Importance of process design on carbon footprint from drinking water treatment by enhanced coagulation-filtration
There are several process design options for enhanced coagulation-filtration in drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs). This study compares the carbon footprint and economic impact of two common process designs based on enhanced coagulation-filtration with pH, Ca, and alkalinity adjustment for corr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IWA Publishing
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Water Practice and Technology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://wpt.iwaponline.com/content/18/11/2653 |
| _version_ | 1797428474824097792 |
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| author | Paula Pellikainen Bjornar Eikebrokk Riku Vahala |
| author_facet | Paula Pellikainen Bjornar Eikebrokk Riku Vahala |
| author_sort | Paula Pellikainen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There are several process design options for enhanced coagulation-filtration in drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs). This study compares the carbon footprint and economic impact of two common process designs based on enhanced coagulation-filtration with pH, Ca, and alkalinity adjustment for corrosion control. The process designs are direct filtration (DF) using Al coagulant with limewater (DF-Al) and contact filtration (CF) using Fe coagulant with alkaline filter layers (CF-Fe). The operational data are retrieved from full-scale DWTPs. The results show that the carbon footprint from operations is five times larger for the DF-Al compared to the CF-Fe. Operational costs covering chemicals and energy are almost 30% higher for the DF-Al. Simplified material intensity estimations for the construction phase show that the carbon footprint and investment cost increase with increasing process area, which are larger for the DF-Al. Therefore, to reduce environmental impacts and costs, the design of drinking water treatment processes should be carefully considered even for very similar processes. The results should motivate both water professionals and decision-makers to include a carbon footprint evaluation as a routine step in the DWTP selection and design phases.
HIGHLIGHTS
It is important to include carbon footprint estimation in the early process design phase.;
Similar treatment processes can have huge differences in carbon footprints.;
The carbon footprint and costs can be significantly reduced by the proper design of similar treatment processes.;
When selecting water treatment chemicals, their carbon footprints should be considered.; |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T08:59:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9cd8a673a87342d79690f74b6c9585eb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1751-231X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T08:59:26Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | IWA Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water Practice and Technology |
| spelling | doaj.art-9cd8a673a87342d79690f74b6c9585eb2023-12-02T12:11:11ZengIWA PublishingWater Practice and Technology1751-231X2023-11-0118112653266310.2166/wpt.2023.189189Importance of process design on carbon footprint from drinking water treatment by enhanced coagulation-filtrationPaula Pellikainen0Bjornar Eikebrokk1Riku Vahala2 Department of Built Environment, Aalto University, P.O. Box 15200, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland Drikkevannskonsult, H. Hoyems veg 10, 7047 Trondheim, Norway Department of Built Environment, Aalto University, P.O. Box 15200, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland There are several process design options for enhanced coagulation-filtration in drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs). This study compares the carbon footprint and economic impact of two common process designs based on enhanced coagulation-filtration with pH, Ca, and alkalinity adjustment for corrosion control. The process designs are direct filtration (DF) using Al coagulant with limewater (DF-Al) and contact filtration (CF) using Fe coagulant with alkaline filter layers (CF-Fe). The operational data are retrieved from full-scale DWTPs. The results show that the carbon footprint from operations is five times larger for the DF-Al compared to the CF-Fe. Operational costs covering chemicals and energy are almost 30% higher for the DF-Al. Simplified material intensity estimations for the construction phase show that the carbon footprint and investment cost increase with increasing process area, which are larger for the DF-Al. Therefore, to reduce environmental impacts and costs, the design of drinking water treatment processes should be carefully considered even for very similar processes. The results should motivate both water professionals and decision-makers to include a carbon footprint evaluation as a routine step in the DWTP selection and design phases. HIGHLIGHTS It is important to include carbon footprint estimation in the early process design phase.; Similar treatment processes can have huge differences in carbon footprints.; The carbon footprint and costs can be significantly reduced by the proper design of similar treatment processes.; When selecting water treatment chemicals, their carbon footprints should be considered.;http://wpt.iwaponline.com/content/18/11/2653carbon footprintcoagulation-filtrationdrinking water treatmentenhanced coagulationnom removalprocess design |
| spellingShingle | Paula Pellikainen Bjornar Eikebrokk Riku Vahala Importance of process design on carbon footprint from drinking water treatment by enhanced coagulation-filtration Water Practice and Technology carbon footprint coagulation-filtration drinking water treatment enhanced coagulation nom removal process design |
| title | Importance of process design on carbon footprint from drinking water treatment by enhanced coagulation-filtration |
| title_full | Importance of process design on carbon footprint from drinking water treatment by enhanced coagulation-filtration |
| title_fullStr | Importance of process design on carbon footprint from drinking water treatment by enhanced coagulation-filtration |
| title_full_unstemmed | Importance of process design on carbon footprint from drinking water treatment by enhanced coagulation-filtration |
| title_short | Importance of process design on carbon footprint from drinking water treatment by enhanced coagulation-filtration |
| title_sort | importance of process design on carbon footprint from drinking water treatment by enhanced coagulation filtration |
| topic | carbon footprint coagulation-filtration drinking water treatment enhanced coagulation nom removal process design |
| url | http://wpt.iwaponline.com/content/18/11/2653 |
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