Search

Municipal wastewater treatment plays an indispensable role in enhancing water quality by eliminating contaminants. While the process is vital, its environmental footprint, especially in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, remains underexplored. Here we offer a comprehensive assessment of GHG emissions from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) across China. Our analyses reveal an estimated 1.54 (0.92-2.65) × 10 4 Gg release of GHGs (CO 2 -eq) in 2020, with a dominant contribution from N 2 O emissions and electricity consumption. We can foresee a 60-65% reduction potential in GHG emissions with promising advancements in wastewater treatment, such as cutting-edge biological techniques, intelligent wastewater strategies, and a shift towards renewable energy sources., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Authors.)