Life cycle assessment of paper mill wastewater: a case study in Viet Nam

Although in a critical position in the economy, the paper industry releases a lot of wastewater that requires adequate treatment for sustainable development. This study presents an application of Life cycle assessment (LCA) with the ReCiPe tool on the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) of a paper factory in Vietnam to evaluate the environmental effect of the individual techniques in WWTP, especially the internal circulation (IC) reactor, a pioneer and practical anaerobic technology. Both Midpoint and Endpoint categories results demonstrated that chemical use and electricity consumption mainly contributed to the environmental impact in the WWTP. The Dissolved air flotation (DAF) and Moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) are classified as effective techniques to reduce the impacts on the environment. Moreover, the comparison of LCA between IC and up-flow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) shows that IC is the better practically green technique for the environment. HIGHLIGHTS Life cycle assessment was applied in a paper mill wastewater treatment plant.; Midpoint and Endpoint indicators were employed to evaluate environmental impact.; Two scenarios of electricity generating from biogas between Internal circulation and up-flow anaerobic sludge bed were investigated.; Chemicals use and energy consumption were determined to be the most factors to damage indicators.;