MSF, RO, and hybrid NF–RO, in the Persian Gulf region, have been analyzed using life cycle assessment (LCA) as an effective tool for policy making and opting sustainable technologies. The comparison was based on the impacts on climate change, ozone depletion, fossil depletion, human toxicity, and marine eutrophication. The LCA results revealed the superiority of the hybrid NF–RO plant in having the lowest environmental impact, although the RO process produces more desalinated water at the same feed and input flow rates. The hybrid NF–RO system achieves 1.74 kg CO<sub>2</sub> equivalent, 1.24 × 10<sup>−7</sup> kg CFC-11 equivalent, 1.28 × 10<sup>−4</sup> kg nitrogenous compounds, 0.16 kg 1,4-DB equivalent, and 0.56 kg oil equivalent in the mentioned impact indicators, which are 7.9 to 22.2% lower than the single-pass RO case. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis showed the reliability of the results, which helps to provide an insight into the life cycle impacts of the desalination plants. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:27:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-860c2ec9aa9843afab5e53488947a61b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0375 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:27:06Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Membranes |
| spelling | doaj.art-860c2ec9aa9843afab5e53488947a61b2023-11-23T12:05:10ZengMDPI AGMembranes2077-03752022-04-0112546710.3390/membranes12050467Life Cycle Assessment of Hybrid Nanofiltration Desalination Plants in the Persian GulfBenyamin Bordbar0Arash Khosravi1Ali Ahmadi Orkomi2Mohammad Peydayesh3Sustainable Membrane Technology Research Group (SMTRG), Faculty of Petroleum, Gas and Petrochemical Engineering (FPGPE), Persian Gulf University (PGU), Bushehr P.O. Box 75169-13817, IranSustainable Membrane Technology Research Group (SMTRG), Faculty of Petroleum, Gas and Petrochemical Engineering (FPGPE), Persian Gulf University (PGU), Bushehr P.O. Box 75169-13817, IranDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Guilan, Sowmeh Sara P.O. Box 43619-96196, IranDepartment of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, SwitzerlandAlthough emerging desalination technologies such as hybrid technologies are required to tackle water scarcity, the impacts of their application on the environment, resources, and human health, as prominent pillars of sustainability, should be evaluated in parallel. In the present study, the environmental footprint of five desalination plants, including multi-stage flash (MSF), hybrid reverse osmosis (RO)–MSF, hybrid nanofiltration (NF)–MSF, RO, and hybrid NF–RO, in the Persian Gulf region, have been analyzed using life cycle assessment (LCA) as an effective tool for policy making and opting sustainable technologies. The comparison was based on the impacts on climate change, ozone depletion, fossil depletion, human toxicity, and marine eutrophication. The LCA results revealed the superiority of the hybrid NF–RO plant in having the lowest environmental impact, although the RO process produces more desalinated water at the same feed and input flow rates. The hybrid NF–RO system achieves 1.74 kg CO<sub>2</sub> equivalent, 1.24 × 10<sup>−7</sup> kg CFC-11 equivalent, 1.28 × 10<sup>−4</sup> kg nitrogenous compounds, 0.16 kg 1,4-DB equivalent, and 0.56 kg oil equivalent in the mentioned impact indicators, which are 7.9 to 22.2% lower than the single-pass RO case. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis showed the reliability of the results, which helps to provide an insight into the life cycle impacts of the desalination plants.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/12/5/467life cycle assessment (LCA)hybrid desalinationmulti-stage flash (MSF)reverse osmosis (RO)nanofiltration (NF) |
| spellingShingle | Benyamin Bordbar Arash Khosravi Ali Ahmadi Orkomi Mohammad Peydayesh Life Cycle Assessment of Hybrid Nanofiltration Desalination Plants in the Persian Gulf Membranes life cycle assessment (LCA) hybrid desalination multi-stage flash (MSF) reverse osmosis (RO) nanofiltration (NF) |
| title | Life Cycle Assessment of Hybrid Nanofiltration Desalination Plants in the Persian Gulf |
| title_full | Life Cycle Assessment of Hybrid Nanofiltration Desalination Plants in the Persian Gulf |
| title_fullStr | Life Cycle Assessment of Hybrid Nanofiltration Desalination Plants in the Persian Gulf |
| title_full_unstemmed | Life Cycle Assessment of Hybrid Nanofiltration Desalination Plants in the Persian Gulf |
| title_short | Life Cycle Assessment of Hybrid Nanofiltration Desalination Plants in the Persian Gulf |
| title_sort | life cycle assessment of hybrid nanofiltration desalination plants in the persian gulf |
| topic | life cycle assessment (LCA) hybrid desalination multi-stage flash (MSF) reverse osmosis (RO) nanofiltration (NF) |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/12/5/467 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT benyaminbordbar lifecycleassessmentofhybridnanofiltrationdesalinationplantsinthepersiangulf AT arashkhosravi lifecycleassessmentofhybridnanofiltrationdesalinationplantsinthepersiangulf AT aliahmadiorkomi lifecycleassessmentofhybridnanofiltrationdesalinationplantsinthepersiangulf AT mohammadpeydayesh lifecycleassessmentofhybridnanofiltrationdesalinationplantsinthepersiangulf |