Wastewater treatment plants are highly energy-intensive systems. This research uses Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to determine the impacts generated during the operation of a wastewater treatment plant. Three different scenarios are analyzed: a baseline scenario that considers a conventional activated sludge treatment technology exploiting data from an existing plant located in central Italy, a second scenario that involves the implementation of MBR technology applied to the baseline scenario, and finally a third scenario that consists of the addition of an anaerobic digester that allows energy recovery from biogas production, followed by a photovoltaic plant capable of supplying the plant energy demand. Global warming potential, eutrophication, and acidification are the environmental categories considered most relevant to emissions. The results showed that the effluent had the highest impact in terms of CO2 equivalent in all three situations due to the presence of N2O. Since emissions from biological processes, transportation, and wastewater are almost similar in all three scenarios, it is preferable to focus on the environmental impacts associated with energy consumption. The third scenario involves careful resource management and the use of treatment technologies that allow for a reduction in the use of nonrenewable energy sources in favor of renewable ones.

中文翻译：

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应用于污水处理厂的生命周期评估方法

废水处理厂是能源高度密集型系统。本研究使用生命周期评估 (LCA) 来确定废水处理厂运营期间产生的影响。分析了三种不同的情景：基线情景考虑了利用意大利中部现有工厂数据的传统活性污泥处理技术，第二种情景涉及将 MBR 技术应用于基线情景，最后第三种情景是包括增加一个厌氧消化池，可以从沼气生产中回收能量，然后是一个能够满足工厂能源需求的光伏电站。全球变暖潜力、富营养化和酸化被认为是与排放最相关的环境类别。结果表明，由于 N2O 的存在，在所有三种情况下，废水对 CO2 当量的影响最大。由于生物过程、运输和废水的排放在所有三种情况下几乎相似，因此最好关注与能源消耗相关的环境影响。第三种情况涉及仔细的资源管理和处理技术的使用，以减少不可再生能源的使用，转而使用可再生能源。