Life-cycle assessment of decentralized solutions for wastewater treatment in small communities

This study benchmarks vermifiltration (VF) as secondary wastewater treatment in three nature-based decentralized treatment plants using life-cycle assessment. The comparison is justified by the comparatively easier and cheaper operation of VF when compared to more traditional technologies, including small rate infiltration (SRI), constructed wetlands (CW), and activated sludge (AS). Standard life cycle assessment was used and applied to three case studies located in southern Europe. Material intensity during construction was highest for VF, but impacts during operation were lower, compensating those of the other phases. Impacts during the construction phase far outweigh those of operation and dismantling for facilities using constructed wetlands and activated sludge, when the number of served inhabitants is small, and due to lack of economies of scale. VF used as secondary treatment was shown to contribute to reducing the environmental impacts, mainly in constructed wetlands and activated sludge. The replacement of CW by VF seems to bring important environmental benefits in most impact categories, in particular in the construction phase. The replacement by VF in facilities with SRI seems to result in the improvement of some of the impact categories, in particular in the operation phase. As for dismantling, no conclusive results were obtained. HIGHLIGHTS Vermifiltration is a promising technology.; An LCIA is needed to better understand vermifiltration.; The quantification of the environmental impacts will help researchers in future works.; Constrution, operation and dismantling phases are crucial to understand the life cycle in Wastewater Treatment Plants.; LCIA is an important tool to study the environmental impacts of wastewater treatment.